The Kostroma cattle are a Russian strain developed in the first half of the 20th century. It was developed in the Kostroma Oblast of the Upper Volga area of Russia.
Kostroma cattle breed information
The Kostroma cattle have similarities to the Brown Swiss cattle in appearance. However they have body and more head with thinner forehead than the Brown Swiss.
These creatures are characterized by a constitution, hardiness and milk production over a lifetime. Loin and their back are wider and shinier.
They are usually light grey in color with a top line.
Kostroma cattle benefits
The Kostroma cattle are dual-purpose animals. But today they are employed as a dairy cattle for milk production. They also have good beef characteristics.
Kostroma cattle are long-lived and hardy animals. The cows are great milk producers and a few cows can produce milk till twenty decades old.
Typical milk production of the cows varies from 3900 to 5000 kg with 3.3-3.6 percent protein and 3.7-3.9% fat content.

But under intensive control, the cattle can produce approximately 6000 to 8000 kg of milk per lactation (sometimes up to 10000 kg). Like other dairy cattle strains, the Kostroma cows have relatively calm nature and are often docile in behavior.
The breed is also good for meat production. Normally, a steer can reach approximately 450-500 kg using a percentage of 58 to 60 percent.
Origin
The breed was created based mostly on crossbreeding local enhanced cattle breeds with Alllgau Swiss and Ayrshire bulls.
Two enhanced herds of cattle the’Miskov and Babaev’ from the Kostroma region were the cornerstones of the breed. The Babaev herd was spanned out of Southern Germany with Allgau bulls, also with Brown Korean form 1912.
Crossbreeding with Brown Swiss breed lasted from 1920, and some Ayrshire bulls were used.
6310 liters was attained by the milk production in the herd of the Karavaevo country farm in 1940. Today the breed is used for milk production and for meat production.
The Kostroma cows breed was known from the Soviet People’s Commissariat of Agriculture on November 27, 1944.
Hello, I am Siddartha Reddy . A fulltime farmer and blogger who love to share all his farming experiences. Also, a strong supporter of sustainable farming practices. Thanks for visiting our site, let’s make this world a better place to live. Say No to Chemicals and plastics.