62 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN March 2026 PAST Changes in Cattle Type BOB HOUGH | CONTRIBUTING WRITER They say that the only constant in life is change, and that certainly holds true for cattle type. Amazingly, the book Breeding and Improvement of Farm Animals, reported that in 1710, slaughter-ready beef cattle at London’s Smithfield Market only had an average liveweight of 370 pounds, and these likely would have been 4-year-olds. However, by the early 1800s, an improved Shorthorn steer named The Durham Ox was touring the British Isles weighing more than 3,000 pounds. The formation of breeds, crop rotation, soil amendments, improved nutrition and management from the British agricultural revolution had made that much difference. In the United States, the first purebred beef cattle to arrive to the new country’s shores were Shorthorns in 1783, the same year the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the Revolutionary War. Shorthorns would go on to dominate the U.S. cattle industry for the next 100 years. At first, they were prized as all-around farm cattle that could be milked, serve as draft oxen or provide beef either from excess calves or at the end of an animal’s productive life. However, when the U.S. cattle feeding industry started, aged, highly finished, dual-purpose Shorthorns were considered ideal animals on the fed cattle market. This cattle type was confirmed as ideal in Philadelphia at the 1876 Centennial Exposition and World’s Fair, which hosted the largest livestock show ever held in the United States up until that date. The selection of the overall champion steer was the highlight of the show, which was described in Frank Leslie’s Historical Register of the United States Centennial Exposition: “The champion steer of the world, as he was proclaimed, disappointed few and excited many. He fit the mold of the times of heavily finished, Bates-type [dual-purpose] Shorthorns, which were in fashion at the time. When exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition as a 4-year-old, he weighed in at 3,160 pounds. … The following year, the seven-eighths Shorthorn was put on display as a 3,600-pound 5-year-old mountain of tallow. He was hailed for his size, balance and evenness of cover.” Photo courtesy of R.L. Hough. Durham Ox was born in 1796 and, by 1806, was reported to weigh 3,400 pounds. Photo courtesy of Dr. Bert Moore. The Champion Steer of the World at the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Credit: Library of Congress. CONTINUED ON PAGE 64
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