The Lucerna is a Colombian

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of dual-purpose

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

. It is a composite breed, created in the twentieth century by

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

local Criollo cattle of the Hartón breed with imported

dairy cattle Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species ''Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was mad ...

of European type. This was the earliest composite breed to be developed in South America.

History

The Lucerna is a composite breed, the earliest such breed to be developed in South America. It was created in the Valle del Cauca from about 1937. Local Criollo cattle of the Hartón del Valle breed were

cross-bred A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

with imported European-type

of the Friesian and

Milking Shorthorn The Dairy Shorthorn is a British list of cattle breeds, breed of dairy cattle. It derives from the Shorthorn cattle of Tees-side, in the North Riding of Yorkshire and in Northumbria (now divided between County Durham and Northumberland) in nor ...

breeds. By 1972 the percentages in the composite had stabilised at approximately 40% Friesian and 30% of each of Hartón and Shorthorn. From the mid-1950s, breeding was aimed principally at the improvement of dairy qualities. In 1986 the Lucerna was kept on no more than fifteen farms; by the end of the century this number had tripled, and there were almost of the cattle. In 2018 the total number was reported as 1028 head. The

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

of the breed is reported as "not at risk". Some

semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is an organic bodily fluid created to contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize the female ovum. Semen i ...

is stored, but this is apparently not for conservation but for commercial reasons.

Characteristics

The Lucerna is of medium size. Cows stand some at the

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

and weigh about ; the average weight of bulls is about . The coat is normally solid cherry-red, but is somewhat variable.

Use

The milk yield is not high, averaging little over in a

lactation Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The proces ...

of approximately 300 days.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucerna (Cattle Breed) Cattle breeds originating in Colombia