The air is cold and there is a hint of the impending rain in the air on the hills above Clevedon where a herd of cattle slowly munch their way through a bale of hay. 

The cows in question don’t appear to be bothered by the autumn conditions in the slightest. For these are Galloways – sturdy, hairy, bracken and brush grazers originally from the South West corner of Scotland.

“They were first brought out around World War II when big farms were cut into soldier’s settlement blocks. The blocks of course were mainly bush and scrub and the cows were used to convert the scrub to pasture,” Barry McAlley told Rural Living as we looked out over the block he has farmed for the past 30 years.

Galloways fall into three types – the black Standard or Unbelted Galloway, the Belted Galloway, and the distinctive White Galloway.

Barry breeds all three types on his 75 acre block. 

“Their meat has always been regarded as high quality because of the marbling and that’s always been associated with black animals.”

In New Zealand Belted Galloways, easily recognisable with their distinctive white belt, are the most popular of the three varieties. Nobody is really sure how the distinctive belt came about but it is possible it is the result of early cross breeding between Standard Galloways and the Dutch Lakenvelder breed.         

“But nobody really knows and it’s just as possible they simply evolved independently,” Barry said.

Althought Galloways are a beef breed Belted Galloways were used for milking as well.

“When they were farmed in the clan method they were milked, suggesting the belted ones were better milkers. It’s rare to see it today though and I’ve never seen it in New Zealand.”

This dairy quality does support the early cross breeding theory suggesting the gene

came indeed from the high quality dairy Dutch cattle.      

Like many Galloway breeders Barry started off with Belted Galloways before bringing in White Galloway semen from Canada twelve years ago and he has noted that interest tends to be mostly for these two varieties, especially with lifestyle block owners.       

The colour pattern of the White Galloway – a silvery white coat with black, red or dun points (ears, eyes, nose, and lower legs) – is an ancient one and was originally distinctive of the Wild White cattle of Britain and in fact the  herd of White Park cattle at Cadzow Park, Hamilton (adjacent to Galloway) is believed to be the source of the special colouring of the White Galloway.

“It’s their looks – they’re a bit like garden gnomes. Just pleasant to see.”

In fact, Barry told us, the Galloway Society is enjoying an active membership due to the resurgence in interest in the breed.

“We’ve got more members than ever. The popularity is picking up again.”

When Barry first saw Galloways, exotic breeds were just becoming popular in New Zealand and his first thought was to breed a bigger version of them.

“But of course once length goes into the legs they lose their cuddly appeal and people aren’t interested anymore,” Barry said somewhat resignedly. 

Good mothers, Galloways are easy calvers and  are very protective of their young.

“If you have them running in a traditional farming situation the best thing is to confirm everything is ok, then leave them to it,” Barry said.

Unlike their cousins, the  Highlands (see our January issue) Galloways do not have horns but they do have similar coats.

“The long outer coat acts like a raincoat – you watch them in the rain and the water just falls off them instead of sinking in.”

If Barry has found any downside to the long coat it’s that the long hair on the ears can make it difficult to read eartags.

“And it can make lice and tics a bit harder to pick up but it doesn’t stop the pour ons working and you soon learn to recognize the signs.”

For people looking at Galloways, Barry’s advice is to do your homework.

“Decide if you want a commercial herd or a pedigree herd and find out all you can about them. There are a lot of advantages in becoming an associate member of the society instead of waiting until you have some animals and then joining.”