Technical Service

THE ROMAGNOLA BREED

ORIGIN AND SPREAD

The origins of the Romagnola breed go very far back, deriving from the bos taurus macroceros (long-horned aurochs), cattle that originated in the steppes of Eastern and Central Europe and that gave rise to various breeds similar in constitution, type, coat and shape of the head and legs. During the fourth century AD, the barbarian hordes of the Goths, led by Aginulf, reached Europe with all their goods, including cattle. Part of these populations settled in the fertile lands of Romagna and their cattle were the ancestors of the Romagnola breed. Present throughout the modern day provinces of Forlì, Ravenna, Bologna, Ferrara and Pesaro, this breed has encountered a favorable environment with a wealth of fodder plants and a good climate. For centuries, this breed was used mainly in a dynamic capacity and cattle with well-developed forequarters, a solid structure and short sturdy legs were needed on that tough and tenacious terrain. Due to mechanization and the development of agricultural techniques, particularly during the second half of the eighteenth century, selection in this breed was aimed more towards beef production, a capacity that was gradually increased over time and became elective in today Romagnola cattle. The morphological and functional characteristics of breeds that have been specialized for beef production, together with a dynamic past that is a guarantee of strength, have brought the Romagnola to the attention of foreign breeders. Starting in the Seventies, the breed has been introduced in a number of countries abroad such as Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, South Africa and Mexico. The balance achieved between beef traits and breeding traits, together with extreme hardiness under harsh environmental conditions and the proven quality of its nutritionally superior beef have placed the Romagnola breed among the finest beef cattle breeds in the world.

EVOLUTION AND SELECTION

During the eighteenth century, owing to its dynamic capacity, the Romagnola breed began to undergo selection activity that was geared towards beef production capacity as well. During the 1800s, this activity transformed Romagnola cattle into excellent animals that could fulfill a dual capacity, meat and work. A substantial push in the evolution towards the modern Romagnola cattle was stimulated by the establishment of an important center for the improvement and selection of the breed at the Torlonia farm of San Mauro Pascoli, an event that took place during the mid-1800's. Thanks to the capable work of engineer Leopoldo Tosi, the breed made enormous progress in a short amount of time, making it possible for the breed to gain significant success both in Italy as well as abroad. In fact, at the Paris exhibition held in 1900, the Romagnola breed, together with the Hereford, was awarded the title of best beef cattle breed. Numerous sires began to spread out from the Torlonia farm to the surrounding area. Among these, Medoro and Eros became particularly important since they established within this breed the typology that was specialized for beef production. For the most part, initial selection was based on phenotype, yet it was also combined with an assessment of functional capability (through weighing at typical ages) and of the ability to pass on desired traits. In particular, during meetings and markets (San Pietro in Vincoli and Lugo deserve special mention), the offSpring of the best breeders were compared in a sort of simplified "progeny test" and this contributed greatly to improving the breed. Currently, the need to have increasingly more productive subjects that satisfy market requirements has pushed selection towards a more modern and efficient type of animal in which beef-production characteristics are emphasized. This is the reason that, through its Genetic Center, ANABIC has initiated a selection program for the Romagnola breed that is based on the most advanced concepts of genetic and productive improvement for cattle. Breeders are selected through performance tests according to the following criteria: growth capacity, muscle development, estimates of high slaughter and carcass yields, while maintaining the features typical of the breed. Females are chosen not only on the basis of morphological and reproductive efficiency criteria, but also in relation to maternal capacity, or in other words, the cow's capacity to raise its young during the lactation phase. The selection program also envisions planned mating of the best tested bulls with the best cows, which have been indexed for maternal capacity. Artificial insemination and embryo transfer are used as much as possible.

SELECTION GOALS AND SCHEME

The selection scheme summarizes the activities that are carried out in order to ensure genetic improvement. These activities center on a genetic evaluation of the sires that are to be assigned to artificial insemination (5) on the basis of performance tests (1). Assessment and choice of breeding cows (6) is based on maternal capacity and reproductive efficiency, while mating (8) is aimed towards further accelerating genetic progress. Lastly, offspring are checked for traits that cannot be noted directly through performance tests (14).

MORPHOLOGICAL EVALUATION

Regardless of whether we are talking about bulls or cows, there are three parameters that must be taken into consideration in assessing breeders: productivity, genealogy and morphology. In beef cattle, where morphology also means function, the morphological evaluation becomes particularly important since it allows us to evaluate the capacity to produce muscle tissue and thus meat. In the past, far too much importance was given to aesthetic details due to the false assumption that there was a correlation between appearance and function. This inevitably led to formal evaluations that neglected the animal's true morphological and functional value and thus went beyond any logic of selection and genetic improvement. Consequently, evaluation methods needed to undergo radical changes. The concept of "outer beauty" was replaced with the concept of  "functional beauty" that was aimed towards identifying animals with the functional and morphological traits to become excellent breeders according to the selective trends that the Association had set for itself. The first significant modification was made in 1986 when ANABIC introduced a new morphological evaluation sheet that attributes greater weight to muscle development traits as compared to other trait groups (skeletal structure and breed characteristics). The definitive turning-point came when the breed standard was revised. With the new standard, in addition to channeling selection towards animals that were closer to market requirements, the following objectives were also pursued:

- maximum emphasis on characteristics related to beef production

- greater tolerance towards "formal" and non-functional morphological characteristics

- elimination of superfluous parts related to general zoognostic concepts

- maximum simplicity of explanation in order to avoid subjective interpretation.

BREED STANDARDS

SELECTION GOALS

The purpose of selection as far as the Romagnola breed is concerned is to obtain subjects with a marked capacity to produce beef (significant growth rate, early maturation and yield at slaughter) with excellent food-chemistry and nutritional characteristics, while safeguarding the ability to adapt to pasturing systems and good maternal capacities.

BULL AND COW  IDEAL CONFORMATION

STRUCTURE AND TYPE

Beef-cattle type characterized by notable somatic development and a harmonious structure, with evident hindquarters and transverse diameter; lively, alert and docile.

What is immediately striking about the Romagnola breed is its compact structure, which is due to the harmonious development of the animal's trunk featuring notable transverse diameters, and is also related to its well-expressed muscle development and relatively short legs. This compactness does not imply coarseness and must be accompanied by a light and distinctive head as well as lean, clean legs. Its agile movements and lively yet docile temperament represent additional elements that make it easy to appreciate the functional traits of a breed whose dynamic past can account for its great versatility in adapting even to harsh environments.

COAT - White with shades of gray spread, especially around the eye-sockets, the neck, the thighs and the ears.

PIGMENTATION - Black pigmentation should be seen in the following areas: oral mucosa, perivulvar and perianal area, switch and sheath hair, muzzle, hooves, tips of the horns and base of the scrotum The persistence of reddish hair exclusively around the poll area, a gray tail and partial depigmentation of the oral mucosa are tolerable in subjects with valuable functional-morphological traits.

The color of the coat is a basic ethnic trait. In the Romagnola, hair color is ivory with shades of gray that are more intense on the forequarters, especially in bulls. The coat changes appearance depending on the season. Because of the essentially continental climate of its native region, the Romagnola must face harsh winters and hot humid summers. Consequently, during the winter, the hair becomes much thicker and almost woolly-looking, darkening in color. Instead, during the summer the hair gets shorter and lighter. Coat color also varies according to the breeding system being used and is lighter on stall-feed subjects with respect to open-pasture animals. Another distinctive ethnic characteristic is the full fringe of hair extending from the sinciput down towards the forehead. Just as in all breeds derived from Podolica cattle, Romagnola calves are also born wheat-colored and then turn white at around three months of age. The presence of red hair, particularly on the poll, is tolerable in young subjects and/or in subjects with excellent morphological and functional characteristics. This trait does not represent crossbreeding, but indicates the discontinuous expression of genes present in the genetic inheritance of this breed. Pigmentation is pronounced.

SKIN- Thin, elastic, easy to lift.

For obvious reasons connected with increasing the market value of animals for slaughter, emphasis is laid on lightening the skin load. In particular, while the important role #plays in terms of thermoregulation must be recognized, the dewlap must not be overly abundant. This is also true as far as the sheath is concerned.

HEAD - Distinctive, expressive and light, not overly short; with a straight profile and a flat forehead, broad muzzle, light lyre-shaped horns that are not too long and have a round cross-section Dehorning is allowed.

Head dimensions, which must be proportionate to the subject's overall size, must indicate lightness and distinctiveness, showing very evident secondary sexual traits. The frontonasal profile should be straight or slightly concave and the forehead should be wide. The eyes are lively and, rather than being protruding, are sunken deep into the socket and have almond-shaped eyelids. The muzzle is wide, with broad masseters. The dewlap must be light around the neck area. The horns are also light, and are lyre-shaped in cows and half-moon-shaped in bulls. They are slate-gray in young subjects, whereas in adults they are yellowish-white at the base and have black tips. Ears are wide and set horizontally, and are extremely mobile.

NECK -  Short and muscular, with a rather pronounced gibbosity in bulls, muscular in females. Light dewlap.

Powerful and muscular neck, covered with numerous cutaneous lifts. The neck is more muscular in males, even at an early age. The dewlap should be light.

SHOULDER -  Broad and muscular, set closely to the trunk, parallel to the median sagittal plane and properly angled

The shoulder must be wide and should be covered with abundant muscle tissue. It must show harmonious continuity with the adjacent areas. In addition, there must be a proper joint angle between the scapula and the homerus (115-120°).

WITHERS - Broad and muscular.

They must be broad, muscular and flat, in relation with the productive capacity of this breed. This area must show notable muscle development on a general level and must blend harmoniously with the adjacent areas.

BACK - Straight, long, broad and muscular.

This is an area of fundamental importance, since the muscles comprising its anatomic base yield first-quality cuts that are rich in muscle tissue but low on connective tissue. The most important of these is the latissimus dorsi, which contribute to the value of the lombar region. The back must demonstrate the greatest possible muscle development, to the point of presenting double convexity, blending well into the adjacent areas of the withers and loins without any discontinuity whatsoever.

LOINS - Thick, straight, long, broad and muscular. Straight lumbodorsal line.

In addition to the longissimus dorsi, this region includes other sublombar muscles that constitute noble cuts such as fillet and sirloin. Like the back, the loins must also be extremely muscular, long and full. The dorsal line must be straight or slightly inclined from front to back (particularly in adult males). This shape indicates excellent structural strength and muscle tone.

CHEST - Broad and muscular.

This feature, which is a valid element for assessing thoracic capacity, must be broad and powerful, muscular, sloping and full.

THORAX - Broad and deep, with well-arched ribs and well-covered with muscle mass.

The area has a primary role in determining the development of the rib cage and thus of adequate coronary and pulmonary function. Therefore, it is an important index of constitutional strength. In the Romagnola, the ribs are well arched and set vertically. Thorax height is always greater than the distance from the sternum to the ground.

ABDOMEN - Broad and well-supported.

Modernization of the Romagnola type also involves a volumetric decrease of the abdomen, which must be well supported, making the underline practically straight. Adequate abdominal capacity is found in the increased length of the trunk, which works to the benefit of weight and yield.

FLANKS - Full well-connected with the adjacent areas.

This region, which is even, must not demonstrate any asymmetry that would indicate relaxation or stria of the abdominal coat.

RUMP - Long, broad and covered with enormous muscle mass; horizontal or slightly inclined from front to back. The sacral vertebrae are not very marked. Slender tail with proper insertion point, descending to the hock.

No compromises are possible as far as the surface and muscle development of the rump are concerned, given the importance of this area in producing first-quality cuts. Front-to-back inclination is more accentuated in this breed than it is in the Chianina or Marchigiana. The tail area must be flat and the tail must extend at least to the hock. The transverse diameters (fore, transtrochanteric and hind) are pronounced, so that this breed is predisposed to an extremely low rate of calving problems, even at first calving.

THIGH - Deep, broad, muscular and convex.

BUTTOCKS - Thick, muscular and noticeably convex.

These areas, which are of primary importance in beef cattle, are particularly well-developed in Romagnola subjects of both genders. Muscle development, which tends to be short-lined, is compact and has markedly convex profiles in both areas.

FORELEGS - Proper perpendicularity, muscular arms and forearms,, solid and light shin.

HIND LEGS - Proper perpendicularity, very muscular leg, lean strong hocks, solid and light shin.

FEET - Strong, very compact, with heels set high.

The Romagnola breed is widely recognized for the solidity of its legs and feed. Both the forelegs as well as the hind legs must be lean, with sharp and sturdy joints that exhibit proper perpendicularity. The foot is average in size and is properly angled. The horny tissue is well pigmented, strong, compact and the heels are high. Movement should be agile and graceful.

UDDER -  Well-developed vascularized and broad-based. Regular quarters. It should feel spongy. Well-directed teats that are suitably sized for suckling.

The Romagnola cow is able to raise its calves until weaning without any problems, even in unfavorable feeding situations. The udder should have a good capacity, with harmoniously developed quarters and properly-sized teats in order to ensure that the calf can be fed without any problems, particularly during the first few days after birth.

TESTICLES - Well-proportioned and developed descendent in the scrotum area.

BIOMETRIC DATA (Unit: cm)