Cattle breeding through the ages

[topground]

Interesting article but it doesnt touch upon why there are so many different colour ranges amongst cattle breeds when they are all the same colour with their jackets off.
I guess breeders wanted something to set their animals apart from the competition so developed coat colours to set them apart in addition to their conformation and ability to cope with local conditions.
Sheeted Somerset the way forward in this part of the world?

 

[Cowgirl]

I'm not a hundred percent sure of my history but the belt buckle craze was started as the Americans and Argentines wanted smaller carcasses so they could transport them easier in ships so they hung and matured on route. Same reason the supermarkets have put the weight cap on now so the joints and cuts fit the packaging they want to put it in.

OT

That is often quoted but I'm not sure how relevant it is - from these articles it would seem that it was a general trend throughout North America, not just beef for export. At that time animals were fairly small here as well (though maybe not quite so small as in these photos) and UK was still exporting live animals. I thought it was more to do with smaller joints for post war households, and it wasn't until the late seventies / eighties that the medics made people terrified of eating fat - before that when I was young, many people enjoyed fatty meat.