Dual purpose Cattle

In addition to the milk production direction and the meat production direction, there are also mixed forms of both directions, which are called dual purpose breeds. Nevertheless, the importance of one of the two types of production often predominates. The best-known dual purpose cattle in Germany are the Simmental-Fleckvieh and Brown Swiss breeds. They are most common in the south of the country and are the major cattle breeds there. These breeds are represented in particular by the ASR and the ARGE Brown Swiss.

Smaller breeds are, for example, the Red & White dual purpose breed (DN), the German Black & White dual purpose breed (DSN) or the Pinzgauer breed. The first named breed corresponds to the original breeding direction of the Red Holsteins, before a stronger orientation of the breed towards higher milk production took place. In contrast to the Red & White DN, the so-called Red Holsteins are hardly suitable for intensive fattening today.

Many of the smaller breeds are on the list of endangered cattle breeds and their keeping and breeding is specifically supported by the federal states' support programmes.

Some breeds, especially in the past, were kept for a third use. They were kept as working animals or draught animals in the fields for ploughing or for pulling carts when transporting various goods or people.