History of the Galloway Breed

The Galloway is one of the world's oldest beef breeds, the descendant of two distinct aboriginal breeds of Scotland. The word "Galloway" is derived from Gallovid, which in old Scot signifies "a Gaul." Noted frequently by historians for their thick, wooly hides and their hornless condition, Galloway emerged as the beef breed of choice in the 15th and 16th Centuries and continued to dominate England's and Scotland's beef trade for hundreds of years.

The merits of the breed did not go unnoticed by early cattle breeders, leading to the use of the Galloway breed in the creation of the Red Poll and Shorthorn breeds, with the Shorthorn subsequently used in the development of Angus. Of the many British breeds of cattle, only two remain free of outside blood: The Galloway and the Scottish Highland. At five centuries, the Galloway is the oldest and purest British cattle breed in existence.

Today, the Galloway breed is better than ever.  The ever increasing concern about health and the environment has created a rapidly increasing demand for grass fed and grass finished beef.  The Galloway is perfectly equipped to take on this challenge.  They have the ability to deliver a superior beef product on forage alone.  As William M'Combie, the great Scottish improver of the Aberdeen-Angus breed wrote in 1836, " The Galloway has undoubtedly many great qualifications.  On poor land they are unrivaled, except perhaps by the small Highlanders.  They were grazed on a 100 acre park of poor land ... so poor, indeed, that our Aberdeens could not subsist upon it."  This quality survives to this day and makes it possible for the Galloway breed to not just survive but thrive in a forage only environment and deliver an eating experience second to none.