07/22/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/14i5ErKz8sa/?mibextid=wwXIfr
The Angus cow is now heavier at maturity than the Charolais.
Ask a rancher which breed makes the biggest cow and most will say Charolais or Simmental. The research says otherwise.
Researchers at the University of Nebraska and the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center tracked over five thousand cows and nearly 109,000 weight records. Adjusted for sire sampling, Angus was the heaviest at maturity of the sixteen breeds compared. Charolais came in just behind, about nine kilograms lighter, roughly twenty pounds. At the far end, Braunvieh sat about 137 kilograms below Angus, around three hundred pounds.
The full order from heaviest down ran Angus, Charolais, Hereford, Brahman, Salers, Santa Gertrudis, Simmental, Maine-Anjou, Limousin, Red Angus, Brangus, Chiangus, Shorthorn, Gelbvieh, Beefmaster, Braunvieh.
That is worth sitting with. The breed most people picture as the moderate British cow now tops the list, ahead of the Continental breeds that were imported specifically for size.
A bigger cow eats more every day of her life, whether or not she weans a bigger calf. That is the whole cow-size argument in one sentence, and it is why some outfits are deliberately breeding back down.
Has your cow herd gotten bigger than you wanted? 👇
