MRIJ

Meuse-Rhine-Yssel cattle (abbreviated as MRY) originates from two regions in The Netherlands; partly from the province Overijssel (along the river Yssel) and partly from the east of the province Noord-Brabant (along the rivers Meuse and Rhine). MRY cattle have been registered at NRS (currently known as CRV) since 1874, and in 1905 the MRY were recognized as a breed and the MRY herd book was started. In those days, MRY was one of the three most common breeds in The Netherlands, besides Dutch Friesian and Groningen White Headed cows. Up to the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, MRY represented 25% of the Dutch dairy cows (more than 500,000 cows). Since then, the number of purebred MRY decreased rapidly, with a strong decrease since 1999. In 2004, approximately 14,000 cows with at least 87.5% (7/8) MRYblood were registered. In 2008 the number increased slightly up to 15,000 cows