21/04/2026

Meet the World’s 5 Dairy Cow Breeds

Author: Friso

Have you ever wondered how many breeds of cattle there are? Although there are over a thousand breeds around the world, a large portion of the world’s milk production is acquired from just a handful of dairy cow breeds.

Common breeds of dairy cows include:

Jersey

Short-horned and small-framed cows that come from the British Channel Islands.¹

Brown Swiss

The brown cows are one of earth’s oldest cattle breeds and have lived in Switzerland for thousands of years.²

Guernsey

This shy breed originates from Guernsey, an island off the coast of France. ³

Milking Shorthorn

A fertile, low-maintenance and adaptive breed4 that originates from Northeastern England and is bred for both beef and milk.⁵

Among the different varieties, the Holstein-Friesian breed, which is native to the Netherlands, has been long-favoured around the world for its high-quality milk.⁶

Friso-owned farms, which produce NOVAS Signature Milk, have a high percentage of Holstein-Friesian cows, which are fed specialised feeds by experienced cattle-farming families. These specialised feeds, comprising fibre, energy sources, vitamins and minerals, are fine-tuned to meet the dietary needs of each cow, so that they will produce nutrient-rich milk, which is then used to make NOVAS Signature Milk.

In addition, Friso farmers selectively breed the cows that produce the best quality milk, and often use trackers to constantly monitor each cow's health status.

Furthermore, the Holstein-Friesian cows from Friso-owned farms produce a milk of relatively low casein mineralisation. Milk with low levels of casein mineralisation is known to form soft curd particles that are easily digested in the stomach^.

As parents, we only want the best dairy milk for our children. If you raise your children on NOVAS Signature Milk, you can rest assured that your little ones are receiving all the nutrients that they need.