MRY is a red-and-white dual purpose breed. The cows are easy to manage for farmers and are relatively good in coping with changing conditions. MRYcows have a good fertility and they calve easy. The cows have a high protein content in the milk, with a favorable fat/protein ratio and they are strongly muscled. In general, the cows are strong, robust, calm, and muscled with thick thighs and strong legs.

MRY cows are robust animals that still have a good production with a sober ration and they also give good meat. Farmers can produce their milk in an inexpensive way. MRY farmers earn 1 or 2 eurocents more per kilogram of produced milk than their Holstein colleagues.

The MRY breed is an old red-and-white dubble purpose breed, coming from the basin of the three rivers Meuse, Rhine and IJssel (or Yssel), from which the name is derived. Although the number of animals has declined due to the increase of Red Holstein, MRY is after Holstein the biggest breed of The Netherlands.

MRY is widely used for crossbreeding and is the third most popular breed in the Netherlands. A modern breeding programme has been developed by CRV in order to breed MRY cows that produce milk with high components, persistency, and minimum veterinary costs. CRV selects about 12 MRY bulls per year.

Are you interested in crossbreeding? Our CrossFit programme offers various options for crossbreeding with MRY. Find a representative in your region or request more information via our contact form.