American Lineback
(most common name)

(local/other name):
• Lineback Cattle
• Skunk cows
(historical breed name):
• American G Lineback

The American Lineback started with random imports in the early 1800s of white-backed and colorsided animals from England, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Germany. Some farmers began selecting for this pattern, as was documented with the Holderness herd mentioned in 1890 by L. F. Allen in his work on American cattle.

Organized breeding of linebacked cattle in the USA started in 1985 with the formation of the American Lineback Cattle Registry.

This page was last updated on: 2023-05-14

You can also go to:

My Daily Cow® USA and read about other American cattle breeds.

The Cow Wall® A-Z Cattle Breed Picture Reference to see other breeds of cattle in the world.