The Hereford has become the universal beef producer and the cornerstone of the beef economy in all cattle-raising countries of the world.

The breed dominates the prairies, the pampas and the Russian steppes.

Roy Lewis charts its development down the centuries.

THAT dominant white face, white mane and red-and-white body has become the hallmark of Hereford cattle the world over.

The docile breed, so painstakingly developed over centuries, has carried the name of the county to some of the farthest-flung places of the globe and today the popularity of the cattle keeps on growing. Herefords were bred from native herds that existed in the county from ancient times.

Earliest mention of the cattle is in an article of 1610 by travel writer John Speed who observed that the climate of Herefordshire was most helpful and that the soil was so fertile for corn and cattle that no place in England yielded better conditions.

The cattle, he said, were a colour similar to the soil of the county.

However, it was Richard Tomkins of D C Black Hall, Kings Pyon, who claimed to have started the breed in 1700. Much is known about Richard because he was a stickler for keeping records, as few farmers did at the time.

The Tomkins had been well established around the Pyons since the 15th century and, in his will of 1720, Richard bequeathed the estate to his son.

Among the cattle he inherited was a bull calf from the cow Silver and two cows, Pidgeon and Mottle; from these Benjamin Tomkins is credited with founding the Hereford breed.

This was 18 years before Robert Bakewell began developing his theories of animal breeding. From the start, Mr Tomkins had, as his goals, economy in feeding, natural aptitude to grow and gain from grass and grain, rustling ability, hardiness, early maturity and prolificacy, traits that are still of primary importance today.

Other pioneering breeders were to follow the Tomkins' lead and stablish the world-wide renown for the Herefordshire cattle, causing their exportation from England to wherever grass grows and beef production is possible.

In the middle of the 19th century, Herefords continued to be bred in an isolated and truly rural part of England - as Herefordshire was until the coming of the railway in the 1860s - and continued to show they were grazing cattle par excellence.

It was their hardiness and ability to produce meat off grass that pened up the export market.

The Hereford has shown it can exist and has existed with credit in more parts of the world than any other breed.

In 1775, Herefords were introduced into Ireland, first exported to the USA in 1817, and in 1825 were shipped to Australia, having to suffer violent storms during the trip with a number them dying.With the Hereford being so well established, the Hereford Herd Book was first published in 1846 and this was followed by the formation of societies in many countries.

The Hereford continued to fly the flag for Britain in more and more new pastures, including Russia in 1904.

David Pothero, secretary of the Hereford Cattle Society, says the breed's popularity eventually peaked in Britain during the mid-70s when the introduction of numerous breeds from abroad began to erode the market for Herefords.

For a time bull licensing was abolished enabling cattle of all shapes and sizes to flood into Britain. But by the time control was restored another threat to the Hereford had emerged across the Atlantic. The surplus of corn in North America resulted in many US and Canadian beef producers switching from raising Hereford beef on the huge prairies to corn-feeding cattle, relentlessly pursuing the goal of larger size animals.

The fashion for bigger animals and more profits also established itself in Britain with some breeders importing bulls and at the same time endeavouring to retain the fine Hereford attributes such as quiet, easy-to-manage cattle with good mothering instincts.

However, since 2000 the circle has been turning in favour of native breeds.

With the Herefords, the barometer of popularity can be fairly accurately gauged by the number of calves born.

Said Mr Prothero: "We dropped to around 3,000 about four years ago but since then we have seen this number grow to 5,000 and membership, which also dropped to an all-time low of 600, is now close to 1,000."

These sort of numbers are a drop in the ocean when you compare them with countries like Australia.

At one calf sale down under, 6,000 Herefords were sold in just two days - that's more than the entire UK herd.