Demographic structure and population dynamics of Maremmana cattle local breed after 35 years of traditional selection

•Herdbook in Maremmana beef cattle monitored genetic diversity and kept inbreeding under control•Effective population size is recovering from a dramatic bottleneck however inbreeding rate is accelerating.•Immediate measures to further control kinship, particularly in small herds required.•Herdbook raised awareness among breeders for accurate parentage recordings .•Herdbook pedigree data should drive the introduction of genomics in local populations.