The British have not had luck with their cattle. Along with the mad cow incident a while back which prevented me from donating blood for several years, in 1860 they also had a cattle plague and had to kill thousands of cows. That is when Americans "took over" making cheddar from them.
I have also learned that the pastuerization laws in the U.S. prevent us from coming up with famous cheeses and having some of the best cheeses imported here.