Herd Profiles

In This Section: Why these breeders chose Aubrac Herd profile in Ireland Herd profile in France Why these breeders chose Aubrac Liam Walsh, Ballintra, Co. Donegal "Doing some research into the Aubrac breed and their terrain, we found the land to be similar to that of the North West of Ireland. It was then, we decide to introduce them to our farm 4 years ago. We found this year in particular with the wet summer, the Aubrac calves have gained condition on no creep feed just as well as our commercial calves on creep feed. We keep our heifer calves to increase our herd. Bull calves are sold for breeding and those who are not sold, we slaughter. Being in the butchering trade, I would grade them as top class cattle with a nice covering of white fat and pink meat and an excellent boning percentage of grade one. Two of the bulls we slaughtered this year: one 13 months with a kill out weight of 344kgs (75,03% meat yield) and the other was 16 and a half months with a carcase weight of 457kgs (85% meat yield)." Kim McCall, Calverstown, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare "In 1996, I wanted to change from the heavy cow to more economical one and whilst in France settled on Aubrac, as it was reported to have the qualities I needed: medium size, docility, good reproductive health, reliability in calving, longevity and adequate beef, economical in maintenance. Having built the herd to 46 cows, to date all these traits have proven themselves. When the Aubrac bull is crossed with the remaining commercial cows the result is eagerly awaited by finishers and farmers wanting replacement heifers. The Aubrac Breed has created for me a good incentive to stay in farming." Herd profile in Ireland Sean O’Driscoll, Thornhill, Skibbereen, Co. Cork "The first Aubracs arrived in Skibbereen in County Cork as embryos in 1992 and the first shipment of live animals was imported in 1996. Sean O’Driscoll from Skibbereen in West Cork is a founder member of the Irish Aubrac Society and he explains his decision to opt for the Aubrac back in 1992; I was looking for a low maintenance suckling cow which would produce a good beefy calf. I had tried various other breeds and none of them were quite what I was looking for. After some searching I came across the Aubrac, which seemed to satisfy all the traits in a suckler cow that I was looking for such as easy calving, low maintenance and docility. I imported embryos in 1991 and in 1992 we had calves on the ground. One of those original heifer calves is still on my farm and has consistently bred calves every year”. Most farmers who have chosen this breed have done so for its ease of care and management to compliment their busy working life while at the same time producing good returns. With the emphasis now being put on quality rather than quantity related to premiums, farmers are becoming more aware than ever that the future of cattle breeding is going to be pure economics. Sean is one such farmer who combines his farming with off-farm interests and he has been impressed at how economical the Aubrac have proven to be compared to other breeds; The Aubrac find it very easy to survive on poor land and they have no deep tendencies for a constant supply of fresh grass. They are ideal during times like this past summer when grass growth was at a minimum”. Of all beef breeds produced in Europe, Aubracs come from the highest altitudes up the mountains in the centre of southern France, so their hardiness, docility and economic traits have been determining factors for Irish farmers in selecting the Aubrac. Irish farmers have also been impressed by the longevity of the Aubrac and their consistent ability to produce a live calf every calendar year, for as many years as possible. The calf tends to be easily born which lowers the stress level of the cow allowing her to milk well and go back in calf in as short a time as possible. The longevity of the cows means that the original investment is well paid back with numerous calves and there is less need for farmers to keep replacement heifers allowing them to consistently put more calves up for sale. Sean strongly believes that a niche market exists for breeding Aubrac’s to cross with Coulard Charolais bulls for beef purposes; At the moment I have 95 Aubracs including three bulls which I have imported for breeding bloodlines. I am breeding the Aubrac for their maternal traits so that they can be crossed with the Charolais, Aberdeen Angus or Belgian Blue. The crosses can be finished after 14 months and are ideal for the high quality Italian market”. The Aubrac has a well developed gut allowing it to make the best possible use of the cheapest forage available to herbivores; grass. Their natural beefing ability comes to the fore in Ireland where grass is more abundant than in their country of origin. They can live and do well on a forage based diet but thrive fast if fed concentrates when finishing for slaughter. Local Irish butchers like the Aubrac for its very high kill out and exceptional meat yield. Young bulls consistently grade E and U and the meat is tasty and dense." Herd profile in France Breeders Profile : Mr Andre Valadier. (Ex President of the UPRA Aubrac, Founder of Laguiole’s Jeune Montagne cheese coop, Aubrac breeder and regarded by most as one of the instigator of the revival of local traditions in the Aubrac area) Extracted and translated from "Paroles de Burons" (Buron’s talks) "Andre Valadier comes from a humble farming background. His parents farmed 20 hectares, and his father often had to hire himself as a farm hand to complete the family income. Every year, he trained and prepared a pair of draught bullocks for the sale in Lacalm. Like all breeders this pair of bullocks was one of the main incomes of the year, and the pride of the herd. If the bullocks could not be sold they sadly had to be slaughtered as the family needed money to keep going. He was a bright student and avid reader and after his leaving Cert., aged 14, he was advised by his teacher to keep studying but preferred to farm. His father bought an extra 9 hectares near La Terrisse, so both of them could work together. Shortly after this, his father died, killed by a tree he was felling and Andre had to carry on farming on his own. At that time breeding in the Aubrac was at a turning point faced with competition from heavier or higher milk yield breeds (Holstein). At the same fair in Lacalm, in 1963, a farmer needed to sell 3 Aubracs to buy 1 heifer of any other breed. Cows that had been the wealth of the mountain were now unsaleable. The use of Charolais bulls was becoming more common and the breed sliding from milk to beef. The result of such selection was in Andre’s terms : the Aubrac Cow is nowadays 200Kg heavier than her grand mother and produces half the amount of milk. 40 years ago a cow could feed her calf with no supplements, to reach a weaning weight of 300 Kg on average, now with no supplements, in the same conditions the weight of the calf will only be 250 Kg. A few pockets of resistance kept the maternal side of the breed going, mostly in the very poor areas where the more demanding Charolais and beefier animals could not thrive. There were also the uncompromising "true" Aubrac breeders. It was not uncommon at that time for the dying owner of a herd to ask for his cows to be gathered outside the window, and once the priest had gone be left to die there in their company. Andre carried on using Charolais bulls from 1955 until 1970. During that time, the calving percentage of the herds went down from 9.8 calves/cow to 7.5 calves/cow due to the use of first generation Charolais X females. In 1970 came the wake up call with the oil prices soaring. The breed had to take a new orientation, less dependant on bought in food (the Aubrac area is not suitable for crop production), more self sufficient and economical. Andre Valadier for his part was keen to preserve the local traditions including milking of Aubrac cows. On the 1st of March 1960, the cheese making Cooperative “Jeune Montagne” was founded. To raise the cash necessary, Andre goes around offering shares in the Coop. This is a completely new concept in the area but very welcome as the collection and price of milk in the Aubrac had declined dangerously. The business went from strength to strength and has now moved to just outside Laguiole, employing over 30 people in the cheese making section, and transforms 10 million litres of milk a year (Aubrac and Simmental) into 2 different cheeses. Andre Valadier is also very active in political circles, and played an important role over the years in the revival of the local traditions. He also got involved at a high level in the improvement programs of the Aubrac breed, is one of the founders of the bull testing station and was President of the UPRA Aubrac for many years. He is now battling to isolate very milky blood lines, and intends along with the Union Aubrac to work on embryos to bring back high milk yield in selected lines for the benefit of the Aubrac breed."