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Aubrac cattle breed
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<blockquote data-quote="Aubracusa" data-source="post: 302754" data-attributes="member: 3755"><p>Hi, Mike --</p><p></p><p>Thanks for your posting.</p><p></p><p>Your information is good, but I'd like to add a few things to it.</p><p></p><p>Since the late 1970s, the French breed also underwent a significant breed-improvement effort sponsored by its association, Union Aubrac.</p><p></p><p>A large part of this effort was increased control by the association over the genetic selection and general direction of the breed.</p><p></p><p>I posted earlier their selection scheme through which they identify the best young bulls (roughly 2500, based on phenotype and maternal performance of dams, granddams, etc.) in the breed, and place the very best of these calves (roughly 150 head) on a forage-based test through the winter. The bottom 50% are slaughtered, the top (roughly) 50% are sold back to the breeders themselves, and the very top two or three animals are used in progeny testing. If these elite bulls clear the progeny testing hurdle, they are then approved for artificial insemination, and used on a widespread basis both in France and abroad.</p><p></p><p>At this test, we routinely see yearling bulls weighing 1100 pounds plus at a year of age on a ration that has very little grain. (I can get the precise ration for you later).</p><p></p><p>The unified selection system has also resulted in a great deal of uniformity from herd to herd, and the cattle also have superb structural soundness, since association technicians are very involved in helping producers select sires to use on their cow herds.</p><p></p><p>A great deal of the commercial Aubrac cows in the region are bred to extremely heavily muscled Charolais bulls. Most of these Charolais bulls are double-muscled, possessing some of the most extreme muscle pattern I've ever seen in any cattle of any breed anywhere. The bulk of the bull calves are purchased by Italian cattle feeders and shipped from the mountains of France to the Po Valley, one of Italy's primary grain-growing regions. </p><p></p><p>Many of the halfblood and fullblood heifers are kept by French breeders and used to produce Fleur d'Aubrac (Flower of Aubrac), a primarily grass-fed beef product. These heifers are slaughtered at 22 to 24 months of age, and the beef product they use is available on a seasonal basis -- something that creates an artificial "run" on the product when it's comes to the marketplace. Another branded Aubrac product is called Beouf Fermier d'Aubrac, which recently received the designation "Label Rouge" for its outstanding quality.</p><p></p><p>Since the information you submitted was written, the Aubrac breed has enjoyed substantial growth. In fact, since I first began investigating the breed in the early 1990s, I believe Aubrac numbers have doubled in France. We routinely see breeders from Ireland, Germany, England, Bulgaria and Russia who in the Aubrac region. Many of them are repopulating their herds following BSE and FMD, and have chosen Aubracs to do it with.</p><p></p><p>Because of Europe's heightened environmental concerns (when compared to America), the emphasis on forage-based beef production is much greater there than it is here. There are also much more stringent regulations governing the production of beef, particularly in Germany, and producers there have been pressured to find alternatives to the traditional, more grain-dependent breeds they once used.</p><p></p><p>I was with the director of Union Aubrac several years ago after he was involved with the exportation of several hundred Aubrac heifers to a former collective "Soviet" farm in Siberia. Management was terrible to non-existent. Facilities were rundown. No one there took any leadership in ensuring the cattle were fed or cared for. When my friend returned a year later to see the results, the majority of the Aubrac heifers had survived, while most of the other breeds exported there had great difficulties with deathloss and disease.</p><p></p><p>A direct result of this is that Aubracs are now among Europe's fastest-growing beef breeds. We see herds of Aubrac cattle across France, where we used to never see them at all.</p><p></p><p>Thanks,</p><p></p><p>Aubracusa</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aubracusa, post: 302754, member: 3755"] Hi, Mike -- Thanks for your posting. Your information is good, but I'd like to add a few things to it. Since the late 1970s, the French breed also underwent a significant breed-improvement effort sponsored by its association, Union Aubrac. A large part of this effort was increased control by the association over the genetic selection and general direction of the breed. I posted earlier their selection scheme through which they identify the best young bulls (roughly 2500, based on phenotype and maternal performance of dams, granddams, etc.) in the breed, and place the very best of these calves (roughly 150 head) on a forage-based test through the winter. The bottom 50% are slaughtered, the top (roughly) 50% are sold back to the breeders themselves, and the very top two or three animals are used in progeny testing. If these elite bulls clear the progeny testing hurdle, they are then approved for artificial insemination, and used on a widespread basis both in France and abroad. At this test, we routinely see yearling bulls weighing 1100 pounds plus at a year of age on a ration that has very little grain. (I can get the precise ration for you later). The unified selection system has also resulted in a great deal of uniformity from herd to herd, and the cattle also have superb structural soundness, since association technicians are very involved in helping producers select sires to use on their cow herds. A great deal of the commercial Aubrac cows in the region are bred to extremely heavily muscled Charolais bulls. Most of these Charolais bulls are double-muscled, possessing some of the most extreme muscle pattern I've ever seen in any cattle of any breed anywhere. The bulk of the bull calves are purchased by Italian cattle feeders and shipped from the mountains of France to the Po Valley, one of Italy's primary grain-growing regions. Many of the halfblood and fullblood heifers are kept by French breeders and used to produce Fleur d'Aubrac (Flower of Aubrac), a primarily grass-fed beef product. These heifers are slaughtered at 22 to 24 months of age, and the beef product they use is available on a seasonal basis -- something that creates an artificial "run" on the product when it's comes to the marketplace. Another branded Aubrac product is called Beouf Fermier d'Aubrac, which recently received the designation "Label Rouge" for its outstanding quality. Since the information you submitted was written, the Aubrac breed has enjoyed substantial growth. In fact, since I first began investigating the breed in the early 1990s, I believe Aubrac numbers have doubled in France. We routinely see breeders from Ireland, Germany, England, Bulgaria and Russia who in the Aubrac region. Many of them are repopulating their herds following BSE and FMD, and have chosen Aubracs to do it with. Because of Europe's heightened environmental concerns (when compared to America), the emphasis on forage-based beef production is much greater there than it is here. There are also much more stringent regulations governing the production of beef, particularly in Germany, and producers there have been pressured to find alternatives to the traditional, more grain-dependent breeds they once used. I was with the director of Union Aubrac several years ago after he was involved with the exportation of several hundred Aubrac heifers to a former collective "Soviet" farm in Siberia. Management was terrible to non-existent. Facilities were rundown. No one there took any leadership in ensuring the cattle were fed or cared for. When my friend returned a year later to see the results, the majority of the Aubrac heifers had survived, while most of the other breeds exported there had great difficulties with deathloss and disease. A direct result of this is that Aubracs are now among Europe's fastest-growing beef breeds. We see herds of Aubrac cattle across France, where we used to never see them at all. Thanks, Aubracusa [/QUOTE]
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