Meat breeds at SPACE

Focus on the seven meat breeds presented at SPACE. You will find information on each breed and the schedule of the competitions.

The Rouge des Prés breed, in the spotlight at SPACE 2021

Back after 5 years, the Rouges de Prés breed organises its National competition. 

This year, the Rouge des Prés breed is back in the spotlight at SPACE. And this is particularly timely, because like the economy, the Rouge des Prés is enjoying a revival, with a new breed project, an expanded value chain and the promotion of its genetic and heritage advantages. All the breed associations are located at the Domaine des Rues in Chenillé Changé, the birthplace of the breed. Coordination is provided by the SICA Rouge des Prés, which brings together farmers, businesses and the value chain. In terms of genetics, selection is done to preserve the breed characteristics, such as large, extremely docile animals at adulthood, with good conformation and good milk potential. The insemination catalogue is managed by the SICA, and the Chenillé Changé individual control station evaluates 2 series of breeding stock every year. At the end of the evaluation, the bulls are put up for auction. The National Competition, which will be held at SPACE on Tuesday afternoon, is an opportunity to illustrate all the selection work carried out. The farmers are proud of the quality of their beef, and decided to create the Maine Anjou PDO label in 2004. In response to numerous requests from farmers and the value chain, the Label Rouge should be awarded to the cattle for the first time in 2021. 

NATIONAL COMPETITION

Mardi 14 septembre de 12h45 à 16h
70 animals from 10 departments. Judge: Didier LHUISSIER

AUCTION

Wednesday 15 September from 16.30 to 17.00
5 beef cattle will be offered for auction  

The Simmental race in a European Challenge

The Simmental race will be showcased at SPACE 2021 with a European Challenge. The animals presented will come from France, Germany and Austria. This breed present on the 5 continents easily combines milk production and meat production, and continues its development in the Great West of France.

The Simmental is one of the first world races in numbers, with 40 million heads. The milk/meat mix of the breed is mainly exploited in Europe, while on other continents it is mainly used as a meat breed. Traditionally established in the Eastern regions of France, the Simmental breed has developed over the last 20 years throughout France and more particularly in the Massif Central and Aveyron where it produces almost all of the AOC fromagère of Laguiole. It is in the West of France that the Simmental is developing recently thanks to its ability to adapt to different systems, whether grassland, extensive, more intensive… Its hardiness and longevity are also assets used in crosses on specialized milk breeds, as well as its mixing for the butcher valorization of animals.

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE 

Tuesday 14 September from 16.00 to 17.00
19 animals from France, Germany and Austria. The animals coming from abroad will be offer to sale. Judge: Yannick PRAT. 

GENOMIC ELITE SALE

Bidding will open on September 9, end of the sale at SPACE on Wednesday 15 September from 17.00
1 heifer

Blonde d’Aquitaine

The Blonde d’Aquitaine organises its interregional competition.

An old breed of work, the Blonde d'Aquitaine was born in 1962 of the union of 3 bovine branches of southwestern France: Garonnaise, Quercy and Blonde des Pyrénées. It is the result of a long history of selection. It's the third French meat breed with 530 000 animals, 35 000 qualified cows in the Herd Book and 1 000 farms belonging to the Herd Book. Appreciated for their high beef qualities, these animals have a good growth rate and excellent conformation for early production of purebred and crossbred meat. The breed has a specific and ideal morphology for high carcass yields: body length, fineness of bones and leather, conformation with an incomparable meat grain.

INTERREGIONAL COMPETITION 

Tuesday 14 September from 9.00 to 10.00
18 animals. Judge: Laurence PIERRE. 

The Charolais breed

The Charolais breed organises its interregional competition.

Charolaise is the leading French beef breed. It originated in what is today the Saône-et-Loire département in Bourgogne, from where it spread out across the rest of France. Bred in the 19th century in the lush pastures of the Charolaise region and the Nivernais plains, the Charolaise developed tremendous growth ability and excellent conformation, producing heavy carcasses. The Charolaise Herd Book was established back in 1864, and breeders have progressively selected for and improved these traits ever since. Today, the Charolaise is reputed for its absolutely outstanding feed efficiency and its strong maternal qualities: it produces more milk than any other specialized beef breed, meaning that Charolaise dams can meet all their calves’ suckling needs and enable male calves to gain at least 1,200 g a day in liveweight. The Charolaise makes good use of all types of forage, and this, combined with a docile disposition, make it readily adaptable to fit into most livestock systems – whatever the geography. It is therefore highly prized for all-purpose crossbreeding, not just in France but also abroad: Charolaise breed is present in 70 countries worldwide, and has even fathered brand-new breeds such as the Charbray (a Charolais x Brahman cross) or Canchim (a Charolais x Zebu cross).

INTERREGIONAL COMPETITION

Tuesday 14 September from 11.00 to 12.00

The Limousine breed

The Limousine breed organises interregional competition.

The Limousine breed was forged by its home region the Limousine, a predominantly pastureland area of France where winter conditions can prove tough. Decades of dedicated selection efforts have now culminated in a breed that is ideally suited to meat production. A standout feature of the Limousine breed is its ability to produce animals that consistently hit the same level of quality, regardless of age at slaughter: baby veal calves, calves weaned for fattening, young bull, heifers or cull cows – all equally prized by butchers and consumers alike. The success of these products hinges largely on the Limousine’s excellent carcass yield, as its thin hide and unusually slim skeletal convert into a remarkable saleable meat yield. Limousine meat gains added value through three official quality label: 'Bœuf Limousin', “Limousin free-range veal”, and 'Limousin Junior' (all three under prestige-edition Label Rouge). In addition to these outstanding carcass merit traits, the Limousine also boasts excellent maternal qualities (ease of calving, dam fertility and longevity, adaptability to different farming systems).

INTERREGIONAL COMPETITION

Tuesday 14 September from 10.00 to 11.00

The Salers breed

The Salers breed organises its interregional competition.

The Salers breed, originates in the Southern half of the Massif Central in the Auvergne region of France. They are a large breed, with the female weighing between 700 and 750 kg (1,543 to 1,653 lb) and standing 1.40 m (4.6 feet) tall. They have a thick, mahogany red or black coat, and long, lyre-shaped, light-coloured horns. A small percentage is naturally born without horns (polled). Originally bred for work, this dual-purpose breed was especially appreciated for its ability to withstand extreme variations in temperature, its fertility, its ease of breeding, its milk (even if the presence of the calf was required to milk it), and its meat. In Cantal, the farmers practise mountain pasture, with the herd passing summer at altitude in the mountains. A female can produce almost 3,000 kg (6,614 lb) of fat-rich milk each year of her life. The milk is traditionally used to produce Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée cheese such as Cantal and Salers cheese. The Salers is also used to produce veal calves by cross-breeding with Charolais cattle. Currently, about 300,000 head of Salers are in France. They are exported to more than 25 countries in Europe, North America, Africa, and Oceania. 

INTERREGIONAL COMPETITION

Tuesday 14 September from 12.00 to 12.25

The Parthenaise breed

The Parthenaise breed organises its interregional competition.

The Parthenais originated in the Centre of France, around the borders of Brittany to the Charente Basin, it is said to be one of the oldest french breeds with records going back to the beginnning of the Century. This breed provided good quality milk which was used to produce butter and they were also used for draught work. The French Parthenais Herdbook, established in 1893, is one of the oldest in France. In 1970, the breed society established a program of breed improvement with particular emphasis on the production of high quality beef. Fertility, regularity and ease of calving, and hardiness of calves are all excellent, with the result that productivity is very high, both numerically and by weight, furthermore the maternal qualities and milk yields of Parthenaise cows ensure that their calves grow well. Calving surveys reveal that 94% of fullbloods are unassisted, another survey found 28% require slight assistance and 66% require no assistance at all. The Parthenais thrives on all types of terrain and can cope with differing climatic conditions and has very good disease resistance. They have great mobility and thriftiness.

INTERREGIONAL COMPETITION

Tuesday 14 September from 12.25 to 12.45