They are a large breed, with the female weighing between 700 and 750kg (1,543 to 1,653lb) and standing 1.40 m (4.6feet) 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).
In the 19th century, the breeder Ernest Tyssandier d'Escous set about to better the breed by selective breeding.
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 3,000kg (6,614lb) 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, as well as the AOC Fin Gras du Mézenc. The Salers is also used to produce veal calves by cross-breeding with Charolais cattle.
These are the cattle breeds considered in France to be wholly or partly of French origin. Inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is predominantly or exclusively French.
The Holstein Friesian is an international breed or group of breeds of dairy cattle. It originated in the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland and in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It is the dominant breed in industrial dairy farming worldwide, and is found in more than 160 countries. It is known by many names, among them Holstein, Friesian and Black and White.
Dairy cattle are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species Bos taurus.
The Brown Swiss or American Brown Swiss is an American breed of dairy cattle. It derives from the traditional triple-purpose Braunvieh of the Alpine region of Europe, but has diverged substantially from it. It was selectively bred for dairy qualities only, and its draft and beef capabilities were lost. Milk yield was measured in 2013 at 10231 kg (22600 lb) per year; the milk has about 4% butterfat and 3.5% protein and is suitable for making cheese.
Salers is a French semi-hard cheese originating from Salers, in the volcanic region of the Cantal mountains of the Massif Central, Auvergne, central France. It is a pressed, uncooked cheese, sometimes made from Salers cow's milk, between 15 April and 15 November. It is circular in shape, formed in rounds weighing around 40 kilograms (88 lb). The cheese is aged in caves at temperatures ranging from 6–12 °C for a minimum of 3 months, and up to 45 months.
The Abondance is a cross breed of cattle which originated in the high valleys of Haute-Savoie, France.
Laguiole, sometimes called Tome de Laguiole, is a pressed uncooked French cheese from the plateau of Aubrac, situated at between 800 - 1400m, in the region of Aveyron in the southern part of France. It takes its name from the small town of Laguiole and has been protected under the French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) since 1961 and a Appellation d'origine protégée since 1996. Laguiole is said to have been invented at a monastery in the mountains of Aubrac in the 19th century. According to historical accounts, the monks passed down the recipe for making this cheese from cattle during the alpages to the local buronniers, the owners of burons, or mountain huts.
The Old Gloucester or Gloucester is a traditional British breed of cattle originating in Gloucestershire and surrounding areas in the West Country of England. It was originally a triple-purpose breed, reared for milk, for beef and for draught use; it is now a dual-purpose animal. It is an endangered breed, and its conservation status is listed as "priority" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.
The Aubrac is a French breed of domestic beef cattle. It originates on the Plateau de l'Aubrac in the Massif Central in central southern France, from which it also takes its name. It has a wheat-coloured coat and dark hooves, switch, muzzle and eyes.
The Montbéliarde is a breed of red pied dairy cattle from the area of Montbéliard, in the département of Doubs, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France. It is used mainly for dairying and particularly for cheesemaking.
The Agerolese is a breed of dairy cattle from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. It derives from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Italian Holstein-Friesian, Bruna Italiana and Jersey cattle. It is one of the sixteen minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognised and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture.
Kerry cattle are a rare breed of dairy cattle, native to Ireland. They are believed to be one of the oldest breeds in Europe, probably derived from small black cattle brought to Ireland by Neolithic man. They were probably also the first cattle bred mainly for milk production, with other breeds being developed mainly for draught and meat. The climate of southwestern Ireland was suitable for milk production year-round, and the Celts also stored milk in the form of cheese and butter.
The Aure et Saint-Girons or Casta is an endangered French breed of domestic cattle. The breed name derives from its two principal areas of origin, the Vallée d'Aure in the département of the Hautes-Pyrénées, and the area of Saint-Girons and the Couserans in the Ariège. The name "Casta" derives from its chestnut colour.
Canadienne cattle, also known as Black Canadienne, French Canadienne, and Black Jersey, are the only breed of dairy cattle developed in Canada. They originated in the 16th century, when French settlers brought cattle over for foundation stock to settle Canada. The Canadienne were the most common breed of domestic cattle in Canada until the late 19th century, when other breeds began to displace them. Today, the Hereford and Holstein have become the most common types of cattle in Canada. The Canadienne, though still found on farms and ranches across the nation, is now comparatively rare except in certain areas of the province of Quebec. Efforts by an active breed society and the Quebec government have been made in recent years to preserve the breed from extinction.
Icelandic cattle are a breed of cattle native to Iceland. Cattle were first brought to the island during the Settlement of Iceland a thousand years ago. Icelandic cows are an especially colorful breed with a wide variety of colours and markings. Icelandic cattle have been genetically isolated for centuries, but are most closely related to a breed in Norway called Blacksided Troender- and Nordland Cattle. No cattle are permitted to be imported into Iceland, so they have been protected by strict disease-prevention measures.
The Ferrandaise is an endangered French breed of domestic cattle from the département of Puy-de-Dôme, in the Massif Central mountains of Auvergne, in central France. It is named for the city and commune of Clermont-Ferrand, the capital of Puy-de-Dôme.
The goat or domestic goat is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the animal family Bovidae and the tribe Caprini, meaning it is closely related to the sheep. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat. It is one of the oldest domesticated species of animal, according to archaeological evidence that its earliest domestication occurred in Iran at 10,000 calibrated calendar years ago.
The British Milksheep is a robust, dual-purpose sheep commonly known for its milking characteristics.
The Corse or Corsicana is a French breed of cattle indigenous to the island of Corsica.
The Valdostana Pezzata Rossa is an Italian breed of cattle from Valle d'Aosta region in north-western Italy. It is red-pied, usually with white legs, stomach and face. It is one of three regional breeds in the area, the others being the Valdostana Castana and the Valdostana Pezzata Nera. Like them, it derives from inter-breeding of various local breeds and types of cattle. The most important of these were Swiss Simmental cattle, which came into the Valle d'Aosta over the Great St. Bernard Pass. The Valdostana Pezzata Rossa is a dual-purpose breed, raised mainly for milk, but also for meat. Management is normally transhumant: the cattle are stabled only in winter, and spend the summer months on the mountain pastures of the Alps.
The Villard-de-Lans, or villarde, is a French cattle breed native to the outskirts of the homonymous town in the Vercors mountain pass within the French Prealps. This wheat-colored cow was for many years used for agricultural labor, milking and meat production, before World War II and the industrialization of cattle breeds led to its decline.
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