- French Simmental
French Simmental is a French cattle breed.
History
The breed originates from
Simmental cattle fromSwitzerland . They were imported to France at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1930, the stud book was opened. The breed was named Eastern red pied. (in french, "pie rouge de l'est").During 1970's, the French authorities tried to cross this breed with Montbeliard, but Montbeliard's breeders refused. French simmental are crossed with
Fleckvieh cattle and Swiss Simmental. The breed is named French Simmental at this moment. First bred inFranche-Comté , the breed is now found in the Auvergne. There are about 35,000 cows.Morphology
The colour is red pied, with white head and legs. The red is a clear tan.
Mature cows weigh 700 kg at 140 cm tall. Mature bulls weigh 1,100 kg at 150 cm tall.
Uses
They are used in both
beef andmilk production, but primarily for dairy. The cows give about 6,400 kg of milk every year. (4% fat and 3.3% of proteins) The milk is used for AOC cheeses, such as comté and laguiole. This breed is also used crossing with beef cattle such as charolais and limousin.ee also
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List of breeds of cattle
*Cattle External links
* [http://www.agroparistech.fr/svs/genere/especes/bovins/simment.htm French cattle breeds (in French) with photographs]
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