Meeting with GAEC LES ALPAGISTES in Megève (74): 90% Abondance and 10% Tarine mixed herd
12 June 2024
Meeting with GAEC DES RAPILLES (Engins 38) A major player in AURIVA genetics
18 June 2024Meeting with Damien, partner at GAEC D'ARPOS at Sentenac d'Oust in Ariège (09)
A farm that's been around for generations
“The GAEC exists thanks to the work of 5 generations of dairy farmers since the beginning in the 1960s, and the production of cheese in summer pastures. My grandparents milked cows of the Brune and Montbéliarde breeds, joined in the 90s by my mother, Gisèle. In 2003, they decided to stop dairy farming and switch exclusively to veal calf rearing. When I set up in 2011, we created a GAEC and built up a dairy herd, a barn and a cheese dairy. In 2016, my brother David joined the GAEC, bringing with him a herd of Gasconne suckler cows (the local breed here!).
The GAEC now consists of 3 UTH.
In 2018, we were lucky enough to be able to buy our first Tarine heifers from Ferme du Plateau (also a Tarine breeder in Ariège). Père Timoléon has sold us his best cows to offer us a high level of genetics.
Today the livestock consists of :
- 25 Tarine and a few Abondance dairy cows
- 40 Gasconne suckler cows
- 30 dairy and suckler heifers
- 300 Castillonnaise ewes (a local breed of sheep bred for meat). Our ewes make the most of our slopes and the lambs are sold for meat.
Our UAA covers 140 ha, not including the summer pastures where we keep our ewes, Gascony cows and heifers. 80% of the production is transformed directly on site into Pyrenean tommes, the rest is sold to an ice cream maker.
Why did you choose Tarine?
“It’s a breed adapted to our territory and our mountain system. It’s hardy and easy to move around. We also chose it for the richness of its milk and its ‘easy-going’ character. We’ve always been passionate about this breed, so it wasn’t a difficult choice to make.
Since 2018, we’ve been buying 2 to 3 2-3-month-old heifers a year. In 2023, we bought 3 pregnant heifers from the Cap Tarentaise heifer workshop. The herd is only getting bigger!”
What differences have you noticed since Tarines arrived on the farm?
“In terms of herd management, they adapt better than Montbeliarde cows to sloping pastures, and continue to produce milk in quantity and quality despite the summer drought. Their good body condition is maintained throughout the year, even when grazing conditions become difficult.
In terms of production, on the same feed as the previous herd, we have seen a 3-point increase in TP thanks to the arrival of the Tarines.
We’ve also noticed an increase in cheese yield: on the same vat, we produce 2 more tommes.
The cheeses also taste better, are smoother and have a softer texture. The same goes for white cheeses.
Milk used to make Tomme des Pyrénées cheese
“We produce 120,000 liters of milk a year. Between 80,000 and 100,000 liters of milk are processed into Pyrenean tomme, more specifically Bethmale. The rest is sold to an ice cream parlour, i.e. about 20,000 liters a year.
In terms of marketing, 40% of cheeses are sold to a creamery, 30% to local shops and 30% direct to the store.
Milk for ice cream is sold at 0.85€/L and milk for tommes is valued at 1.15€/L.
The Tarine’s image as a mountain breed not only enhances its value, but also improves yields, as there is less loss of whey.
In terms of genetics, what are your choices?
“We inseminate all our purebred females to optimize the choice of replacement females.
Our 3 main selection objectives are :
- The udder: for the health and ageing of cows
- Rates: important in cheese-making
- Balance: cows can walk for up to 30 minutes, depending on the plot.
Every female born is genotyped, which today represents around 80% of the herd.
When planning, we use the vast majority of genomic bulls, which are the driving force behind genetic progress.
"With this article, we'd like to take the opportunity to thank Father Timoléon, then Father Rémy of the Plateau farm, who have always welcomed us with kindness and sold us animals of a high genetic level, enabling us to launch into the breed with animals adapted to the mountains, stanchion barns and interesting rates (for processing). We would like to extend our deepest sympathy and thanks to them. For them, the interest in advancing the breed in the Pyrenees comes before their personal interests, which is very rare these days. We'd also like to thank Cap Tarentaise and AURIVA, especially Manon, who has been with us from the start. Despite the fact that we're a long way from the cradle of the breed, and that we only had 3 heifers at the start, she helped, supported and advised us, enabling us to develop and expand the herd. We were always considered and not scorned, despite the fact that we were just starting out, which for us was very touching and motivating in the Tarentaise breed!"
And tomorrow?
“We’ve got lots of goals! The first would be to convert the entire herd to the Tarine breed and increase the number of females born to supply the Pyrenees with Tarine. Because yes, the demand is there, and it’s getting bigger all the time!
We’d also like to try our hand at ET, so that we can make faster progress in genetics.
Another of our projects is to federate a group of breeders to create a syndicate to give the breed greater visibility at various events and competitions in the Pyrenees.
Finally, we’d love to have a bull in the AURIVA catalog one day!
Download our Tarentaise 2024 catalog
