From meadow to PDO: How Holsteins boost character cheeses
2 February 2026
Genetics, grazing and longevity: a controlled balance
23 February 2026GAEC DE LA CROUZETTE (CALMONT - 12)
BREEDING IN DETAIL
► 3 partners: Julien CAULET
and his parents + 1 apprentice
► 100 Dairy Cows
► 985,000 L delivered to Lactalis
► Milking robot with stalls
► SenseHub heat detector
► UAA: 180 Ha
At GAEC de la Crouzette, in Calmont, Aveyron, nothing is left to chance when it comes to organization. Spread over several sites, cultivation demands rigorous time management, particularly for the dairy herd.
“We spend 1h30 in the morning, 1h in the evening, and apart from interventions (ultrasounds, trimming…), we don’t come back during the day” , explains Julien. Thanks to the monitoring system, heat detection is automated and sorting is carried out directly in the pen, reducing stress for the cows and facilitating the inseminator’s work.
In this quest for maximum efficiency per UTH, AUTONOM bulls are the natural choice. With offspring that are easy to live with, profitable and robust, they are ideal for systems that aim for productivity without sacrificing free time.
In 2024, the GAEC was among the Top 15 in Aveyron in terms of useful matter, with an average of 10,060 kg of milk at 44.6 TB and 33.7 TP.
When mating, the priorities are clear: milk, good rates, strong legs and a neutral milking speed, as the robots are not saturated. In recent campaigns, particular attention has been paid to udder balance and teat implantation, to avoid excesses.
The heifers are all genotyped, the majority inseminated with sexed semen to accelerate genetic progress.. “I keep 30 heifers a year. I use a little more sexed semen to have a wider choice, and I would like to sell those that are not well adapted to my system.”continues Julien.
Among the last 28 genotyped heifers, the purebred inseminated batch averaged +640 kg, +1.2 TP, +1.7 TB, with 0 in milking speed, +0.6 SLI and +0.7 in limbs, for an average UIS of 162.
The most frequently used bulls are TONYKROOS, SUMMUM, SUPERFAN, SAVENAY, STOLPACO… all from the AUTONOM segment, selected for their reliability, rates and morphological balance.
And to gain even more genetic speed, embryos from the AURIVA – SYNETICS scheme were placed on the heifers with the least production and membership potential.
"Since we started genotyping, we have made enormous progress. With the new indexes on resistance to foot diseases, we will be able to increase selection pressure on this criterion."
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