Today, genotyping is an indispensable tool for breeders wishing to improve their livestock and optimize the profitability of their operations. This technology makes it possible to evaluate the genetic potential of females and males at an early stage, thus facilitating strategic choices in terms of reproduction and selection.

Already produced in the 17th century, Tome des Bauges cheese is the product of a long-standing tradition and know-how. Breeders from the Bauges massif set up a Société d'intérêt collectif agricole (agricultural collective interest society) and registered the "Tome des Bauges" trademark with INPI (the French national institute for industrial property) in 1972.

Typical of the northern Hautes-Alpes region, Bleu du Queyras is working towards its PDO status. With a blue-speckled paste, its softness, mellowness and creaminess are unlike any other, according to Alexandre Lagier, president of the Bleu du Queyras interprofessional association and breeder of 53 Tarine cows (GAEC de la petite Tarine - Saint André d'Embrun (05)).

"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!).

Variability management is an essential issue for breeds with small populations that are unable to source from third countries. If the selection system were not careful to increase the number of origins and the value of original pedigrees, this would lead to a multiplication of genetic anomalies and, in the long term, the impossibility of working with purebreds.

Genomics has been used in our breed for 7 years now. For farms that have been genotyping from the outset, and have thus contributed to the creation of the reference population, we can consider that most of the animals in their herd have been genotyped.

The local Abondance and Tarentaise breeds are historically present in the Savoie region and are linked to the PDO-IGP cheese chains. Today, it is essential to improve communication between breeds and the cheese industry, in order to reconcile the evolution of breeds with the needs of different users (breeders...), cheese makers...). By 2022, OS RAR, CAP Tarentaise, AFTALP, ILS, CERAQ and AURIVA have decided to implement the "Local breeds and the Savoie PDO-IGP cheese industry" project, which will take place in 5 actions, until 2024.