The Montbeliarde Breed
I. Origins and history
The Montbeliarde breed belongs to the Jurassic branch (descended
from Bos Frontosus) which the group of Pie Rouge breeds stems
from. It therefore belongs to the Simmental and Fleckvieh
families, and as such is a member of the World Simmental-Fleckvieh
Federation (WSFF) and the European Simmental Federation, which
it chaired from 1993 to 1997.
Its History dates back to the beginning of the 18th Century
when farmers from the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland came
to set up home in the principality of Montbéliard,
bringing their livestock with them. Thanks to a methodical
selection process, this livestock soon became renowned and
started entering shows from 1872 onwards under the name “Montbeliarde
Breed”.
In 1889, it was officially recognised and registered on the
national register of French breeds by the French Minister
of Agriculture.
The Montbeliarde Breed Herd Book was created the same year
and its statutes were approved by the Préfet of the
Département du Doubs on 2nd December 1889.
The official milk-recording programme for the breed started
in 1923 and recording results form one of the main criteria
for selection within the breed today. An additional aspect
of this History is the cheese-making tradition in the area
it originates from and the ancestral high standards of the
cheese makers, who insisted on using high-quality milk, free
from mastitis problems.
Artificial insemination has been continually on the increase
since its beginnings in 1949 and represents a decisive factor
in the livestock’s evolution.
On 28th January 1997, the National Unit for the Promotion
and Selection of the Montbeliarde Breed, l’Unité
Nationale de Promotion et de Sélection de la Race Montbéliarde
(O.S. Montbéliarde) took over from the Herd Book. Since
this date, the O.S. Montbéliarde is the national organisation
in France responsible for the breed’s selection policy
and objectives.
Proportion represented by the Montbeliarde breed in French
dairy livestock
II. Geographical presence and numbers
In the zone where
the Montbeliarde breed first originated, composed of the limestone
plateaux of Eastern France (the Jura massif), it still represents
the great majority of the livestock (92% of the cows in Franche-Comté
are Montbeliardes).
Then from the 1950s on, it adapted very well to all of the
mountain regions in France where its proportion is still increasing.
It is even the main breed in some cases: 56% of the cow population
in the Rhône-Alpes region and 44% in Auvergne.
It has also greatly increased its presence in Western France,
the south west of France, the north east and the centre.
Evolution of the Montbeliarde population in France from
1960 to 2005
III. Uses The
entire population of Montbeliarde cows is used for dairy
production.
1. Productivity
and cheese value of the milk :
Productivity is as follows :
| |
All
Lactations |
Equivalent
in
adult lactations |
| Number of results |
387 912 |
341 017 |
| Duration of lactation - days |
295 |
319 |
| Milk - kg |
6 403 |
7 697 |
| Solids - kg |
460 |
554 |
| Solids Content - g/kg |
71,9 |
72,0 |
| Protein - kg |
210 |
253 |
| Protein Content - g/kg |
32,8 |
32,8 |
| Fat - kg |
250 |
301 |
| Butterfat Content - g/kg |
39,1 |
39,1 |
The cheese value of the milk depends
on two aspects: better total protein content and a higher
frequency of certain variants of casein that have a favourable
effect on the quantity of cheese produced and the speed at
which it coagulates. The essential element here is the B variant
of Kappa Casein. A study in 1988 by Claude Gros, from INRA,
the French national institute for agronomical research, reveals
a frequency of 37% of the B variant in the population.
Evolution
of the diffusion of the B variant of Kappa-Casein
(in blue) by the male vector in the Montbeliarde population
The selection plan offers
all dairy farmers the possibility to choose their sires according
to this criterion. The bulls are all genotyped before being
proposed to the farmers and the B allele diffusion is very
significant. It is systematically in excess of 37% and therefore
highly appreciated by the cheese industry.
2.
Beef performance :
Although the Montbeliarde
breed is mainly selected on the basis of its dairy performance
and the high protein content of its milk, its cull cows and
young bulls sustain an excellent beef market value due to:
• Their size and their rapid growth: The liveweight
of adult cows and of young bulls varies from 650 to 750 Kg
depending on the age of slaughter. Average growth in young
bulls is 1200 to 1300 g per day, depending on their diet.
• The quality of their carcasses: The dressing rate
is 52/54% for the cows and 56/58% for the young bulls, with
no excess fat on the carcasses; class R in the EU SEUROP classification
grid.
Cull cows are also fattened at the end of their milking career
and provide good-quality meat.
Bull-calves that are not used for reproduction are fattened
for the beef market, either as veal calves or as young bulls
at 20 - 22 months. They are in great demand and consequently
their price is higher.
Slaughter
results 2005 – 2006
(Approximately 10 000 calves for each breed)
Source Mamellor - www.mamellor.com |
| |
MONTBELIARDE |
PRIM'HOLSTEIN |
DIFFERENCE |
| Entry weight (kg) |
54 |
49 |
|
| % Females |
7 |
1 |
|
| Fattening period |
141 |
154 |
-13 jours |
| Carcass weight |
133,7 |
128,5 |
+5.2 kg |
Feed conversion
ratio
(kg dry matter intake per 1 kg ADG) |
1,720 |
1,859 |
- 139 |
| ADG |
1168 |
1051 |
+117 g/j |
Carcass
classification |
%
R |
75 |
0 |
|
| %
O |
24 |
95 |
|
| %
P |
1 |
5 |
|
Carcass weight is much higher
in the Montbeliarde breed than in Holsteins of the same
age and the carcasses have less external fat.
The hindquarters weigh more, therefore the proportion of
noble muscles is higher. The bone structure is finer and
there is less waste, so the proportion of saleable meat
is considerably higher in the Montbeliarde breed than in
Holsteins.
Comparison between
carcass composition
in young Montbeliarde and Holstein bulls |
| |
MONTBELIARDE |
HOLSTEIN |
| Carcass Weight |
352 kg |
320 kg |
| Cutting-room fat |
1,6% |
2,2% |
| Hindquarter |
52% |
50% |
| Forequarter |
48% |
50% |
| Bone |
18,2% |
20,3% |
| Fat trim and waste |
8,3% |
10,6% |
| Saleable Meat |
73,5% |
69,1% |
3.
Hardiness and adaptability :
The specific conditions of animal
husbandry in the zone the Montbeliarde breed originates from,
characterised by its altitude (varying from 400 metres to
1000 metres) and by a continental climate with rapid temperature
changes and extreme conditions (+35°C in summer to –
20°C in winter) have endowed the Montbeliarde breed with
unshakeable hardiness.
Its adaptability has been confirmed by results recorded during
Thermo-tolerance tests carried out on cattle by the INRA in
1975, measuring rectal temperature (RT) in °C, respiratory
rhythm (RR) in minutes and sweat tests (ST) in seconds. Tolerance
was tested at the beginning of stress, in the middle and at
the end.
| |
MONTBELIARDE |
HOLSTEIN |
| Beginning
of stress |
| TR |
39,07 |
38,93 |
| RR |
49 |
49,5 |
| TS |
556 |
629 |
| Middle
of stress |
| TR |
38,96 |
39,01 |
| RR |
84 |
92 |
| TS |
377 |
434 |
| End
of stress |
| TR |
39,15 |
39,26 |
| RR |
115 |
119,8 |
| TS |
314 |
365 |
It can be seen that the rectal
temperature varies very little in the Montbeliarde breed
during periods of stress and the respiratory rhythm and
sweating are less prone to change in Montbeliardes than
in Holsteins. This makes it easier for the breed to adapt
to hot climates.
These scientific results are confirmed by “field”
results obtained by Montbeliardes in hot climates (North
Africa, West Africa, Central and South America), which demonstrate
the Montbeliarde’s superiority in difficult climatic
conditions (drought, humidity) either as purebreds or when
crossbred with local breeds.
4.
Animal husbandry systems :
More than half of all
Montbeliarde cows are employed in mountain zones where the
basic diet consists of grass pastures in the summer and
rich hay in the winter so the breed is perfectly suited
to ingesting and transforming great quantities of roughage
produced on the farm.
Elsewhere they are present in intensive systems using maize
silage and in this case their protein potential and their
beef performance is fully expressed.
IV. Selection objectives
The partners involved
in the process of selection of the breed are all associate
members of the O.S. Montbéliarde group, and have
defined their objectives in order of priority as follows
:
Dairy
selection remains the No. 1 priority
To obtain a specialised animal
for dairy production, in other words, an animal that is
feed-efficient, capable of producing great quantities of
transformable milk solids (fat and especially protein) on
a diet of roughage. The main objective (50% of our selection
efforts) remains genetic progress in the domain of protein
concentration and an optimum milk yield.
The Montbeliarde breed represents the best fat/protein ratio
of the three major French dairy breeds: this is undoubtedly
an asset that the breed must preserve. The cheese-making
industry needs 840g of protein per kg of milk fat.
...
while keeping the advantage of resistance to mastitis
The quality of the milk
cannot be dissociated from resistance to these infections.
The breed is already well placed in this criterion (c.f.
diagram opposite) and selection efforts in this area remain
high up on the list of priorities. It forms 12.5% of the
overall objective
Proportion d’élevages
ayant des problèmes de comptages cellulaires *
(*= + de 15% de contrôles >800.000 cellules/ml
et - de 75% de contrôles <300.000 cellules/ml)
...
of fertility
Fertility is at the root of an
animal’s productivity and cost-efficiency. In this instance
also, the qualities of the breed must be maintained or even
improved. The average AI success rate is 55%.
...
of longevity
Longevity is the last visible
quality in a breed. It is nevertheless a key factor of satisfaction
to the breeder and makes the rearing phase cost-efficient.
32.8% of Montbeliarde cows reach their 4th lactation or more,
compared to 22% for the other major dairy breed. The breed’s
population has over 3.8 times more cows in their 8th lactation
and higher. Every year, at least 40 Montbeliardes reach the
end of their career having produced over 100 000 kg of milk.
...
without eroding the breed’s beef yield
or its breeding
qualities
In improving the breed, care is taken to maintain the beefing
qualities of the breed, especially the absence of external
fat on the carcasses – one of the assets of the Montbeliarde.
This beef quality also means that Montbeliarde cows are strong
and hardy – useful qualities for weathering the milk
production peak and for adapting to difficult farming conditions.
Lastly, their functional morphology and their machine milking
ability – essential in proper dairy husbandry –
are very closely monitored and are also being improved.
Every year over 60 000 cows are measured and described in
order to guarantee the required results.
The
overall objective of selection is represented here :
Conclusion :
The Montbeliarde
breed is renowned for its high level of performance. It
also offers many qualities that have enabled it to make
a name for itself amongst the dairy population worldwide.
It represents an alternative to ultra-specialised dairy
livestock and it meets the requirements of all cattle breeders
because of its strength and its adaptability.
Farmers from every continent have adopted it, and they find
that working with these animals is extremely rewarding.
It is currently finding its niche in the big dairy herds
in the United States.
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