Breed History

The Tarentaise breed's home is in the rugged Savoie region of France, site of the 1992 Winter Olympics. It surprises most people to discover that in France the breed is not dual-purpose, but is used solely for milk production for the making of Beaufort, a Gruyere-type cheese.

The cows are managed on pasture under intensive grazing management. The average production is 5,500 kilos (12,199 lbs) of milk in a 305 day lactation with no fed concentrates in the summer. Cows are dried off in the fall and kept in the barn from October through April because of snow and the danger of avalanche. Their basic ration is hay, sometimes haylage. Only high-producing cows get up to 5 lbs. of concentrates daily and then only for the six weeks leading up to their AI breeding. Most calving and breeding occur in winter.

In May the cows are turned out onto lush pastures at 2,500 feet. In June they are moved to high (and extremely steep) pastures at an average elevation of 8,000 feet. Daily temperatures often swing from below freezing to high above 80 degrees. Grazing ski slopes, the cattle are so removed from any town that the herdsmen actually stay with the cows for the entire three months and make the cheese on the spot. Tarentaise are the only cattle in Europe hardy enough to graze this region profitably. Climbing at these altitudes is what makes their remarkable natural muscling and marbling, as well as endowing the breed with a very robust cardiovascular system. This contributes to their inherent high resistance to the common respiratory/shipping disease complexes found in North America.

The first Tarentaise in North America were imported to Canada in 1972. A year later they were introduced to the U.S. beginning in the northern plains states and spreading to all corners of the continent with outstanding performance. They are also used as dairy cattle in Equatorial Africa and the Indian sub-continent. Able to adapt from Alps to deserts, dry plains to humid coasts, Tarentaise will perform for you also.

Opti-Mom vs Maxi-Mom

Cattlemen are realizing that bigger isn't always better, and sometimes more means less. The most milk, the largest frames, and the highest growth rate don't necessarily add up to a profitable operation.

The reality was, in addition to the calving problems, our big exotic crossbred cows required more feed and their calves lacked the fighting instinct to get up and suck after being born in a snow bank. With considerable thought, we changed our focus from "big" to "fault-free". The fault-free moderate cow that works, makes the carcass that works.

Long before a calf takes that trip to the sale barn, a cow has to keep herself fit, breed, calve, produce adequate milk, breed back, and repeat this annually. The more efficiently she can do this with what you have, the more money you can make. After all, she is supposed to be working for you, not vice-versa. Your herd should buy you a vacation, not cost you one.

Doc and Connie Hatfield, Hatfield's High Desert Ranch, Brothers, Oregon

Research Data

Maternal Productivity of Tarentaise and Hereford Cattle under Montana Range Conditions

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