Diversity

About Salers CattleAbout Salers Cattle



Salers, pronounced 'Sa-Lair', Cattle originated in the mountainous Auvergne region of France. The area does not have much cereal grain production and the Salers cattle were forced to become foragers of the native grasses in summer and hay in winter.

Salers Cattle is one of the oldest breeds of cattle in the world, with prehistoric cave paintings suggesting that a similar type of animal had been bred in the area for 7-10,000 years. The drawings were found near Salers, a small medieval town in the France.

Historically Salers cattle were respected not only as beef animals, but as milk producers for cheese products and were also used as strong sources of animal power.

Traditionally the cows were introduced to the bulls for 45 days in the spring and then herds were walked into the surrounding mountains. The cow herds grazed on communal pastures for the summer without any bulls, while the calves were kept shut in a pen. Twice daily each calf was brought from the pen and tied to the front leg of its mother while the cow stood un-tethered to be milked by hand. Some milk was left for the calf to suckle before the calf was re-penned. Today in France, only about 10% of the Salers herds are still milked, the rest are used for beef production.

Salers milk is traditionally used to produce Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) cheese. Salers cattle are also used to produce veal calves by cross breeding them with Charolais cattle.