Beef Tour - Central Region of France

As part of the conference being held in France over Labour Day weekend they held a pre-conference beef tour, I decided to join so that I could see French beef operations and get a different view on things.  The tour started from Paris on Thursday noon and there were 13 of us plus a tour guide/translator and driver.  As a group we represented Australia, Croatia, India, USA and Canada; we had cow/calf producers, feedlot managers, nutritionists, veterinarians, breed association (me) and Alltech staff.  A true cross section of the beef industry around the world.

South from Paris we headed into the region where the Charolais breed originated.  Our headquarters would be the town of Borges about 2 hours directly south of Paris and our mission would be to visit three Charolais farms and attend the National Adult Charolais Show as part of the World Charolais Congress then make it up to Deauville for the start of the Alltech Global 500 Beef & Dairy Conference.  Challenge accepted and we thought we would add in a few additional fun things into the mix as well.  

Bailly Farm, first stop on the tour

The first operation we visited was a feedlot that fed Charolais cull cows for 60 days.  They purchased these cows from local auction markets, fed them for two months to add condition then shipped them off the processor.  It was a model than none of us on the tour had ever seen before but we found it interesting and since it was a 4th generation farm and there were three families living off of it there was obviously a market for this service and a reasonably large one at that.  

Our second stop the next day was a cow/calf operation (Charolais again) where we joined up with a tour group from the World Congress.  It was here that we began to realize just how big the cows were in France and a little about how cow/calf operations are run.  In this particular place they breed 75% of their 90 females by artificial insemination and they use 25 different bulls.  It has been a wet year in France and had rained the few days leading up to the tour so the cattle were all up close to the barn and we had a chance to see pretty much the entire herd.  There was greater uniformity than we had expected and were most surprised by the fact that they breed horned Charolais across France, although this operation was breeding some polled genetics into the herd.  

From there we headed to the National Adult Show where we had a magnificent lunch, after a day together we had gotten to know each other quite well and the conversation flowed almost as quickly as the Champagne.  The steak was delicious and I was quoted as saying “It was the best non-Angus steak, I’ve ever had”  Walking through the barns was the highlight for me.  I could write an entire post on my thoughts as to why the cattle are so big and how the traditions have been passed down from generation to generation very obviously in France and the pros and cons as I see it but I will only say that the “mountains of beef” that we saw were impressive.  The pictures hardly do the size and capacity of these animals justice.  I was also surprised to see the variety of Charolais branded beef products and even McDonald’s has a Charolais hamburger here.  My new American friends and I were nervous after seeing pasture and pasture of white cattle along the roads and in the farms we visited.  We asked one of the producers there why there are no other breeds present and he told us “black cattle will be shot in this region.”  Enough said.

Bulls at the National Charolais Show

Our final stop on the tour was a Co-operative Feedlot and Bull Test station.  Again, they work exclusively with Charolais.  Another interesting operation and the ideas of co-operatives of smaller scale farmers in Europe seems to be an opportunity from this outsider’s perspective.  

All in all the tour was fantastic, many hours on the bus but this provided plenty of time for discussion and  an opportunity to share experience and ideas from our respective countries with the group.  We arrived in Deauville in time for the Conference Welcome Reception and thus began the next phase of this weekend event.  A quick overview of a busy 48 hours but more posts to come.  Our two days was a success and it was an enjoyable trip and delivered on all the promises.  I am very glad I took the time to participate in it.