Cattle : TARENTAISE

Australian Status:

Country of origin: France. Tarentaise Valley, in the rugged French Alps - the Massif Central.

Arrived in Australia: 1980's two heifers arrived from Canada, a red and a black poll.

Australian Population: 2022 - 21 cows, 3 bulls genetics in storage
Thank you to the Australian Tarantaise Association for help with the census.

Two heifers (one red full blood and a black 'purebred' ) were brought into Australia from Canada in the late 1980s. They went to Victoria. Since then, several have been bred from them.  1993 at Melbourne Royal, was the first showing of Tarentaise cattle at that show, probably in Australia. Source - Speed The Plough Vol 2, RASV. 

History :  The breed was officially named in 1859. The Tarentaise Valley is a valley of the Isere River, in the heart of the French Alps in the Savoy region. The area was isolated from other cattle for thousands of years so the cattle had little or no outside influence.

This breed has been introduced to other countries in relatively recent times, much sought after for crossing, for hybrid vigour and it's many fine qualities such as great feet, easy calving. fertility and wonderful milk for cheesemaking.

Breed traits: Primarily a milk breed although dual purpose. The milk makes tremendous and famous cheeses - four are Protected Designation of Origin, being Beaufort, Tome des Bauges, Rebochon and Abondance. Two other famous IPA cheeses made from their milk are Tomme and Emmental de Savoi. Their beef is also highly praised. 

Hardy cattle that thrive at high altitude, and on basic rough forage. Able to easily negotiate steep and difficult terrain. The average production is 5,500 kilos (12,199 lbs) of milk in a 305 day lactation with no feed concentrates in the summer.

Well muscled in the hindquarters and stand over a lot of ground. Due to being developed in the mountains they're a strong muscular breed with good strong legs and feet and a robust cardiovascular system. They've crossed to both dairy and beef breeds with great success.

Early maturing. Great mothers. Unassisted births. Known for excellent udder and teat conformation.

Red brown colour with some deeper shading on the bulls.

Organisation : Australian Tarantaise Association, contacts available in Facebook on the page Tarantaise Australia - active and helpful.

Additional Notes:

Page by Janet Lane.

Updating 1st August 2022. 

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