The Salers is a breed of cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 which originated in Cantal

Cantal

Cantal is a department in south-central France. It is named after the Cantal mountain range, a group of extinct, eroded volcanic peaks, which covers much of the department. Residents are known as Cantaliens or Cantalous....

 in the Massif Central

Massif Central

The Massif Central is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaux....

 of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

They are a large breed of cattle, with the female weighing in at between 700 and 750 kg (1,543 to 1,653 lb) and standing 1.40 metres (4.6 feet) tall. They have a thick mahogany red or black coat, and long, lyre-shaped, light-coloured horns. A small percentage are naturally born without horns (polled).

In the 19th century, the breeder Ernest Tyssandier d'Escous set about to better this race by selective breeding.

Originally bred for work, this dual purpose cow was especially appreciated for its ability to withstand extreme variations in temperature, its fertility, its ease of breeding, its milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

 (even if the presence of the calf was required in order to milk it) and its meat

Meat

Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...

. In Cantal, the farmers practice mountain pasture, with the herd passing summer at altitude in the mountains. A female can produce almost 3,000 kg (6,614 lb) of fat-rich milk each year of her life. The milk is traditionally used to produce Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

 (AOC) cheese such as Cantal and Salers cheese. The Salers is also used to produce veal

Veal

Veal is the meat of young cattle , as opposed to meat from older cattle. Though veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds...

 calves by cross breeding with Charolais cattle

Charolais cattle

Charolais cattle are a beef breed of cattle which originated in Charolais, around Charolles, in France. They are raised for their meat and are known for their composite qualities when crossed with other breeds, most notably Angus and Hereford cattle...

.
Currently, there are about 300,000 head of Salers in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. They are exported to more than 25 countries in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and Oceania

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

.

External links

• Union for the promotion and selection of Salers
• http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/salers/