As part of the farm tours section of the Sommet de l’Élevage livestock show which is taking place in France this week, Agriland travelled to a farm breeding Aubrac cattle in the hills to the east of the Massif Central region.
Father and son Frank and Jack Rochette are farming a total of 125ha, 65ha of which is owned and the remainder of which is leased. Land purchase costs in the area are approximately €2,500/ha, but lowland ground with more fertile soils sell for approximately €10,000/ha.
The farm has approximately 70ha in pasture and the remaining 50ha is used to grow wheat, corn, maize and barley. The farm is located 630m above sea level and the dry climate in the summer months significantly reduces growth.
The farm originally milked 80 Montbéliarde cows but ceased milk production in 2013 and began breeding Aubrac cattle. “There was more money in milk but less work with Aubracs,” Frank said through a translator.
Aubrac cattle
The cattle enterprise on the farm now consists of 55 Aubrac cows of which 85% are calved from October to December.
The reason Aubrac cattle were selected for the farm was because the breed originates close by in the Massif Central region and is a hardy breed, capable of thriving on rough forage in upland topography.
The Rochettes aim to have a cow that will produce a calf every year, can calve naturally, and have sufficient milk to rear a good calf without the need for supplementation.
Progeny from the suckler herd are sold as weanlings with weights generally ranging from 320-400kg and an average weanling price of €3.28/kg liveweight. Cattle are not dehorned on the farm, however the tips of the horns are removed.
Weanlings receive no concentrates and weight gain is obtained solely off milk and forage. Weanlings are sold through a co-operative which helps secure a better price.
Aubrac cattle produced in the region on farms that are 650m or higher above sea level are eligible for a price premium through a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status but this does not apply on the Rochette farm as it is below this level.
Cull cows are fattened and sold with an average carcass weight of 410kg and the most recent cows to be sold secured a price of €5.75/kg (carcass weight).
Replacement heifers calve at three years of age and all heifers are served with artificial insemination, while mature cows are served with a stockbull.
In the past, some of the Aubrac cows were crossed to a Charolais bull, but the focus on the cattle enterprise now is primarily on the Aubrac breed.
The herd has recently become part of a selection programme for the Aubrac breed but currently, no weanlings are sold for breeding with the best heifers kept for replacements and the remaining progeny sold off for beef production.
Bales are stored on an asphalt surface and all feed used on the farm, is produced on the farm. Surplus straw, hay and grain produced on the farm is all sold.
This year the farm is selling straw for €120/t and hay at €160/t. In 2022, the farm received €257/t for wheat and €247/t for 2022 barley, which the Rochettes were happy enough with.
Commenting on the prices expected for this year the Rochettes said it is too complex to say yet, especially because of the geopolitical situation in Europe.