One of the farm visits at the recent Sommet de l’Élevage livestock show in France was to a 65-cow pedigree herd that was milking Salers suckler cows twice-a-day.

The system is challenging for many Irish farmers to comprehend so Agriland paid a visit to the farm to meet the owner Gaec Marion.

The 136ha farm is all in grassland and is located in Saint-Donat, France in the Sancy foothills at approximately 1,050m above sea level.

Cows are calved from December to March on the farm and the milk price is currently at approximately 60c/L.

Production statistics on the farm based on 2023-2024 milk recording results are as follows:

  • Average milk yield: 4,124kg;
  • Average calving interval: 353 days;
  • Average fats: 37.9g/kg;
  • Average Protein: 33.7g/kg.

While these are the herd’s dairy statistics,the beef statistics from the suckler/dairy herd are impressive.

Herd’s beef statistics

From the beef perspective, calves are sold at 10 months of age at an average live weight of 380kg. Last year, calves had an average sale price of €1,200/head.

Cull cows go to the factory and have an average carcass weight of 400kg. The average cull cow price is at €6.00/kg.

The farm has recently built a cheese-processing plant beside the dairy and has plans to commence the production of the famous Saint Nectaire cheese in December 2024.

Suckling and milking Salers suckler cows

Cows are milked twice-a-day and the milking process takes three hours each time.

Cows spend the winter months in the cubicle house. During the summer months when cows are at grass, they are brought into the shed in the morning and evening to be milked.

Calves are kept in a separate group to the cows and are also taken into the shed at milking time.

The 10-cow parlour has a separate compartment to the side of each milking station, allowing place for the calf to suckle the cow.

Once the cows have entered the parlour, the 10 calves belonging to the respective cows are allowed out from the calf pen. These calves find their respective cows and can suckle them from the side compartment of the respective milking station.

After a few minutes, the farmer closes a gate at the front of the calf, cleans the udders and places the clusters on the cow.

Once milking is finished, the clusters are removed, udders treated and the cow exits via the front of the parlour and the calves exit from the back of the parlour.

This process is repeated until all cows have gone through the parlour.

The gallery below explains the milking and suckling process:

The shed has 74 cubicles hand head locking barriers for 78 cows. Cows are released from the barrier as it is their turn to be milked.

There is a straw-bedded area for calves with calving pens and a shed to house replacement heifers in the winter.

Cow longevity is good with cows remaining in the herd for up to eight lactations. The farmer selects replacement heifers based on milk production and capacity to milk quickly.

Good-sized cows with good bone structure and good calving ability as well as docility are also essential.

The system is labour intensive but with three staff on the farm, help is readily available.

As can be seen in the video, the calf performance is impressive and with plans to begin cheese production on the farm later this year, the farmer hopes to add more value to the surplus milk produced from the pedigree Salers suckler herd.