Cattle breeds
Charolais

Charolais cattle: the large white cattle originally from Burgundy

They stand out, the large, white Charolais cows with their calves in the green pastures. They are originally native to the east of France, more precisely in the département of Saône-et-Loire in Burgundy around the eponymous town of Charolle.

Whether they came to France from Italy with the Roman legions has not been clearly proven. However, they certainly made a name for themselves in their home region as frugal work animals that were satisfied with grass and hay and also provided milk and meat. With their muscle power, they helped the “Galvachers” find work outside their region. Today, Charolais are known, especially among gourmets, for their tender meat with low intramuscular fat content. However, as the animals are very large and heavy at the time of slaughter, they are not found in every meat counter.

Respected worldwide and ideal for pasture farming

In France, the Charolais beef breed now accounts for 25% of the cattle population. After 1945, they also spread to other parts of the world and were readily used to improve other breeds. Charolais arrived in Switzerland some 30 years ago. At the very first import of live Charolais into Switzerland, there were problems at the border. The import had been approved on the assumption that they were Charolais sheep. Then the big white cattle arrived at the border barrier. After some discussion, they were allowed to enter anyway.

Although the Charolais are muscular and large, they are ideal for meat production from grass. Their strong herd instinct makes them stay together, which is an advantage, especially on extensive alpine pastures.

Sources: www.charolais.ch; Michael Brackmann "Das andere Kuhbuch"; www.ventsdumorvan.org; Wikipedia