Bringing in the cows: Montbeliarde breed

A further installment from Joan following on from the blog Bringing in the cows: Alfie in the Alps

"A group of young heifers in their staging post half way up the mountain. They spend the summer here before going back down the mountain for the winter usually about October time before the snows arrive. ( Retour de Alpages) They spend winter on the flat plain near the lake where they have their calves and

then return to the mountain pastures in May when the grass is growing lush again and their milk is used for the Reblochon (soft cheese) and Tommes (hard cheese) and the fields ring once again to the sound of their bells. The cows in the picture are Montbeliarde breed, one of the only authorised breeds for the Reblochon cheese the other two being Abondance and Tarentaise. Alfie loves watching them I'm sure he thinks he is related to them !!!

Best Wishes to you all and good luck to Bert when he goes on to his next big adventure at the end of the summer.

Joan"

Thanks for that Joan, very interesting. I've heard of the Montbeliarde as they are becoming a popular breed for crossing with Holstein Frisians to improve fertility and longevity. I've yet to see one in person. The photo you sent me the other day of the milking station, were of all red brown cows with seemingly no white. I'm taking a guessing they were not Montbeliarde's but were maybe Brown Swiss. I milked for an Organic herd using these to cross with Holsteins.I was talking about dairy farming in the Alps and the mobile milking, with the farmer I milk for and we thought they must do the majority of calving during the winter/early Spring, before they go up to the mountain pasture.

Thanks again and look forward to your next installment of "Alfie in the Alps." I think there could be a children's book in that title.