| Gascon grazers |
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The Gascon grazing animal is a calf of 6 to 9 months, weaned as soon as, and sold for fattening in production of bull-calves or, locally, of traditional beef. The weight of the grazer for age progresses regularly thanks to the effort of selection, even since the mastery of the culard gene. In 2007 the females recorded for growth weighed 226 kg and the males 250 kg at 210 days (212 and 234 kgs in 2003). The weight at the time of the sale is bound to the date of birth. In France 18% of calvings occur in March, 23% in February, 16 and 11% in January and April. (data 2006) Half of the calves born of the 10000 cows in basis of selection are descended from tested bulls from the station. The majority of the Gascon calves are marketed at weaning, after having passed the summer on mountain pastures. Autonomous, rough, the Gascon grazer adapts to the qualitative and quantitative variations of grass during the season where, they achieved, without supplementary feed, a growth in the order of 1000g per day. This experience added to their rusticity allows them then to adapt to the different conditions of fattening : variations of food régime and temperature, solidity of the legs in short, concrete stall or on slats. These faculties make Gascon grazers the animals able to make good margins by the reduction of the costs : good resistance to the transportation, low mortality, fast response to the ration of fattening, good growth. The groups offer permits a sorting, a choice and an important provision and of quality for the buyer : The Gascon is the majority breed of the departments of Ariège, of Aude, of the Pyrenees Orientales, and the mountain zone of the High Garonne and the High Pyrenees. of numerous Pyrenean ranges, accessible, groups of more than 500 mothers-calf couples. The purchaser can at a stroke appreciate in autumn gatherings of several hundred grazers. The groupings of producers play an important role in the sorting and the routing of the animals. -the possible most natural raising, by breeders accepted " Fournisseurs Bovine Maigre s", or in Label Rouge and in Charter of Good Practices, permits to answer the strictest specifications for most animals. Italy, Spain remain destinations privileged of the Gascon grazer. Normandy and more lately Alsace became regions of fattening particularly fond of the performances of the Gascon. The forwardness of the Gascon grazer allows carcasses of 380 kg on average to be achieved, with a dense meat and very fine fibres, marbled, for a big flavor and tenderness. |
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