2023-07-03 15:10:52
“When we saw the aid offered to support the local breed, we started buying heifers. Today, nearly 20% of our dairy herd is of the Norman breed, whereas we no longer had any! immediately welcomes Arnaud Fusée, at the head of 380 cattle in Trévières (Calvados).
A real revolution… Because, like him, many Norman breeders in recent decades had gradually abandoned local cows in favor of Prim’Holstein, considered to be much more productive. Consequence: the Norman race is the one which, in ten years, has declined the most violently. 100,000 of these cows have indeed disappeared, i.e.… A third of the breed in Normandy!
“If we did nothing, the species would be extinct by 2030”
“We said to ourselves that at this rate, if we did nothing, the species would be extinct by 2030, when it is one of our strongest regional emblems”, justifies Clothilde Eudier, vice-president of the region in charge of agriculture.
The region has therefore reacted and set up a vast rescue plan for this breed, which, in addition to the symbol, also provides the milk necessary for the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) of several star cheeses. “Livarot, for example, requires 100% Norman milk,” recalls David Aubrée, director of the Réo cheese dairy.
In all, 2 million euros have already been invested in this system. A commitment that allows breeders to receive between 100 euros and 460 euros in aid for the purchase of a dairy cow, a heifer or a “Norman” embryo. Not to mention that some cooperatives also play the game by allocating up to 35 euros in “premium” for every 1,000 liters of milk, to farms favoring this breed!
And the least we can say is that the operation is bearing fruit since in one year, the Normandy livestock already has… 8,000 more Normandy cows!
#species #threatened #Norman #cow #recovering