A cow
THE ICONIC BREED OF ABONDANCE CHEESE
Whith its milk renowned for its high cheese quality and its size perfectly adapted to rugged terrain of mountain climatic conditions, it is the faithful companion of Abondance cheese.
You will recognize her thanks to her mahogany dress and her glasses around her eyes.
The Abondance breed
A French mountain magpie, the Abondance is the great dairy of difficult regions. It has been shaped over centuries by the breeding conditions in mountain areas. It adapts to all systems, mainly those based on grazing.
The fourth French dairy breed
The Abondance breed is present in twenty French departments and is the largest of the French breeds with medium numbers. In difficult operating conditions (in the mountains, in organic farming, in cheese AOP specifications limiting production or restrictive in terms of food), annual milk production stood at 6,524 kg in 2020. milk
A cheese milk
The milk produced by Abondance breed cows is authorized in more than 14 AOP cheese sectors. This cheese destination is part of the identity of Abondance. Indeed, from the Middle Ages, in Savoie, cheese making in mountain pastures was very widespread. Even today, the Abondance breed has milk that is very suitable for making many cheeses, including Abondance cheese.
A morphology adapted to dairy production
A medium-sized cow (1.40 meters at the sacrum, weighing 650 kg), suitable for mountain walking, the Abondance is also equipped with a functional udder. Over the past thirty years, this criterion has been particularly improved in the selection scheme. The Abondance cows now have udders without volume, particularly well attached and with excellent teats. One of the characteristics that allows the Abondance to be the champion breed of longevity.
Excellent walking ability
Shaped by the mountain, Abondance has retained excellent walking ability. It owes this to its fine, solid legs and the black pigmentation of the horns of its hooves which make it a great walker on all stony and wet terrains. She is resistant to lameness and therefore excels in grazing systems where she must forage for her own food.
The champion of longevity
Of all French dairy breeds, the Abondance is the breed with the best longevity. One in four Abondance is in the 5th lactation, compared to 1 in 6 in Montbéliarde and one in 13 in Prim’Holstein. From the 8th lactation and above, this ratio reaches large differences. Thus an Abondance out of 23 is still productive in 8th lactation and above, compared to a Montbéliarde out of 50 and… a Prim’Holstein out of 310.
The Abondance cow in the AOP Abondance sector
The Abondance is the emblematic breed of the Abondance sector and the AOP specifications therefore regulate its presence in the herds: even if the 3 breeds of cows (Abondance, Tarine and Montbéliarde) are authorized to produce milk to make of Abondance, the herds must be composed of at least 45% Abondance cows.
These cows are fed mainly on grass: grazed for at least 150 days in summer and hay distributed freely the rest of the year. This diet is supplemented by cereals, limited in quantity. In summer, many herds go up to the mountain pastures, this grassland area located at 1300 and 1850 meters above sea level which creates the very particular landscape of the Northern Alps. The cows find there a grass rich in nutrients which will promote their lactation and give Abondance cheese its typical taste. In winter, these mountain pastures often transform into a ski slope while the cows are in the stable and feast on hay harvested in the summer on the AOP Abondance territory.
