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The Blonde dAquitaine breed Society of Ireland

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A Modern Breed with Old Origins
The Blonde dAquitaine breed can be traced back several centuries to the South West of France where they were renowned for being both working draft animals and beef cattle. In 1962, the three different Blonde herd books, the Garonnais (founded in 1898), Blonde de Pyrenees and Quercy herd books were merged to form the modern day Blonde dAquitaine herd book, thereby significantly broadening the genetic base of the breed. The excellent qualities of the three original strains combined with the continual selection programme undertaken since this amalgamation has resulted in the Blonde dAquitaine breed possessing its remarkable length of body with excellent muscling in the back and hind quarters combined with easy calving characteristics. The French Blonde dAquitaine herd books policy of performance and progeny testing has resulted in the Blonde breed having more performance information available than any other French breed.

The Irish Blonde dAquitaine Breed Co-Operative was founded in July, 1975. Following a careful evaluation of the breeds intrinsic merit as a producer of top quality beef. Twenty breeders imported 250 specially selected females and 6 bulls in 1975. Most of the top French blood lines are seen in the pedigrees of Blonde cattle in Ireland with the Irish Society continually sourcing the best new blood lines available thereby ensuring that the top class quality of Irish Blonde cattle will continue.

Blondes Produce the Perfect Product
The Blonde is now truly recognised as having a very important role to play in the production of top quality suckler weanlings suitable for the home market and the lucrative European markets. On the female side, the commercial dam is noted for producing long, lean muscled animals when crossed with any other continental sire. The Blonde has many good mothering traits including docility - a trait that has become increasingly important in the last few years for the many part time farmers. Their calving ability, longevity and high fertility rates are widely proven which in turn creates a big demand for the weanling heifers.

The Blonde sire can be used on Hereford, Aberdeen Angus, and on any continental breed whether it is Belgian Blue, Charolais, Limousin, Simmental, etc. The Blonde adds significant growth, leanness, width and length to their calves. Many suckler farmers using a Blonde bull have been amazed at the length of the cross bred Blonde. It must be remembered that the loin is equally as valuable in meat terms as the rump. The factory and supermarket buyers are now fully aware of how valuable the Blonde is and are continually seeking Blonde finished animals.

The Suckler Farmer
Eddie Walsh is a suckler farmer in Co. Laois. He has been using a Blonde bull with his sucklers for the past four years. His cows are a mixture of Blonde crosses, Simmental crosses and Limousin crosses. Eddie is also building up a herd of pedigree Blondes. He has found the Blonde sire produces top quality weanlings. Calves are small when born but are hardy and lively and are usually standing up and suckling their mothers within a few minutes of birth. Due to ease of calving, cow fertility is high. Eddie believes that a healthy calf from every cow yearly increases profitability. Eddie has no problem selling his weanling bulls or heifers. The same customers return to his yard for his stock each year and most importantly they offer him premium prices. Since he started using a Blonde bull four years ago he has calculated that the average price per animal of his weanlings has increased by e 100.

The Pedigree Farmer
As a relatively new Blonde breeder, Jim Miller from Co. Westmeath, has found both cross bred and pedigree stock to be proving very satisfactory. Jim says that Blondes are natural musclers, have great conformation and excellent calving ability. He believes that a well chosen Blonde bull has a lot to offer the suckler farmer and that there is a Blonde bull to suit most suckler situations. He believes that the vast amount of information available from the French A.I. catalogues should be studied and availed of. In the context of the Italian weanling trade, muscling, conformation, weight gain, colour, lean meat and uniformity are all critical in the search for top prices. Pre BSE, prices were in excess of e 3 per kg. Pedigree and near pedigree Blonde dAquitaines are ideal for this market. Jim sees the future in an all Blonde herd.

The Supermarket and International Buyer
As a buyer of Blonde dAquitaine heifers and bulls in recent years, Peter Tormey says that Eurovee have come to appreciate the Blonde both as an ideal suckler replacement and as an outstanding butchers animal. Peter considers that the Blonde heifer/cow has all the correct genetics when it comes to producing quality progeny. Apart from well muscled animals with great length, the cows are also noteworthy for their longevity. On the beef side of the business, Peter believes that Blonde heifers are outstanding for butchering here in Ireland while the commercial Blonde cross bulls/steers are ideally suited to the continental market.

Eurovee, which has for many years exported Blondes to continental Europe, first began slaughtering commercial Blondes themselves in Ireland in 2001 with a bunch of Blonde cross bullocks. Eurovee were impressed with the kill-out results of these bullocks which were under 30 months and ranged from 656 kilos to 808 kilos live weight and 350 kilos to 471 kilos dead weight. Grades ranged from R4L to U4. Peter Tormey also buys cattle for Pettitts Wexford who are well known for the quality meat sold in their supermarkets. Pettitts have also recently started slaughtering commercial Blonde heifers for their supermarkets and are extremely pleased with the kill-outs and leanness of the Blonde heifers that they have slaughtered.

The Dairy Farmer
Tony and Marion Quinlan have kept a Blonde bull with their dairy cows for the past 8 years and are very happy with the results. Tony says that the Blonde is an ideal sire for dairy cows because of calving ease. He does not have to worry about enormous calves and difficult calvings. He finds that the calves are very healthy, lively and excellent drinkers. Due to the lack of difficult births, cow fertility is very high which all contributes to minimum veterinary expense. When it comes to selling his stock, he has no problem selling his heifers as the same customers return year after year to purchase Blonde cross heifers as replacements for their suckler herds. He has also finished some Blonde heifers and bullocks which have killed out extremely well with high proportions of quality meat concentrated in the high price cuts. He has found that Blondes can be finished quickly and well before they reach 30 months.

They are great cattle to finish with a very high feed conversion rate and obtain top grades in the factory. They have high kill-outs due to their tight gut and light bone structure. Blonde meat is very lean with little or no fat which is very important in the health conscious society that we live in today. Colour is also an important factor. Tony finds that the Blonde will produce mainly black or red cattle which makes them more uniform and attractive to the buyer especially to the buyer for the European markets. Docility is another trait that Tony says is important and here again Tony is delighted with his Blonde cattle with no difficulties in handling them. Having used a variety of Blonde bulls in the last 8 years Tony is very satisfied.

Email:
por-na-mblondedaquitaine@hotmail.com

Web:
www.irishblondedaquitaine.ie