Normande cattle might number less than 1000 in Australia but a new breed society aims to show how the dual-purpose breed can benefit local dairy, beef and hobby farmers.
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The Australian Normande Cattle Association has set awareness and education as its main priorities and secretary Jessa Laws says the breed can play an important role in Australia.
Jessa admits Normande cows won’t compete with Holsteins, Jerseys or other major breeds but says they have wide-ranging benefits.
“You can’t compare them to a Holstein or a Jersey because they are dual purpose,” she says.
“They offer a completely different set of positives. They’re quiet, easy to work with and their milk quality is amazing, especially the high components, but they also have the dual purpose of their beef carcass. That’s where the breed will really come into its own in Australia.”
With more scrutiny on bobby calves, Jessa says the breed’s high-quality marbled meat could be a game changer.
Formation of the new breed association follows the retirement of south-west Victorian farmer Stephen Cain, who has donated the first Australian-registered Normande heifer for a raffle as a fundraiser to kick-start the association.
“Stephen was very passionate about the breed,” Jessa says.
“Because of his retiring and dispersing his herd about a year ago, a lot of people purchased his animals and we’ve become connected.”
Jessa, who farms near Portland, was introduced to the breed about 10 years ago and more recently invested in a few cross-breds.
“I like their versatility,” she says.
“They are a smaller breed with a lot of strength and are well known for their ability to create quality milk from foraging. The milk is high components and the quality of the cream is amazing. If you’re a cheese maker, it’s the bee’s knees.
“I ended up using one as a house cow and absolutely fell in love with the breed.”
Normande milk makes Camembert, Pont l’eveque, Livarot and Neufchatel cheeses in France and the breed’s meat is labelled for chefs.
“That’s where the dual purpose really comes into its own,” Jessa says.
Based in the country’s Normandy region, the breed’s stud book stems back to 1883 and there are now about three million pure-breds — about a quarter of the national herd.
Worldwide there are more than seven million Normandes, with South America home to the biggest population outside France.
“They are so hardy and the breed has adapted to the altitude, high temperatures and limited grass in South America and produce top quality milk,” Jessa says.
The association believes Normandes can excel locally in three-way crosses, cross-breeding herds or for hobby farmers and for beef. They can also add much-needed variety to herds.
“They have a high carcass yield but you’re not sacrificing dairy to use them — they are still a good dairy-producing cow with a beautiful quality of solids, high fertility, low cell count and really hardy with low health issues,” Jessa says.
“The calves they produce for the beef market grow out really well without extra grain or having to push them on supplements.”
Jessa has about 15 Normandes in her mixed herd, and has also sent a pure-bred heifer to a friend’s farm in Gippsland to see how she performs in a commercial dairy.
“They’re on par with other commercial cows in Australia, but we need to focus on utilising everything that we can within the dairy industry,” she says.
“The cows forage and convert grass to milk and then they’re producing beautiful calves to raise for beef.
“Blind taste tests in America have found Normande is on par with their top beef.”
There are less than 50 purebreds in Australia resulting from imported embryos but Jessa hopes the new association will see numbers grow.
“That’s why we’re starting the society to champion this breed and hopefully improve numbers,” she says.
“We understand they’re not for everyone, but they have their own merits and those who milk them and breed them fall in love with them for a reason.
“The French treat the Normande very seriously and have an extensive genetics selection program,” Jessa says.
“We will be working with AI companies to make sure the semen coming in meets what Aussie farmers need.”
Association chairperson Kaaren Haywood, from the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, says the breed has huge potential in Australia.
“We need versatility in our breeds so we can continue to thrive,” she says.
Kaaren became interested in promoting the breed after visiting Phil and Suzanne Hall in Western Australia and buying four cows from Stephen Cain’s dispersal sale.
“Suzanne wanted to get some recognition for the breed in Australia and there were a number of us able to purchase Stephen’s cows and it grew from there,” she says.
“We want to educate people on the beauty and versatility of this breed and show them that there are other breeds out there that can do the same thing as those they are currently interested in.
“The breed has been in Australia since the 1970s and the animals themselves have proven that they are suited to our environment. They produce a good volume of milk with good protein and butter fat content and they are well-known for their meat and its good marbling characteristics.”
Symone and Phil Vines milk up to 270 cows on robots at Simpson in south-west Victoria, predominately Holsteins, then Jerseys and Normandes.
“We were cow parking 17 full-blood Normandes for a friend last year when I fell in love with them,” Symone, who describes herself as an accidental Normande lover, says.
They now have 30 full-blood Normandes on farm.
Fresh Normandes do up to 40 litres, although one hit 50.9 litres and 4.1 kilos of milk solids at 33 days in milk. Mid- to later-lactation Normandes vary depending on lactation length but mostly sit between 18 and 25 litres.
While litre production figures are not as high as the herd average, the Normande solids are excellent, around 4.8 per cent fat and 3.85 per cent protein.
Across the whole herd, the average solids are 4.5 per cent fat and 3.5 per cent protein.
“It is difficult comparing the breeds as Normandes are a dual breed, but if I had to, I would say they sit somewhere between a Jersey and a Holstein,” Symone says.
“We only started milking these girls last year, so I don't know if they will ‘milk on’ like a traditional dairy breed but they are a strong, large, robust animal.
“We have found they have a longer gestation length than the traditional breeds, but calving them down has not been an issue and the calves are strong.
“We have seen no difference in heat stress across the herd and milk quality has not been an issue.”
The association has members from across Australia and is going through the final stages of registration.