Charolais

The Charolais originated in west-central to southeastern France, in the old French provinces of Charolles and neighbouring Nievre. The exact origins of the Charolais are not known but it is thought that they have been developed from cattle found in the area. Legend has it that white cattle were first noticed in the region as early as 878 A.D., and by the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were popular in French markets, especially at Lyon and Villefranche. Selection developed a white breed of cattle which, like other cattle of continental Europe, were used for draft, milk and meat.

The cattle were generally confined to the area in which they originated until the French Revolution. But, in 1773, Claude Mathieu, a farmer and cattle producers from the Charolles region, moved to the Nievre province, taking his herd of white cattle with him. The breed flourished there, so much so that the improved cattle were known more widely as Nivemais cattle for a time than by their original name of Charolais.

One of the early influential herds in the region was started in 1840 by the Count Charles de Bouille. His selective breeding led him to set up a herd book in 1864 for the breed at Villars near the village of Magny-Cours. Breeders in the Charolles vicinity established a herd book in 1882. The two societies merged in 1919, with the older organisation holding the records of the later group into their headquarters at Nevers, the capital of the Nievre province.   more...

Upcoming Charolais Cattle Shows and Events

Royal New Zealand Show 2008
     Location: Canterbury Agricultural Park, Christchurch, New Zealand
     When: Friday 14th November 2008

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National Western Stock Show
     Location: National Western Complex, 4655 Humboldt St., Denver, CO 80216, USA
     When: Saturday 10th to Sunday 25th January 2009

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Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
     Location: Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
     When: Friday 16th to Sunday 08th February 2009

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Upcoming Charolais Cattle Sales / Auctions

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
     Location: Houston, Texas, United States
     When: Tuesday 03rd to Sunday 22nd March 2009

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Beef Australia 2009
     Location: Rockhampton, Queensland
     When: Monday 04th to Saturday 09th May 2009

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Latest Charolais Breed News

Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Charolais Genetic Viewpoint: Creating the Ideal Cow
US - The ideal beef cow is a question that is easily defined, but not so easily characterized, writes Robert Willams, International...

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Friday, August 03, 2007
Foot and Mouth Disease confirmed in cattle, in Surrey, UK
UK - DEFRA have confirmed that following an investigation of suspected vesicular disease on a holding near Guildford in Surrey,...

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Beef Expo 2007 Seals Export Links With Buyers From Twelve Countries
FARMING UK - Sale orders valued at around £498,000 for 332 breeding cattle were confirmed at the NBA Beef Expo 2007 as importers...

More News...

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