History of Salers

The History of the Salers Breed and Salco Partners

Salco Partners Beginnings | Breeding for Success | BreedPlan | Cross Breeding Program

It is thought that Salers are descended from the 'red cattle' of ancient Egypt, having arrived in France with the Roman legions over 2000 years ago. They have been farmed conventionally for centuries in the central mountains of the Auvergne region, in the southern central region of France. The Salers breed as we know it today originated in France, on the mountains near a small village of the same name. It was recognised as a single breed in its own right in 1853, when Tyssander d'Escours undertook a breed improvement program. The French Salers Breed Society was formed in 1908. In their home town, Salers were originally bred as triple-use cattle: milk, meat and as draught animals for transport. Most of the milk produced by dairy Salers is used in the production of Cantal cheese, famous throughout the region.

Salers were not exported outside France until the 1970s, and did not reach Australia until 1985. This has resulted in the breed having very seperate genetics from most other breeds, making them ideal for cross-breeding. Salers larger frames, combined with true ease of calving and hybrid vigour when crossed with other breeds have made them popular with commercial breeders and feedlots.

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Salco Partners started in 1985, with the purchase of 30 embryos from Canada. In 1989 animals were moved to the current location with the purchase of one hundred acres 80 kilometres south-east of Melbourne. During 1989, five purebred heifers were imported from France. The numbers of purebred animals within the herd was built up using an intensive embryo transfer program with a large recipient herd. Stud animal numbers steadily increased, to the stage where Salco Partners is now runs over 100 registered breeders on 320 acres. Salco Partners participates in Stock and Land's BeefWeek, an annual event where beef breeders across Victoria open their doors to interested visitors. Details about this event can be found at the BeefWeek website.

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Salco Partners' breeding program initially focussed on polling and temperament. Having achieved these aims, and now consistantly using polled bulls (both those bred in-herd, and those selected by AI from outside herds), Salco Partners are able concentrate on improving growth rates through the Trans-Tasman Salers Breedplan, and breeding towards moderately framed, well muscled animals. This goal is aided by the Salers strong maternal instincts, and trouble free calving. Over the past 18 years, we have never had a purebred Salers mother not survive calving, despite minimal supervision. Recently, Salco Partners has begun to introduce black Salers genetics into the herd, with purebred black Salers now available for sale.

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Salco Partners was a founding member of the Trans-Tasman Salers Group Breed Plan. By recording birth, 200-day, 400-day and 600-day weights, Salco Partners are able to select the best-performing cattle for our breeding program. See the BreedPlan website for more information about the program. Breedplan statistics for registered Australian Salers can be seen by visiting the Australian Salers Association website. Type Salco in the first box, then add further search criteria to narrow your search. Search, and then click "SALCO" at the start of each result to see lineage and BreedPlan statistics for that particular animal.

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Salco Partners are running a crossbred Angus program, using a purebred Angus bull. First cross Salers/Angus calves show significantly increased growth rates due to hybrid vigour. We have found that both purebred and crossbred calves recieve a premium payment from feedlots for their weight gain ability. Breeders who have purchased Salers bulls from us have reported similar successes with increased growth rates from crosses with several different other breeds. These results shows what a Salers bull can achieve in a cross breeding situation, increasing growth rates and introducing favorable traits such as easy calving. This is demonstrated especially well by continued success with purebred and cross-bred Salers animals at the Lardner Park Steer Trials. Further details are available on our results page.

Following a trip to the annual Salers show in France to view prime bulls, Salco Partners has been running a successful AI program each year as part of spring and autumn calving. These calves show excellent muscling and temperament, and the program is infusing fresh bloodlines into the herd. Over the past three years over 100 AI calves have been born from six different French sires. Further information on this breeding program can be seen in this article.

Salco Partners currently have bulls, cows, heifers and calves available for immediate sale, with three quarters of the herd managed as spring calvers, and the remainder calving in autumn. See contact details on the last page to arrange a visit or request more information.

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