Charolais   

Charolais is one of the most popular beef breeds in Ireland and is the dominant terminal beef sire breed bred to beef cows in 2007. Their coat is a distinctive cream or white (in pedigrees) colour. The breed tends to be large with pronounced muscular development. The average mature cow would weigh 600 – 800 kg while the average working bull would weigh 750 – 1000 kg.

Charolais cattle originated from a region in east central France called Charolles. Originally the breed was versatile in that it was bred for meat and milk production and also draught purposes before the introduction of mechanization on farms in the 1920’s. After the 1920’s the breed was bred for muscularity and overall size leading to heavy carcasses and large proportions of meat content. Charolais was the first continental breed imported to Ireland. This took place in 1964 when eight bulls and nine heifers were imported from France. The first Charolais calf was born in 1967. Their superior growth rates, conformation scores and kill-out rates over the native breeds lead to rapid expansion of the Charolais breed in Ireland. In 2007 both beef (41%) and dairy (4%) dams were bred to Charolais sires.

Advantages of Charolais

•  Fast growth rate and feed efficient
•  Heavy carcass weight and high meat yield
•  Ideal beef for higher priced EU markets
•  Hardy adaptable and prolific stock
•   Docile and easy to handle
•  Easy identification via the uniform and distinctive coat colouring
•  High prices when sold regardless of age due to desirable overall appearance

Read more on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charolais_cattle

http://www.charolais.com/

http://www.charolais.ie/

http://www.tasc.ie/charolais.html