Tarentaise Breed

In secluded valleys of the northern French Alps, in a rugged mountainous area where today the French, Italian and Swiss borders come together, a breed of cattle developed from ancient Alpen herds. The breed, with the common name of Tarine, was likely the result of the crossbreeding of Bos taurus Alpinus and Bos taurus Jurassicus.

The ancestors of the Tarine, or Tarentaise, settled on the west side of the Alps in France. The breed then developed separately from any other breed of cattle over many centuries because of the geographic isolation of the area, adapting to the different challenges of the environment.

The ability of the Tarentaise breed to thrive on the steep sparse mountain pastures in extreme temperatures indicated an ability to adapt to harsh environments where forage was less than optimal anywhere in the world. Breeders exported Tarentaise cattle to the French colonies in North Africa around 1900. Put out to forage in the area bordering the Sahara Desert, the Tarentaise cattle breed adapted to the difficult environment. Breeding with native African cattle produced crossbreeds with a marked advantage over the native cattle in meat and milk production in the harsh environment.

In the 1970’s, North American cattle breeders became aware of the advantages of the Tarentaise breed. The isolation of the breed in the Alps over many centuries meant new genes could be introduced in a crossbreeding program with the english breeds, and enhance hybrid vigor. The many traits admired by the French in 1861 were later admired by the Canadians and Americans in the 1970’s. In 1972, Canada imported the first Tarentaise, a bull named Alpin. A year later, Tarentaise were introduced to the United States, beginning in the northern plains states, and eventually found in all corners of the continent.

The American Tarentaise Association was formed in 1973. And the Canadian Tarentaise Association was formed in the early 1970’s. Today, the Tarentaise cattle in North America still have the same desirable attributes. Some of the traits that the purebred American Tarentaise cattle bring to crossbreeding and commercial cattle herds are: the longevity factor, ease of calving, the maternal traits, milk quality, ability to travel for feed, and adaptability to harsh environments, and high altitude pastures. Tarentaise cattle have uniquely desirable flavors in their meat. This fact is well established within the community of users of meat in North America.

Breed Color

FullBloods

Breed color is Auburn, with distinctive dark markings on their legs, and dark pigmentation around the eyes and orifices. The cows, steers, and calves keep to one color with age. The bulls tend to darken round the face and necks with age.

Purebred

In the 1980's the breed stated breeding up cattle to get a black hide. Very few maintain the solid black color, mainly seen in the bulls. The "black Tarentaise" cow color will run from and very dark brown to and almost black streaked with brown. Today you can see Purebred Tarentaise with Black, Yellow, White, and Gray. Some can have the white pigmentations around the eyes and nose.