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The Maine-Anjou breed originated in
the northwestern part of France.
This area is excellent for beef
production as it has both grassland
and tillable land.4
At the beginning of the 19th
century, the cattle in this region
were large, well-muscled animals
with light red coats spotted with
white. These cattle were known as
the Mancelle breed. In addition to
their size and muscling, the
Mancelle has a reputation for their
easy fattening. Laclere-Thouin, an
agriculturist, wrote in 1843 that on
the community pastures of the Auge
Valley, the Mancelle "were the last
to be put onto the grass, but were
the first to be picked out to go to
the markets in the capital city".
In 1839 the Count de Falloux, a
landowner, imported Durham cattle
from England and crossed them with
the Mancelle. The cross was
extremely successful, and by 1850,
Durham-Mancelle animals were winning
championships at the French
agricultural fairs. In 1908, the
Society of Durham-Mancelle Breeders
was formed at Chateau-Gontier in the
Mayenne district. In 1909, the name
was changed to the Society of
Maine-Anjou Cattle Breeders, taking
the name from the Maine and Anjou
River valleys.
The Society has worked steadily for
the improvement of the breed.
Breeders of the cattle were mostly
small farmers whose goal was to
maximize income from their small
area of land. For this reason, the
Maine-Anjou evolved as a
dual-purpose breed, with the cows
used for milk production and the
bull calves fed for market. It is
still common on many farms to find
Maine-Anjou being milked. In many
herds, half the cows are milked and
the other half raise two calves
each.
The Maine-Anjou is one of the larger
breeds developed in France, with
mature bulls weighing from 2,200 to
3,100 pounds on the average. Mature
cows will range from 1,500 to 1,900
pounds. The coloring is very dark
red with white markings on the head,
belly, and rear legs and tail. White
on other parts of the body is also
common.
The first Maine-Anjou imported into
North America came to Canada in
1969. These cattle were then
introduced to the United States
through artificial insemination.
The Maine-Anjou Society, Inc. was
incorporated in Nebraska in 1969,
and included both American and
Canadian members. In 1971, the name
was changed to the International
Maine-Anjou Association and
headquarters were set up in the
Livestock Exchange Building in
Kansas City, Missouri. In 1976, the
named was changed to the American
Maine-Anjou Association. In 2001,
the American Maine-Anjou Association
purchased a building in Platte City,
Missouri as headquarters.
Modern day Maine-Anjou are more
solid in color pattern than their
ancestors with a large percentage of
registered American Maine-Anjou
cattle being black in color. The
Maine-Anjou breed excels in
performance/feed efficiency,
disposition and superb carcass
traits. Dominance of feeding trials
coupled with favorable returns on
dollars invested have made
Maine-Anjou cattle a feedlot
manager's dream. |
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