Description
Etienne Leretrif is a milk producer in Montreuil-sous-Pérouse in Brittany. He has a GAEC partnership with his father and employs one person. The farm has 145 ha with 100 cows that produce 526,455 litres of milk per year.
With 130 ha of grassland, the cows’ feed is based on grazed grass, and to make the most of it, since 2018, Étienne has been cross-breeding 3-way dairy breeds. He is looking for smaller and wider cows that will graze further afield, have a good milk solids content and breed easily. In short, cows suited to his low-input grazing and production system.
The original Prim’Holstein herd was first crossed with the Jersey breed, then with the Swedish Red and the New Zealand Friesian. Etienne had to take over the management of the matings: choice of bulls, ordering of semen doses, and so on.
Even if the cows produce a little less milk than before, cross-breeding has many advantages. The cows are healthier, the fat and protein levels are higher and the animals are more fertile. The heifers are now calved at two years of age, and are grouped with the cows. Grouping the heifers makes it easier to organise the work, and having healthy animals means that less time is spent looking after them.
