Why Choose Blondes?

RASE 2000 Champion - Gregors Janet

The British Blonde ...

is a modern breed with ancient origins.

is enjoying continuous expansion.

is a hardy thrifty breed.

is a high performance breed.

has features to satisfy all sectors of the beef industry.

The Breeder appreciates the hardiness, basic qualities and growth rates of these cattle which enable them to produce strong, very
well developed weaned calves with good conformation resulting in maximum profit per cow.

The Fattener benefits from their good growth rates resulting in the maximum yield of meat (particularly in the highest cuts) in the
minimum of time ie: profitable production.

The Butcher can, particularly, make full use of the excellent conformation of the carcases which have the minimum of waste
(fat, bone, etc) and a high proportion of prime cuts.

Finally the Consumer appreciates the tenderness and flavour of beef from stock specifically bred for producing healthy beef.

Because the breed (in France) became recognised as recently as 1961 it was subjected to rigorous testing and great use was made
of Artificial Insemination (AI) with some 40% of production being achieved using the technique. The British Blonde Society has
maintained close links with the Blonde d'Aquitaine Herd Book in France and has had access to their genetics which has speeded the advance of the breed in the UK. The French breeding and evaluation programme is awesome to most UK breeders and is unlike
anything available to Blonde breeders in the UK. Please contact the Blonde Office for more details of British Semen.

Some of our Blonde breeders have prepared for the future by qualifying better bulls for semen collection and hopefully exports,
already a number of doses from British Blonde bulls have been exported to Australia and we have orders in the pipeline from Brazil,
New Zealand.
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A Summary of 'Review of Literature on the Blonde d'Aquitaine Breed of Cattle'

A Report prepared for The Blonde d'Aquitaine Breeders Society of Great Britain by
ADAS - Published June 1994

BLONDES SURVEY THEIR STRENGTHS

The Blonde d'Aquitaine breed has all the assets necessary to help British Farmers meet the stringent requirements of the modern
beef industry. Continual selection over the years has produced a beef animal that combines ease of calving with impressive growth
rates, and which can consistently produce carcases of good conformation and with high killing out percentage.

These qualities have already attracted many farmers and butchers to the breed - the Blonde being alone among the major beef breeds
in increasing its number of inseminations in the early 1990s at a time when the overall market was falling.

They have also been confirmed by many pieces of research work over the years. Hard proof to support such claims is often hard to find - but not in the case of the Blonde d'Aquitaine. The ADAS Review of Literature produced for the Breed Society examines research work carried out around the world on the breed and provides comprehensive and authoritative proof of the breed's qualities.

The review highlights the key areas where the Blonde's assets are sure to be appreciated - by farmers and butchers alike.

CALVING CHOICE:

Other studies show the breed to have an advantage over other beef breeds when mated with Friesian cows, with one trial finding that
only 6.1% of calvings requiring assistance, compared with 17% for Charolais, 11.9% for Limousin and 17.8% for Belgian Blue.

PERFORMANCE THAT PAYS:

Evidence from the MLC shows that the Blonde's superior killing out means its carcase growth rates compare favourably with any other major breed.

While it's daily live weight gain may be lower than the Simmental or Charolais, the small amount it loses in total growth is more than recouped through its ability to produce quality carcases. Major trials in several countries have underlined these findings.

In a New Zealand trial of 120 beef breeds on Aberdeen Angus cows, Blonde sired crossbreds outperformed all others, achieving 68.3% lean meat (other breeds 67.1 - 62.4%), with an advantage of 16.4% carcase weight and 22.4% saleable meat over the pure Angus control group. Continental work has shown the Blonde to have superior feed conversion efficiency to main competitor breeds. German work rated Blonde bulls ahead of Simmental, Limousin and Peidmontese x German Brown bulls.

Danish work using dairy dams showed the Blonde just behind the Charolais, but ahead of Simmental, Chianina, Romagnola,
Limousin and Hereford.

CONFORMATION WHICH COUNTS:

Many studies from all over the world confirm the Blonde's outstanding conformation and ability to produce carcases that contain more meat, extra meat in the higher priced cuts, lower bone content and lower dressing out than competitor breeds when crossed with a wide variety of damtypes.

MLC work identifies advantages like the breed's lower backfat levels, which - at 2.4 mm - are similar to Limousin, but below those of
other major breeds (Simmental 3.6 mm; Charolais 3.3 mm; Hereford 3.8 mm).

Data from 25 years of testing at the Egtved beef testing station in Denmark showed that Blondes achieved better eye muscle area than other breeds from smaller carcases, which means much more meat and less waste for abattoirs and butchers.

In their trial's carcases from 13 month old Blondes averaged 92.8 square centimetres eye muscle area from a live weight of 576 kgs, a significant advantage over it's nearest rival, the Charolais (87.4 sq cm, 627 kgs) and the other breeds tested (Limousin 86.1 sq cm, 557 kgs; Simmental 80.6 sq cm, 650 kgs; Hereford 71.2 sq cm, 587 kgs).

This is supported by Yugoslavian trials which show that, when crossed with Simmental x Holstein heifers, Blondes sires produced eye muscles averaging 100.9 sq cms (Limousin 95.9; Charolais 91.6; Simmental 84.0). On pure Simmental, Blondes produced a 102 sq cm eye muscle (Charolais 94.6; Limousin 94.4; Simmental 89.2). Both male and female Blonde-sired animals maintained their advantage when the carcasses were dressed out.

SUCKLER SUCCESS:

Demand for first cross Blonde cows from the suckler herd is almost insatiable, providing breeders with an excellent market for their produce. This demand has been fuelled by recognition of the breed's quality as a suckler dam and its ability to give birth to lively calves that are up and sucking quickly.