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The
History of Maine-Anjou
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.
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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