Livestock farming, a major component of the department
May 25th is the ritual day when the cows go up to the Aubrac; the day of the great transhumance festival. The animals, decorated with holly, flowers, bells and bells, climb to the high pastures to spend the summer. On May 25th, traditionally, everything is closed on the plateau, but thousands of curious people attend the event - when the sanitary context allows it! Because beyond the folklore, the celebrations and other feasts which are associated with the festivities, the transhumance constitutes a real showcase for the work of the breeders of the territory.
Elsewhere in the department, other events also testify to the importance of agriculture in Aveyron, and in particular to the importance of the activities linked to breeding. Every Tuesday morning, the maquignons clap hands under the foirail in Laissac, where calves, cows, bulls and grazers are exchanged. In March, Laguiole and Baraqueville celebrate the fattened oxen of Easter. In June, Réquista celebrates its Lacaune sheep. In autumn, La Davalada marks the return of the cows to the farm, after six months spent in the highlands. All year round, the dynamics and quality of Aveyron's livestock sectors are promoted to the general public.
With 94% of its territory classified as mountainous, Aveyron's highly contrasted terrain is conducive to the development of cattle and sheep breeds - meat and milk - but also goats and pigs. However, the farms where cows and ewes flourish are the most numerous. The department has more than 217,000 head of cows on 5,180 farms, mainly located in the north and west. While nearly 750,000 ewes roam the farmlands of the South Aveyron and more precisely in the Roquefort basin. The economic manna generated is obviously consequent - agriculture, in its totality, represents alone 10% of the jobs of the department - but the gain in term of brand image of the territory is also considerable. The excellence of Aveyron's production is indeed recognized throughout France.
Two local breeds
The Aubrac breed of cattle and the Lacaune ewe contribute to this reputation. Historians believe that Aubrac cows have been on the plateau of the same name for many centuries. It would be the monks of the dômerie, founded in 1120, who would have acclimatized them to this isolated territory. At that time, they were used for everything: the oxen ploughed the fields and pulled the carts; the cows gave milk for cheese and for their calves; their leather went to the tanner and their horns to the cutler...
Today, the Aubrac cow, with its characteristic horns, ochre coat and sublime eyes as if covered with kohl, is mainly used for meat production. It also embodies the work of passionate breeders, and more broadly, a preserved territory with character. The writer Daniel Crozes describes it in these terms: "The Aubrac breed is a fully-fledged element of the landscape and heritage, in the same way as the basalt crosses erected at the crossroads, the transhumance paths, the burons, the village washhouses or the Romanesque churches and the lauze roofs".
In the south of the department, it is the Lacaune, the emblematic ewe of the Roquefort area, which is in the spotlight. The only one authorised by the PDO cheese specifications, it takes its name from an ancient spa town in the Tarn. Shaped for the territory, after crossing several local breeds, it can be recognized by its haughty head carriage -without horns- and its long legs, extended by small hooves that allow it to clamber over rocks. Fed on grass and hay produced for at least three quarters on the farm, it produces, each day, 2 to 3 litres of milk for the Roquefort industry, and contributes, beyond this function, to maintain the agropastoral vocation of the Grands Causses, recognized in the World Heritage of UNESCO.
And several official signs of quality
Aveyron's agriculture, and more particularly its livestock farming activities, are extraordinarily rich, due to the diversity of its territories and traditions, but also because of the work of passionate people. The department is indeed distinguished by a large number of products under labels and official signs of quality and origin. The Roquefort PDO is certainly the most famous. It is also the oldest and the first in France: the famous cheese has had the designation of origin since 1925! In its wake, Laguiole, a cheese from Aubrac with a dried rind, and Bleu des Causses, a blue-veined cheese made from cow's milk, have also won their letters of nobility. Pérail, a small cheese made from the whole milk of Lacaune sheep, has been fighting since 1994 to obtain this precious label, which crowns the typicality of the products and the know-how of the people in a given geographical area.
As for meat, the department also has several quality products. The farm lamb of the Pays d'Oc, the brass lamb of Aveyron, the farm beef Aubrac and the veal of Aveyron and Ségala are crowned with the Label Rouge, which rewards strict conditions of production and a superior level of quality.
We can add to this list the numerous breeders who have chosen to go organic and carry the label AB - Organic Agriculture. Today, there are nearly 700 of them who embody an ethic and an agriculture that respects people and the environment.
Finally, our department also has its own signature, "Fabriqué en Aveyron", supported by the Departmental Council, "to highlight the know-how and emblematic sectors". Many breeders have already banked on this image, a symbol of authenticity, simplicity and naturalness; a symbol also of a territory that gives a taste for good local products. You only have to push open the door of the department's restaurants to see this. Good food is a real religion in Aveyron.
