The maine anjou society

 
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The Society is a group of enthusiastic breeders that are always looking for new initiatives to continue to improve the Maine breed in Australia.

 

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Welcome to

The Maine Anjou Society Ltd In Australia

The Society is a group of enthusiastic breeders that are always looking for new initiatives to continue to improve the Maine breed in Australia. It has sourced new genetics from overseas, most recently France, and continues to encourage members to use all new tools available to them, such as Breedplan, to improve their cattle to meet the ever-changing markets of Australian beef.

 

Maine Anjou are known for their:

  • ease of calving
  • feed efficient
  • docile
  • produce a quality carcass, with an even and desirable fat cover, that suits the modern-day consumer
  • colour recessive

The Society's policy is to:

  • maintain the integrity of the Herdbook in Australia
  • promote the commercial values and use of performance recording
  • market the Maine Anjou breed to stud and commercial breeding operations both in Australia and overseas

Breed History

The Maine-Anjou Breed was founded in 1839 when the French Mancelle was crossed with the Durham - the purpose was to provide better Beef production. The French Mancelle provided hardiness, vigour and excellent milking-ability even under sparse feed conditions. The Durham provided quality carcase and rapid growth. In 1908 the success of the breed was assured so the Breeders formed a Society and named the cross Maine-Anjou. The name was derived from the two French Valleys where the new breed was flourishing. The Maine-Anjou excelled in their ability to grow and milk with only forage, and soon they were the most popular breed in that region. The combination of growth, milking ability and docility impressed practical cattlemen from Canada and the United States who saw the breed in France and this lead to the first Maine-Anjou importation into North America in 1969.

Maine-Anjou was introduced into Australia in 1973. Now in all States Maine-Anjou has distinguished itself by remarkable records in carcase evaluation tests, steer competitions and in Ausmeat Beef Trials. Beef lot buyers are delighted with their growth factor and docility. Well muscled in the correct places with a minimum layer of evenly distributed fat makes Maine-Anjou popular with butchers for their high yield and gourmets for their tenderness and flavour. Today the breed is world wide. Maine-Anjou International reports "Maine-Anjou has carved a niche for itself in the commercial beef industry of the world. Tests have found Maine-Anjou crossbreds to rank higher than most imported breeds in rate of growth and feed conversion".

Maine-Anjou and Shorthorns have similar ancestry - The Durham Shorthorn. Our breeds have many similar characteristics - high fertility, excellent milking ability, ease of calving and red or red and white based coat colouring. Our breeds have the same excellent temperament and longevity features.