Aveyron at the Agricultural Show: Gaec Chayrigues proud of his Saphir cow

Le Gaec sud-aveyronnais fier de présenter Saphir en concours. Midi libre – P. C.

Le Gaec basé à Sévérac-d'Aveyron sera au Salon de l'agriculture pour la troisième fois de son histoire. Il y présentera une vache en concours.

Rémi, Clément and Denis Chayrigues are brothers and associated with Christian Poujol to form the four of them Gaec Chayrigues, named after the family farm, located in the hamlet of Lescure in the commune of Sévérac-d’Aveyron. Arnaud, Clément's son and Emma, ​​his niece, are employed, while waiting for their installation.

16 places for the cattle competition

For selections in the competition, the national territory is divided into three zones, namely: Brittany with four selected, North-East and South with six selected each. In total, there are sixteen places for the sixteen best French cows in the brown breed category. Note, another Aveyron breeding will also be present at the Show in the same category, Gaec Brast in Druelle-Balsac, the others selected being Lozerienne (1), Cantaliennes (2) and Puydomoise (1).< em>"We don't know the other animals, we don't master everything. There is the journey, the cow must manage to adapt to the Show, we cannot make a prediction. It’s already a great satisfaction for us to have an animal selected", confides Clément Chayriguès. For enthusiasts, the competition will take place on Monday February 26 at 9:30 a.m. and will be broadcast live on the internet.

Two productions are provided by the farmers: one of dairy cows for  the AOP Bleu des Causses and one of Red Label sheep meat, free-range lamb from Pays d’Oc. If the Gaec will be well represented at the International Agricultural Show from February 24 with its Bleu des Causses, the event comes from the fact that Saphir, one of its young cows, was chosen to represent the brown breed among around sixty candidates in the South zone to be in the sixteen best in France. To get there, the Gaec registered four cows shortly before Christmas. According to the criteria, these are cows in first lactation, daughters of French bulls. In mid-January, the Chayrigues family learned that Saphir had been chosen.

Fifteen minutes of training per day

Then begins a dressage phase, essential to being able to compete. Every day, methodically, you must devote at least fifteen minutes to it. First, the animal must get used to the halter in freedom. Then, she is tied among her peers to familiarize herself with the rope and the absence of freedom, under the watchful eye of the farmer. Finally, when the time comes, the cow learns to move, first supervised by three vigilant farmers then two, to manage to wander without fear with the one who will be present during the competition. & quot;It's Arnaud, my son, who will take on this role", rejoices Clément Chayriguès. "It is imperative to anticipate the event, explains this one. The animal must be as calm as possible once arriving at the Agricultural Show and must be able to move through the crowd in complete safety."

The farmer is used to it because he trained to be a judge and participates in departmental competitions. In addition, this is not the first participation of Gaec at the Show since already in 2008 and in 2023, one of their cows had been selected. Very recently sheared in accordance with regulations, Saphir will leave her stable on Friday February 23 to be ready for the opening of the Show the next day. The sole judge of the competition will be responsible for evaluating the 16 cows, divided into three to four groups.

Meeting customers and consumers

It will focus on the morphology of the animal: legs, pelvis, body but also udders, a criterion accounting for half of the overall score. The way the cow moves is also decisive. Saphir, accompanied by Arnaud and Clément Chayriguès, will leave the Salon on Tuesday evening to return to the calm of the South Aveyron farm. "Beyond the competition, our presence at the Show is a privileged moment to meet our customers, consumers and explain to them how we work to provide them with quality food", concludes the breeder.

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