Last weekend David Grugeon and his father Peter visited to purchase up a truck full of Salers to join their breeding operation in the Bega Valley. David and Peter were introduced to Salers during a recent visit to Scotland, and took particular notice of the calving ease and maternal traits. After further research back in Australia they made contact with us to organise purchase of as many females as they could fit on their cattle truck, along with a bull to start cross-breeding with. David and Peter join an increasing group of breeders that are interested in the maternal traits and calving ease of Salers.

Salers have a reputation for longevity in France, where I have come across 20 year old cows. However, these animals are often treated as pets, which raises the question how long Salers cows remain productive under Australian conditions with no special feeding or other treatment.

The answer is that we have cows that routinely get to 12-15 years of age having a calf every year. Our oldest cow at present is S12 (RLWPS012), who was born 20^th March 1997, making her 17 years and 7 months old. S12 has just had her 16^th calf, and has performed as both a stud animal and a commercial breeder in our herd over that time. She has remained competitive with every new generation since she was born. Her feet and udder remain sound and her calves do well. While she has been an exceptional animal, we have had several others over the years that have reached a similar age in the herd. Our next oldest animal currently is RLWPT040. She was born 23/09/1998 and is now 16 years and 1 month old. T40 has also had 16 calves, with 2 sets of twins included.

The older cows in the herd know all the ropes and lead the younger animals. They add a lot of character to the herd and make working with the cattle enjoyable and fun.