#Ovalie, Salers, #SIA2023 mascot cow
Ovalie, a Salers cow, was born in 2018 in Lesparot in the Cézallier region, on the borders of the Cantal and Puy de Dôme departments, in the commune of Saint Alyre at an altitude of 1,100 metres. If Ovalie has been selected to represent the breed and feature on the poster for the 2023 edition of the Show, it's because she is a perfect illustration of the Salers breed: a mahogany coat, long, curly hair, a pinkish muzzle, large, fine, light-coloured horns in the shape of a lyre, and her calm, docile character will make her the perfect muse!
Salers, the breed of the 21st century
The Auvergne region, and more specifically the Cantal, is the birthplace of the Salers breed, which got its name from Salers, a small village in the Cantal perched at an altitude of 1,000 metres. Today, there are almost 220,000 Salers cows in France.
Originally a draught animal and cheese producer, the Salers is a hardy breed capable of producing both milk and meat, making it the most complete hardy breed. Its adaptability, economic profitability, ease of management and autonomy make the Salers a breed perfectly suited to today's social challenges and to the installation of new breeders.
Marine and Michel, the new face of agriculture
For the year 2023, a farming couple has been honoured. Marine and Michel VAN SIMMERTIER, aged 34 and 32 respectively, are Salers breeders who decided to go into the living world in 2018. And yet nothing predestined them to do so, as neither of them came from a farming background. She, from Alsace, and he, from Seine-et-Marne, fell in love with the Salers breed and the region, even before becoming farmers.
So they decided to study agriculture, with the aim of one day realising their dream of owning their own farm and setting up a GAEC. It's a not-so-unusual scheme, and one that today embodies the face of the new generation of farmers. "It's a reward for the work we've done since we set up. We're well aware of the tremendous visibility this represents for our farm. We hope to be up to the task of promoting the Salers breed, our region and French agriculture in general," say Marine and Michel.