The Maraichine Cattle Breed Supports Breeders and Researchers in the Atlantic Coastal Marshlands

The Maraichine breed of cattle originates from the Loire region of France and has been under a conservation programme since 1986. This programme links the conservation of the breed with the conservation of its traditional environment of wet grasslands. In this case report, we describe the different steps of this programme, each of which had its own successes and challenges. We also describe how, throughout this process, researchers have been involved in the generation and dissemination of information covering areas such as stakeholder perspectives, animal performance, and socio-economics. Under the conservation programme, the Maraichine population has expanded in both size and scale. Simultaneously, stakeholder perspectives have also developed, continually shifting the balance between the productivity, conservation, and maintenance of heritage traits. The conservation programme also provided the opportunity to utilise the breed’s desirable traits, such as easy calving and disease resistance. Whilst the carcasses are not necessarily as valuable as those of other breeds, farmers have implemented novel economic practices to capitalise on market opportunities. Today, Maraichine cattle and Maraichine breeders offer researchers the opportunity to deepen and enrich our knowledge on sustainable ruminant livestock farming systems.