Maine-Anjou

The herd book was established in 1908 under the name Durham-Mancelle and soon renamed Maine-Anjou. In France the breed was renamed again in 2004, to Rouge des Prés, but the old name persists everywhere else. It was a dual-purpose animal in France before North America took it as a beef breed in 1969, and about one third of the world population is now in the United States, registered by the American Maine-Anjou Association in Platte City, Missouri.

They are among the biggest cattle in this catalog. French figures run cows at 1,870 to 2,200 lb and bulls at 2,200 to 3,300, with bulls averaging 67 inches tall; the American Maine-Anjou Association puts mature cows at 1,500 to 1,900 lb and bulls at 2,200 to 3,100. The traditional coat is dark red with white markings, on horned cattle, but the association says a large share of its registered cattle are now black, and its sire records list horned, polled and scurred status. Some animals carry a myostatin deficiency producing double muscling, though the breed has never selected for it deliberately.

Even tempered, easy to handle and good natured is the American Maine-Anjou Association's description, and it says feedlot operators and ranchers count that as a real asset. Ontario's agriculture ministry lists good disposition among the reasons producers choose the breed. Texas A&M's guidance for youth show projects still puts Maine-Anjou with the Continental breeds it recommends for older, stronger and more experienced handlers, because of their size and fast growth.

Cornell's general guidance on beef cattle safety holds here too: a cow with a newborn calf can be very aggressive, so avoid walking between her and the calf, and no bull can be trusted.

Growth and a heavy, well-muscled carcass, and the cows milk more than most continental breeds because of the dairy in their background.

In the United States a large part of the registered population is now Maine-Anjou crossed with Angus, sold as MaineTainer, which moderates the frame.

Size is the cost. The association puts mature bulls at 2,200 to 3,100 lb and cows at 1,500 to 1,900, and Texas A&M AgriLife rates the breed 4 for growth and mature size. Its advice for the Continental beef breeds is to watch birth weight and calving ease, especially on smaller cows; USDA's 2024 across-breed tables put Maine-Anjou-sired calves at 86.4 lb at birth, against 84.7 for Angus.

Texas A&M rates heat tolerance 1, the lowest rating in its table. The association says Maine-Anjou-influenced cattle perform in a wide range of settings and climates, and that they finish in fewer days on less feed per pound of gain.

The trade is the breed's frame. A purebred Maine-Anjou is a big animal with the appetite to match, and mature cow size is a cost you carry every day of her life, not just at weaning.

Ask whether an animal is purebred or a MaineTainer percentage animal; both carry papers from the American Maine-Anjou Association, and the mature size you will feed differs accordingly.

Recent sale prices on HoofnHorn, where there are any, are further down this page.