Rouge Flamande
(most common name)

(transboundary/brand name):
• Holstein (red and white)
(local/other name):
• Flamande
• Population rouge
• Rouge du Nord
local/other name (English):
• Flemish Red

The Rouge Flamande was the second most important dairy breed of northern France by the middle of the 1800s and, in 1930, the first French cow to exceed a milk yield of 10,000 kg.

In the late 1940s, the Rouge Flamande was largely replaced by Friesians. While some pedigree breeders kept breeding pure, admixture was introduced by other breeders using:
• Belgian Red
• Danish Red
• Friesian

There were only 4,000 Rouge Flamande cows left in 1978. Conservation initiatives were started to restore numbers and reassert the identity of the breed. But, by 2000, all Rouge Flamande cattle had Danish Red admixture (a proportion of Danish Red genes ranging from 1/8 to 1/2).

The Rouge Flamande is now concentrated in Nord-Pas de Calais and Picardy. Selection is focused on:
• reducing Danish Red influence to 25%
• retaining a large frame size
• protein yield
• dairy conformation

There is also national and regional government support for establishing specialist markets for its products, notably cheese.

This page was last updated on: 2023-05-20

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