The "Asturiana de la Montaña"
breed (RAM) has been part of the landscape and ecosystem of the east
of Asturias for a very long time, carrying out an important role in
the conservation of the natural environment and landscape and as a
consequence, in the fixation of the population in poor areas.
The breed belongs to the Cantabric branch of very ancient origins,
and perhaps related to the Asturian
Valley breed. The RAM is the descendant of the eastern "Roxa"
beef group, historically located in the "Principado de Asturias".
This groups is distinct from the
western "Roxa", despite of evidence of further variability among animals
and among areas within the population. For centuries, breeders of
the eastern "Roxa" group in the council of Caso and bordering valleys
such as Ponga, selected for higher milk yields aimed at cheese production.
This selection made a reputation
for the bulls from the council of Caso because of their daughters’
higher milk yield, and changed their farms into sire exporters for
the whole of the east of Asturias, playing an important part in the
fixation of what nowadays we know as the Asturian Mountain breed.
The official census of the RAM
proceeds from the herdbook which is managed by the Breeders Association
of Selected Asturiana de la Montaña Cattle (ASEAMO) since its
creation in 1978.
Despite of the slow growth of
the population, industrial crossing, mainly with sires of the Asturian
Valley breed, has caused a decrease in the number of purebred Asturian
Mountain dams. On the other hand, there is a growing demand for RAM
dams from breeders from outside
Asturias for rearing in extensive
systems and for industrial crossing with sires from other industrial
beef breeds, which is affecting the availability for reposition stock
in the home of the breed.
The following points can be considered
as the standard breed characteristics: Medium head with straight
profile and big occipital protuberance.
Small ears with much hair and
slightly prominent eyes with a calm look. Horns born in the elongation
of the nape of the neck, shorter and wider in the bulls, horizontal
in the base and directed ahead and up with their ends directed to
the back and outside.
Medium neck, thin except in the
male, muscled and with a big and discontinuous dewlap, which continues
in little and lean withers, well-joined to the slightly muscular back
but well-directed, with a slightly saddled back which ends in the
hindquarters, narrow in its back diameters and slightly bent, with
the birth of the tail often lifted up.
Descending chest, deep and spacious
breast, and well-proportioned abdomen. Short or medium extremities,
beefy on the top with very thin skeletal ratios and small, round and
hard hoof. Mammary glands with good development and great quality,
well-implanted teats and thin and soft skin.
Brown coat, more or less discolored to cream tones, with a white band
round the snout and eyes and degraded to creamy colors on the inner
part of the extremities, mammary gland, inner part of the thigh and
perineal areas.
Intensification of the color with
black hairs in the edge of the ears and less intense on the edge of
the dewlap. The ends, snout, budding horns, eye circles, tail end,
and scrotum circle in males, are black as well as the eyelids and
eyelashes. The mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, tongue, anus,
and vulva are black or slate black.
Farms raising the Asturian Mountain
are typically small. with eight RAM cows on average and a variable
number of animals from other dairy or dual-purpose breeds, which make
use of the little grazing near the farms.
The use of the communal pastures
in the mountains near the farms is used by the RAM cows. Communal
pastures are used in variable dates, usually from the beginning of
April to the end of December. For the rest of the year, when the heaviest
snowfalls, the animals are fed only with grass hay without any kind
of supplement.
Commercial outputs
- The basic output is the 7-8 month-old
weaned calf for the autumn market.
- 15 month-old fed calves.
- 16-18 month-old heifers for production
on great demand from extensive farmers of Spanish continental
plains, because of their good behavior, rusticity and calving
facility (97% of the calvings do not need any help).
- 2.5-3 year-old bulls, used only for replacement,
bred extensively, and kept under specific herd management certified
by ASEAMO.
- The meat of the animals of the
breed "Asturiana de la Montaña" is protected by the label
"Casin Meat".
