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PGI — Label Rouge — Pays de la Loire

Bœuf du Maine

Here, it is not the breed that makes the beef, it is the grass — and the time it is given.

Beef from Pays de la Loire, PGI (IGP) since 1996.

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At a glance

History & Origins

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A reputation older than its label

Maine — present-day Sarthe and Mayenne — is bocage country: permanent pastures divided by living hedgerows, water everywhere, and grass for a good part of the year. It is a terroir of livestock farming before a terroir of breed, and traditional farming here relies on natural forage.

This historical precedence explains the form of designation obtained. The PGI (IGP) 'Bœuf du Maine' was recognised in 1996, under file IG/37/94. It covers Sarthe and Mayenne along with their neighbouring cantons, Maine-et-Loire and its neighbouring arrondissements, as well as the arrondissements of Mortagne and Alençon in Orne.

What the PGI protects — and what it leaves unsaid

A PGI does not protect a breed. The Bœuf du Maine specifications permit beef breeds and their crosses — Limousine, Blonde d'Aquitaine, and Parthenaise are those cited by the organisation. This is a fundamental difference from PDO (AOP) Maine-Anjou, its immediate neighbour, which by contrast is based on a single breed, the Rouge des Prés. Two products, two distinct approaches: one guarantees an origin and rearing practices, the other a specific animal.

What the specifications impose, then, are practices. A minimum of seven months' grazing each year, thirty ares of pasture per animal, and a stocking rate capped at two livestock units per hectare: rules that prohibit landless rearing and require the cattle to be kept outdoors.

Product characteristics

Sensory profile

Appearance

clear, uniform red meat, marbled with pearly white fat; the carcass must have a pH below 6.

Aroma

clean aroma of well-matured meat, free from acidity.

Taste

full flavour, sustained by the grass and the length of the finishing period.

Texture

tender meat with a well-defined grain, softened by maturation.

How it is made

01

Grazing

a minimum of seven months per year, on thirty ares of pasture per animal and a stocking rate of at most two LSU per hect… Read more
a minimum of seven months per year, on thirty ares of pasture per animal and a stocking rate of at most two LSU per hectare.
02

Feed

GMO-free feed approved by the association, supplemented with at least 52 kg of pure linseed per animal.

03

Finishing

one hundred days for steers and females under 52 months, sixty days for older females.

04

Slaughter

minimum carcass weight of 350 kg for females, 380 kg for males.

05

Maturation

at least ten days for roasting or grilling cuts, four days for cuts to braise or boil.

Tasting & pairings

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Long maturation calls for assertive cooking: a rib steak or entrecôte, briskly seared and served rare, is what best does justice to ten days of resting in the cold room. Braising cuts, matured for four days, call on the contrary for slow, patient cooking — pot-au-feu, daube. A somewhat fleshy Loire red, such as a Saumur-Champigny or Bourgueil, stands up to the meat without overpowering it.

Labels & certifications

PGI (IGP)

Since: 1996

Area covered: Sarthe et Mayenne et cantons limitrophes, Maine-et-Loire et arrondissements limitrophes, arrondissements de Mortagne et d'Alençon (Orne)

Key requirements: Beef breeds of the Grand Ouest and their crossbreeds — no set breed; grazing for a minimum of 7 months per year, 30 ares of pasture per animal, stocking rate capped at 2 LSU/ha, GMO-free feed

Label Rouge

Since: 1986

Area covered: Sarthe and Mayenne as well as their neighbouring cantons, Maine-et-Loire and its neighbouring arrondissements, and the arrondissements of Mortagne and Alençon in Orne

Key requirements: Finishing period of 100 days (steers and females under 52 months) or 60 days (females over 52 months); minimum of 10 days' maturation for roasting or grilling cuts, 4 days for braising cuts

Approved under number LA 03/86.

Good to know

The defence organisation also champions the Bleu-Blanc-Cœur initiative, which relies on adding linseed to the feed (a minimum of 52 kg of pure linseed per animal). This is not an official quality mark but an industry charter with nutritional aims: it does not, therefore, appear among the labels above.

The people of the terroir

Guarantor body — the producers' association, syndicate or trade body that upholds the appellation Guarantor Le Mans

Association pour la Production, la Commercialisation et la Promotion du Bœuf Fermier du Maine

Association

Producer Douillet

GAEC Chauveau

GAEC

Producer Avesnes-en-Saosnois

Sébastien Moisi

Family-run

Producer Dangeul

Jean-François Lefeuvre

SCEA

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Guarantor body — the producers' association, syndicate or trade body that upholds the appellation Guarantor Le Mans

Association pour la Production, la Commercialisation et la Promotion du Bœuf Fermier du Maine

Association

The association itself places its birth in 1985: a group of livestock farmers then set up an organisation they called 'Erve et Vègre', after the two rivers running through Sarthe and Mayenne, with the ambition of championing superior-quality meat. The specifications, the first step in this initiative, were approved in 1986.

It is the defence and management organisation for Bœuf du Maine: the INAO designates it as the group holding the protected geographical indication [PGI (IGP)] recognised in 1996 under file IG/37/94, and records its address in Le Mans. It brings together the entire sector — livestock farmers, slaughterhouses, processors — around the same specifications, which it monitors.

These specifications are public and detailed. In them, the association sets out what distinguishes a Bœuf du Maine from any other: at least seven months at pasture every year, thirty ares of grassland per animal, a stocking density capped at two livestock units per hectare, a non-GMO diet enriched with flaxseed, followed by a finishing period of one hundred days and meat maturation of at least ten days for grilling cuts.

It defends not just one quality sign but three, which is unusual: the PGI, a Label Rouge approved under number 0386, and the Bleu-Blanc-Cœur nutritional initiative, which is not an official quality mark but an industry charter.

Address39 Bd Pierre Lefaucheux, 72100 Le Mans, France
Phone+33 9 67 14 65 32
Emailcontact@boeuffermierdumaine.com
Websiteboeuffermierdumaine.com
Call Directions
Producer Douillet

GAEC Chauveau

GAEC

GAEC Chauveau is a family cattle farm located in the Alpes Mancelles, committed to the Bœuf Fermier du Maine sector. Jean-Luc Chauveau and Claudine Chauveau, established since 1988 and 2002 respectively, raise Limousin cattle there; their son François joined them on the family farm as a young farmer.

The farm carries on multi-generational livestock farming in the bocage du Maine, where extended grazing and living hedgerows characterise the sector's traditional herd management.

AddressLa haute, La Sauvagère, 72130 Saint-Georges-le-Gaultier, France
Phone+33 2 43 97 26 61
Call Directions
Producer Avesnes-en-Saosnois

Sébastien Moisi

Family-run

Sébastien Moisi raises cattle in Avesnes-en-Saosnois, in the Sarthe, through mixed crop-livestock farming — around sixty Blonde d'Aquitaine suckler cows alongside his crops. Having established himself in 1994 without coming from a farming background, he built up his herd gradually, culminating in a cattle shed of around 80 places built in 2007.

His farm has been involved in the Bœuf Fermier du Maine sector, which holds both PGI (IGP) and Label Rouge status championed by the association of the same name, for around fifteen years. 'My main motivation was to produce quality meat that meets consumer expectations,' he explains — advising his neighbours to go through this sector 'for very good returns' on their livestock, with full respect for animal welfare.

AddressGrave, 72260 Avesnes-en-Saosnois
Directions
Producer Dangeul

Jean-François Lefeuvre

SCEA

Jean-François Lefeuvre raises Limousin cattle in Dangeul, in Sarthe, through mixed crop-livestock farming — around 120 suckler cows, alongside three Loué poultry houses. Established since 2005, he has been producing Bœuf Fermier du Maine since January 2021, alongside his wife Annabelle and an employee.

The animals graze from April to November, an approach focused on animal welfare and a grass-based diet.

He describes his approach as follows: « Our motivations for producing Bœuf Fermier du Maine aim to add greater value to our animals, bring us closer to the consumer, take responsibility for our products, ensure traceability, and stand out from others by offering beef produced under Label Rouge specifications. »

Phone02 43 45 01 85
Call Directions

Sources & references