September/October 2025: Meet The Man Behind “The Beef Up Breed”

Our featured story takes you from big city ovens to even bigger country. Paul Plouviez came to San Francisco to bake bread, then he sold a successful cookie business and started over with cattle. For him, the choice was straightforward: do honest work, raise cattle that hold up, and help folks where you can.

Nevada quickly taught him that most breeds parked on water and wouldn’t travel, and calves were lost. So Paul turned homeward and found Gascon in the Pyrenees, a French mountain breed that walks for grass and easily handles heat and cold. 

Importing embryos meant layers of paperwork and long waits; the first round produced only a few calves. But Paul kept at it and paid the tab himself.

Today Paul runs a growing Gascon herd in the West. He’s quick with a smile, patient with questions, and generous with his time. He talks less about labels and more about feet, forage, and cattle that hold condition and add shape without fuss. Meet Gascon: The Beef Up Breed.

If you’re working rough country or weighing a cross for more muscle with easy keepers, don’t miss this month’s ABPMag interview. It’s the story of a quiet hand and a breed built for the high country.