The Simmentaler/Fleckvieh breed is one of Europe's oldest breeds and with a total population numbering over 41 million head, the Fleckvieh is the second largest breed in numbers in the World. (The Bos Indicus breeds are the largest numbers). The largest numbers of Fleckvieh are found in Germany, Austria, Italy, France and the Czech Republic. The Fleckvieh breed continues to grow in popularity and numbers in the United States.
The Montbeliarde breed belongs to the Jurassic branch (descended from Bos Frontosus) which the group of Pie Rouge breeds stem from. Therefore, the Montbeliarde breed belongs to the Simmentaler/Fleckvieh families. The breeds history dates back to the beginning of the 18th Century with the breed originally called the Alsatian until around the mid 1800's when it was changed to Montbeliarde.