First imported into the United Kingdom from France in 1971, the Limousin breed has built its reputation on being ‘The Carcase Breed’, a breed able to produce quality beef with a low proportion of bone and fat.  Its influence on British Beef production has been borne through its advantages in calving ease, growth, milk, fertility, feed efficiency, killing-out percentage and meat yield.

The sustained strength in demand for pedigree Limousin cattle, male and female, is again reflected in pedigree sales figures released by the British Limousin Cattle Society which grossed £7.34 Million in 2011, an all-breeds record figure for the third consecutive year and up by £975,000.  In the course of the year, seventeen collective sales were held at Carlisle, Stirling, Brecon, Dungannon, Ballymena & Aberdeen respectively to gross £3,984,413.  Official BLCS Breeders’ Sales (which comprise of Production, Reduction & Dispersal Sales) grossed over £3,350,648 on behalf of 23 individual herds.

The sustained demand for the breed from UK cattle producers has seen, in the last eight years alone, Limousin pedigree sales grossing over £43 Million.  Again, these record breaking figures have been achieved in a period when UK cattle numbers across the board have continued to drop.

Pedigree registrations in the year sit at just over a remarkable 20,000 (actual 20,001), a new record mark with membership of the Society also at a record level of 2,810 up by 179 on the year). In September 2005, the Society reached its landmark 250,000th pedigree registration – with the last 100,000 registrations coming in just six years alone!

The Limousin’s ability to produce ½ bred and ¾ bred carcases with excellent conformation, a top killing out percentage and a top yield of saleable meat (73.3%) make it well suited to the market needs of a consistent, quality beef product.  An early maturing breed, the Limousin provides young but mature beef in the medium weight range demanded both by butchers and supermarkets.

Limousin bulls are known for their fleshing qualities, lighter bone, fertility, and for the extra conformation they pass to all progeny, whatever the dam.  Limousin suckler cows can be found on both upland and lowland systems.  They are renowned for ease of calving and ease of management, vital factors in today’s farming economy. A good milking ability and excellent fertility is complemented by a natural hardiness and thriftiness.

Two initiatives, established under the trading company Limousin Solutions Ltd, have seen significant growth since their establishment in 2009, namely Semenstore and Taurus. Taurus was established to provide pedigree livestock insurance for both private and auction sales, offering industry-standard Mortality and Luckpenny cover, in partnership with the Norfolk-based Underwriter Crowe Livestock. Please see www.taurusinsurance for further information.

The British Limousin story is a remarkable one that the breed can tell over 40 years in the United Kingdom.  This 40th Anniversary was rightly celebrated in 2011 but at the same time take serious aim was taken at the future.  From the initial import application to the UK Ministry made back in the 1960s, followed by the few pioneers importing those first 178 cattle, the breed which was largely unknown to UK farmers has now become the foremost in the country and is the industry benchmark for beef producers.

How has this happened? There are so many factors, breed pioneers and leaders, Society Councils and Chairmen have all played their parts, but mainly it is the quality of the breed, in harness with the commercial producers focussed on profit, who have driven this success.  We all have come to know the attributes of the Limousin during this period; a breed unique in the beef industry, perfectly suitable for the suckler producer, easy calved, good liveability with good growth; for the finisher, easy fleshed with good conformation and good feed conversion; for the meat processor, so versatile with excellent meat yields; and for the retailer, lean beef with a fine tender grain.  It was therefore perhaps unsurprising, but extremely welcome nonetheless, that the international research highlighting the F94L ‘Profit’ gene has given full confirmation to what we Limousin enthusiasts have long thought and believed.

The F94L gene, a modification of the myostatin gene, has been shown in international research to increase the weight of prime cuts in animals by as much as 19% and overall beef yield by 7%.  Published research has shown that in addition to the increased weight of prime cuts, and overall beef yield, animals with two copies of the F94L gene consume the same amount of feed as animals with no copies of the gene and as such are more efficient at producing beef.  The F94L gene also causes a 20 percent reduction in intramuscular fat and a 30 percent reduction in external fat cover resulting in healthier beef as well as higher yields of retail beef from each carcase.   Almost exclusive to the breed, the F94L gene is found with high frequency in Limousin cattle.