Limousin

 

A popular beef breed in Ireland, their distinct red or golden-brown coat distinguishes them from other breeds. Although by cross-breeding with other cattle breeds some limousin cattle now poses a black coat and many are polled (no horns). Mature size is often smaller than the other common continental breeds such as Charolais or Simmental, however Limousin are known for feed efficiency, calving ease, meat yield and tenderness of beef. 

Limousin cattle originated from the Limousin and Marche regions of France. While the first herdbook for the breed was established in 1886 it is not known how old the breed actually is. Drawings of cattle in the Lascaux  Cave near Montignac in France which are over 20,000 years old have very similar features to Limousin cattle today. Similar to other cattle breeds Limousin was not only used to produced meat but was also used for draught purposes in the harsh climates of these regions. However after the establishment of the herdbook Limousin were selected for meat production and rapid expansion of the breed took place over the following years. Today, Limousin cattle are still referred to as the "butcher's animal" in France due to high meat yields and while there are low levels of marbling in their meat compared to other breeds, the finer muscle fibres have lead to greater tenderness and palatability for the consumer.

Limousin cattle first arrived in Ireland in 1972, however the most significant import of limousin heifers took place in 1974 which were the seedstock to limousin herds today. Limousin was the first Irish beef breed to show genetic indexes on its cattle. The development of the BLUP system which is the basis of all genetic evaluations carried out in Ireland today was originally based on the Limousin database. After this, rapid expansion of the breed took place in particular between 1990 and 2000. 30% of beef dams are bred to Limousin sires in 2007.

 

Advantages of Limousin

  • Easy calving
  • High fertility
  • Feed efficient
  • Attractive coat colouring
  • High meat yields and low fat
  • Ideal for todays health conscious consumers
  • Tenderness of meat

Read more on:

http://www.tasc.ie/limousin.html

http://www.irishlimousin.com/

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/limousin/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limousin_(cattle)