With the Olympic Games in Paris at the moment, I thought now would be a good time to write a short story on the Limousin cattle breed.
Originating from rugged country in central France, where the summers are hot and the winters are severe, Limousin can today be found in seventy countries around the world.
The history of Limousin can be traced back to more than 15,000 years ago where rough cave paintings showing the characteristics of the breed were discovered in an area surrounding the French city of Limoges.
It was initially used as a draught animal before it became popular as a beef breed.
Although a herd book was established in 1886, Limousin numbers declined in the early 20th Century and in the 1960’s the future of the breed was not clear.
In 1962, the French Government proposed to merge them with other blonde draught breeds from the south-western France. However, Limousin breeders strongly opposed the merger, forming a Breeder’s Association and in the 21st century, the Limousin has become the second-most numerous beef breed in France, after the Charolais.
The Limousin are rich gold in colour with lighter circles around the eyes and nose and on their legs. They are moderate in size and are excellent foragers, being able to walk long distances for food and have above average feed conversion rates.
Another great trait is their ease of calving and low calf birth weights, which leads to minimum calving problems, especially when Limousin bulls are used over other cow breeds.
With high meat to bone ratios and low fat, this leads to meat that is finely textured, tender and low in saturated fats and cholesterol.
Early beginnings in New Zealand began with the inaugural meeting of the New Zealand Limousin Cattle Breeders’ Society, held in Palmerston North on March 6th, 1973.
In 1972 New Zealand and Australia began importing Limousin semen and then the first consignment of 10 purebred Limousin heifers arrived here in 1974, chosen by the Limousin Breeder’s Society Committee members, Roger James and Frank Allan. The following year the first full purebred cattle were exported from New Zealand to Australia.
Today the Limousin breed is very popular in both New Zealand and Australia, with dairy farmers also choosing to use them over their cows as a good option to increase the value of their dairy-beef cross calves.
And in a world’s first study in Ireland, the Limousin is a stand out as being one of the most efficient breeds in converting grass to red meat, making it a lower carbon footprint per kilogram of red meat.
