Farmer’s Weekly – 23 August 2019

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31

y ea rsago

TheLimousinis a well-knownbeef

cattlebreedinSouthAfrica.Thisarticle

focusedonthebreed’scharacteristics.

TheLimousinis knownforthehigh-qualitybeefit

produces.Itscarcasshasa finebonestructureand,with

itsexceptionalconformationandmuscling,it hasan

outstandinglean-to-boneratio,a highpercentageof edible

beefandwhatthebutchersterm‘idealcutability’.

It is alsoindemandbyfeedlotownersforitsrelativelygood

rateof growth,outstandingfeedconversionandthealmost

unparalleleddressing-outpercentageof itscarcass.The

lastattributehaspeoplecallingit ‘theno-wastebreed’.

TheLimousinoriginatedintheHaute-Limousinregionof central

France,anareaknownforpooracidsoils,harshclimateand

highsummerhumidity.Throughtheages,farmerstherebrought

togetherthesalientcharacteristicsfoundinthebreedtoday.

Thebreedhasa fairlyuniformcolourina rangefrom

wheatto chestnut-brown.TheLimousin’sbodyhasgood

lengthandis wellmuscled.It is classifiedintheintermediate

massrange,withbullsaveraginga massof 900kgto

1 200kg,andcows600kgto 800kg.Althoughnotbigin

size,theLimousin’sdailymassgainis impressive.

TheLimousincowhasa highmotheringability.She

protectshercalfwithgreatdeterminationforthefirstfour

weeksafterbirthandproducesamplemilkwitha good

butterfatandproteincontentonwhichsheraiseshercalf.

Thecowis aneasycalver,mainlybecausethecalfis smallat

birth.Theaveragebirthweightof a bullcalfis 39,5kg,andof a

heifer36,7kg.Researchhasshownthatevenif theLimousincowis

bredto large-framebullsof otherbreeds,shestillcalveswithease.

Thephysicalstructureof theLimousinsimplydoesnot

allowforexceedinglyheavycarcasses.Thebreedhasbeen

developedorusedmainlyfortheproductionof baby-beef

animalsagedeightto 14months,witha slaughtermassof

350kgto 545kg.Youngsteersslaughteredbetweennineand

19 monthsgenerallydressoutbetween68%and70%.

Fertilityinthebreedis excellent,withevenbullsof 15

monthsproducinggoodresultswhenmatedto cows.The

matureLimousinbullis a goodworkerandhasa highlibido.

InSouthAfrica,heiferscaneasilybemated

at 18monthsunderveldconditions.

Thebreedis alsoknownforitslongevityanditshardiness.It has

adaptedwellinmanyareas,includingtheNorthernCapeandFree

Statewiththeirhotsummers,aswellasKwaZulu-Natalandthe

EasternCape.TheLimousinalsoexcelsasa terminalcross.▪FW

ThisarticlehasbeeneditedtoadheretothecurrentstyleofFarmer’sWeekly.

18 November 1988

Limousin for

baby-beef

devotedtosaFarmiNg siNce 1911

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10 farmer’sweekly 23 august 2019

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