REAL WORLD Results
That ’ s what commercial cow-calf producers across the country have found . Shane Whiting and his two sons run around 1000 commercial cows in northeast Utah near Roosevelt — all Lim-Flex , bulls and cows alike . His operation is testimony to how Limousin genetics have changed and improved over the years .
Then there ’ s payday . Whiting has carcass data on thousands of head beginning in 2014 . That year , his calves came down the rail grading 94 percent Choice and Prime . “ Now we ’ re at 97 percent and they ( the feedyard ) think we have peaked out .”
“ DOCILITY and CALVING EASE are the two number-one things for a commercial rancher ,” he says . “ And the docility of the Lim-Flex is really great . But calving ease is top of the line . She has to be able to produce a calf without a lot of problems .”
Beyond that , he appreciates the longevity and fertility of his cows . “ We run all our cows until they turn 12 years of age ,” he says , adding that they have a 60- day breeding and calving season . “ And our conception rate with Lim-Flex cattle has run 95-96 percent consecutively for up to 20 years now .”
That ’ s notable because he doesn ’ t coddle his cattle . “ We ’ re grass farmers ,” he says , and that ’ s what his cattle get by on .
He also appreciates that his cows have a moderate frame size , yet they milk well . “ We have better longevity and we have a better bag ,” he says . “ These hold up .”
Looking at data from the Meat Animal Research Center , Clay Center , Nebraska , helps explain why Whiting ’ s Lim-Flex cows perform well on a diet largely of grass and grass hay . According to the research , Limousin-sired heifers had lower feed intake ( 3.25 lbs ./ head / day ) than Angus , Weaber says . The Limousin heifers also had lower body weight gain , about 0.3 lb ./ head / day .
“ There was no statistical difference in feed efficiency yet lower intake . That ’ s likely tied to the expected lower mature weights on these females ,” Weaber says . Citing other research , Weaber points out that Limousin females had the lowest mature cow weight among 10 breeds , with weights corrected for breed effect and contrasted to Angus .