Performance Line
biggest worry is people showing up . Being there means that you care , you don ’ t have to buy , but maybe you will end up finding something that you need to enhance your program . The biggest advantage you ’ ll have is seeing what cattle are selling and what cattle you like , which will give you a leg up in your breeding program .
Helping your fellow man is something we should aspire to do daily and something that means a lot to folks on their biggest day of the year . In the end , being a seedstock breeder is as much about being part of a community as it is about the cattle , and if you embrace the people , the cattle part will come .
Will Limousin breeders embrace international opportunity ?
For the first time since 1992 , the International Limousin Congress is coming to the United States in 2018 . While some folks are looking at it as a 10-day party for international guests , those folks are short sighted . This forum gives the U . S . a door back into the international community that has been left neglected for some time . Millions of dollars have flowed into the pockets of other countries for Limousin business , while Angus breeders have dominated a South American market that was and is ripe for the injection of American Limousin . The Australian , Canadian , and New Zealand markets are tailor made for purebred Limousin and Lim-Flex , but there are few relationships that have been built across those borders . The European market could use an influx of new fullblood genetics , but they haven ’ t seen nor do they know about our programs or people here . This is the opportunity to show off U . S . genetics and to gain a foothold in the international market that we have let whither on the vine .
Will Limousin breeders continue to make excuses or will you adapt ?
The addition of beta-agonists to feeding systems in the United States took away some of Limousin ’ s crossbreeding advantage . Why deal with infertile heifers , wild bulls , and poor marbling when we can just replace it with feedbag ? For more than ten years , Limousin breeders have known this and have selected for docility and fertility and yet , despite the addition of Lim-Flex , the breed has gone backwards on marbling . As seen in Table 1 , the average IMF scan data in yearling bulls has decreased from 2005 to 2015 . We ’ ve fallen to last among major breeds in yearling weight according to US Meat Animal Research Center data because we haven ’ t
Table 1 . Average Weight / Measures on Bulls by Birth Year
Birth Year Count Act . BW
Adj . 205d Wt .
Adj . 365d Wt . Adj . BF Adj . IMF Adj . REA
2015 6784 81.6 654.4 1164.4 0.23 2.77 14.62
2005 12047 83.9 629.0 1115.5 0.20 2.78 14.12
1995 21471 86.1 585.9 1016.1 0.11 1.62 12.74
1985 9100 84.2 562.5 963.3
18 | SEPTEMBER 2017