Executive Summary
See You Soon
By Mark Anderson, NALF executive director
Welcome to the 2018 Herd
Reference Issue of Limousin
Today. This is a special year for the
Limousin breed as our producers
celebrate the 50th anniversary
of the North American Limousin
Foundation, which was
incorporated in 1968 in the state
of Colorado! It is fitting that this
year also coincides with the
United States hosting the 2018
International Limousin Congress
and the 2018 Limousin Junior
Nationals to be held in Denver,
Colorado this summer. These
events have been 2 years in the
planning, as our breeders have all
contributed to the success of the
Limousin breed within the United
States. We hope you can attend.
For those of you in attendance
at these events, please help us
welcome our foreign visitors
engaged in Limousin seedstock
production throughout the
world as they convene in
Colorado throughout the 10-day
International Limousin Congress,
to be held in Colorado. We
would like to thank our hosting
ranches for the Congress that
have put much time and effort
into preparations; Running Creek
Ranches, Magness Land and
Cattle, Ochsner Family Limousin
and Fillmore Limousin Ranches
will provide our foreign visitors a
look at Limousin cattle produced
here in the United States. Visitors
will also get a look at our All-
American Futurity Show, held
14 | JUNE/JULY 2018
this summer at the stadium arena
of the National Western Stock
Show, in addition to numerous
other events. We would like to
thank our many sponsors for both
the 2018 NJLSC and 2018 ILC
events, here in Denver, Colorado.
Without their support, these
events would not be possible.
cattle production as never seen.
Although the advancement can
be initially painful for producers
to adapt to, the benefits of
information that provides higher
accuracies on trait selections and
accelerated genetic improvement
will be of great benefit now and
in the future. The release of BOLT
via IGS will have some changes
on our current EPD structure, but
the switch should be worth it in
the long run when predictability
of mating selections actually
increases in accuracy and trait
improvement and advancement.
Information and technology
used within the seedstock cattle
business is rapidly advancing with
the advent of new national cattle
evaluations migrating towards
single-step analysis that combine
genomics, pedigree information
and production data. Profilers
Current advancements in
now enable producers the ability
these technologies will lead to
to identify and select superior
identifying things we currently
quality cattle at a much faster rate
don’t talk about much but have a
given progeny
big economic impact
equivalent
on cattle production
Advancements
power of the
through the United
profilers in
States. Identifying
in NCE’s and DNA
the new cattle
trait characteristics
testing
will
lead
to
a
evaluations.
on the genome will
faster rate of genetic eventually lead to
This also helps
producers
identifying things like
improvement in
identify inferior
disease resistance
cattle
production
as
individuals
on individuals which
at a much
could help potentially
never seen.
quicker pace,
help to solve some
which can save
of the biggest cost
dollars to the bottom line given
involved in commercial ca ttle
the cost of production of keeping
production. When we look at the
inferior cattle in your operation
dollars spent just on pneumonia
given the high fixed and variable
prevention and treatment drugs
cost of feed, labor and medicine.
utilized in cattle production
or resistance to issues like
Advancements in NCE’s and
brisket disease, I think we are
DNA testing will lead to a faster
just at the tip of the iceberg on
rate of genetic improvement in