From the Field
Making Progress
By Andy Rest, NALF regional manager
As I write this in early September the
new IGS genetic evaluation has just
come out and the Limousin breed
compares very favorably to the
other members of the consortium. A
highlight of this data is that Limousin
now ranks number one in terms of
docility as compared to the other
beef breeds in the consortium.
In the early 1990’s Limousin breeders
realized the breed had a problem
and chose to address it. They
tackled the issue straight on and
developed the beef industry’s first
docility EPD. After approximately
25 years of careful selection for
cattle with improved dispositions,
the results speak for themselves.
In terms of yearling weight (YW) and
carcass weight (CW) EPD’s, Limousin
again led the pack. The breed was a
close second in calving ease direct
(CED), weaning weight (WW) and ribeye
area (REA) EPD’s. The breed’s strength
across the board is truly impressive.
There is one other highlight that
jumped out; that is Limousin ranked
second to last in terms of marbling. I
would suggest, that as the breed did
long ago with disposition, it’s time to
make marbling more of a priority.
I’m not for a moment suggesting single
trait selection. I would just encourage
you to make marbling more of a
factor in your breeding decisions. The
breed’s many strengths in terms of
calving ease, growth, feed efficiency,
disposition, and carcass traits can
32 | OCTOBER 2018
make Limousin and Lim-Flex bulls very
appealing to commercial cattlemen.
Let’s not give them a reason to discredit
the breed because of marbling.
The breed proved with disposition
that careful selection pressure can
improve a trait over time. Limousin
trend line for marbling is going up and
to increase our commercial acceptance,
it’s a trend that needs to continue.
On a completely different note, I would
like to congratulate the Colorado
Limousin Association for hosting a
tremendous National Junior Show
and Congress in Denver this summer.
Kevin and Julie Ochsner, Joey and
Colleen Freund, Mat and Wendy Lewis,
Gordon and Earline Schuppe, and
Roger, Patty and Cassidy Woodard
along with many other volunteers put
in countless hours to insure the success
of this event. Congratulations to Katie
Campbell, NALF’s director of activities,
and the NALJA Board of Directors
for all their hard work to make the
show one of the best yet. I hope you
will plan to be with us in Springfield,
Missouri for next year’s show! I