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The heavy Limousin muscling stems from a unique gene allele — one that doesn ’ t negatively impact the tenderness or meat quality .
The Angus cross in the Lim-Flex breed balances the Limousin traits . Their influence brings another level of marketing to the progeny and meat . Though Limousin provides the muscle mass , Angus provides the tenderness and marbling , or intramuscular fat , desired by the market . Angus already have a high dressing percentage , and this benefits the efficiency of the Limousin breed .
Dairy Impact
Dairy producers looking for better profit margins have taken a keener interest in breeding some of their lower value dairy animals to beef crosses for offspring that fetch more in the beef market . Limousin , with its favorable ribeye area , abundant muscling and beef quality , is a perfect complement to other dairy breeds who have marbling but lack the right beef structure .
A great example of this is illustrated in the pairing of Limousin bulls with Jersey cows . The Jersey breed is known for its ability to marble very well , but its small frame and lack of muscling make straightbred calves very poor candidates for beef buyers and processors . Luckily the Lim-Flex hybrid solves many of those issues .
Wulf Cattle in Morris , Minnesota , has worked with dairy farmers to help select the best Limousin sires to help meet their goals . Their “ Beef Builder ” dairy hybrids have significant gains over straightbred Jersey calves in areas of average daily gain , hot carcass weight and ribeye area all while consuming significantly less feed to gain . Combined , these all worked to make a hybrid Jersey bull calf as much as 10 times as profitable compared to a straightbred .
Other Benefits of the Lim-Flex
The compatibility of Limousin with other beef breeds provides producers with genetic options that have the goal of using the muscling and efficiency of Limousin and the marbling and maternal qualities from the Angus breed .
Oklahoma State University highlights how the powerful genetic blend allows flexibility for seedstock and marketable progeny with desirable dressing percentages and high yields . Additionally , the females adapt well not only in terms of efficiency as mentioned previously , but also to a range of environments .
The ability to adapt to a multitude of environments allows for the animal to be hardy in various extremes . Lim-Flex animals are not only hardy when it comes to the environmental changes , but their calving-ease traits and maternal aspects from Angus make them great mothers .
Without a doubt , Lim-Flex has impacted the industry for both producers and consumers in a positive way . The ability to beautifully blend some of the best qualities of Angus and Limousin together has shown many proven benefits . Angus provides the marbling and goget-it that compliments the heavy muscling , hardy Limousin . Overall , the Lim-Flex was breed for the flexibility in a multitude of traits , and it fits the bill for both the consumer and producer .
48 • OCTOBER 2022