Limousin and Lim-Flex® deliver, it’s the bottomline. With superior genetics, a simple crossbreeding plan, state-of-the-art selection tools and a full range of seedstock to serve profit-minded producers, the Limousin breed is on your side.

In today’s competitive markets, it is important to take advantage of all offered opportunities. The Limousin breed offers a variety of qualities and options from Fullblood to Purebred to the Lim-Flex hybrid (Limousin x Angus cross) to match your program’s needs.

The Limousin breed offers:

• Calving ease and outstanding calf vigor for more live calves on the ground and more pounds to sell at weaning

• Natural efficient growth and feed efficiency to add more pounds with less $7 corn

• Breeding options to fit your production system with Fullbloods, Purebred and the Lim-Flex hybrid

• Tested and proven docility with the oldest Docility EPD in the industry

• Built-in longevity for bulls that work for years and cows that last

THE OPPORTUNITY BREED

The Limousin Advantage

EFFICIENCY: The Name of the GameMaternal Efficiency

Docility ImprovementPoor docility has always been a reputation the breed has carried. However, at the Limousin Directions Breeders Symposium in 1991, breeders identified disposition improvement as the top breed priority. First, a temperament-scoring system was developed, which the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) later adopted. The breed then developed the industry’s first docility (DOC) expected progeny difference (EPD). Limousin breeders have collected docility scores for nearly 200,000 animals. Scores range from 1 to 6 – 1 represents the most docile temperament, and 6 represents the most aggressive.

Commercial producers typically discount the maternal characteristics of Limousin in favor of British-based females. However, scientific evidence shows that Limousin females are biologically efficient and flexible enough to be used under various environmental conditions. Cattlemen using Limousin-influenced females know how underrated the Limousin female is in terms of production capability.

Milking ability is a trait in which Limousin females have gotten a bad rap. However, optimum is the key word to use when discussing milking ability. Problems are associated with both low and high levels of milk production. For example, cows with extremely high levels of milk have higher maintenance requirements, are harder to breed back on schedule, and may have a greater incidence of teat and udder problems.

While the thought of using Limousin sires on replacement heifers is not as common as using low birth weight Angus or Red Angus, Limousin is the lowest birth weight and easiest calving of the widely used continental breeds. There is a sizeable population of low birth weight, short gestation

length and high calving ease Limousin sires available.Get the bonus of easy cow and calf color management along with cow longevity and industry leading salvage value. Get the Limousin maternal efficiency advantage with:

Calving Ease: Calving ease is one of the traits upon which the Limousin breed was founded on this continent. Relative to growth, the Limousin breed remains a calving-ease leader.

Calf Vigor: Once calves are safely on the ground, the main objective becomes growth. Limousin-influenced calves are born easily and hit the ground ready to nurse and begin growing. Cattlemen around the world have commented on how fast their Limousin-sired calves develop within in the first 30 to 60 days.

Maternal Efficiency: Cattlemen using Limousin-influenced females in their herds know how underrated the Limousin female is in terms of production capability. In terms of biological efficiency, the Limousin-influenced fe-male under varying feed conditions is unsurpassed.

10  

12  

14  

16  

18  

20  

22  

2002   2003   2004   2005   2006   2007   2008   2009   2010   2011   2012  

Docility  EPD

 (DOC)  

Limousin  10  year  Docility  Trend  

14  

16  

18  

20  

2002   2004   2006   2008   2010   2012  

Stay

abili

ty E

PDs (

%)

Cows That Last

Source: North American Limousin Foundation (NALF) EPD genetic trends for stayability

Weaned % Born Wean% %

Limousin 2 2 80.1 73 95 91Hereford 3 6 81.4 70 94 91Angus 1 5 79.6 76 95 89

Gelbvieh 4 4 83.4 68 90 86Simmental 6 2 79.4 69 90 87Charolais 5 1 81.4 73 90 86

53

Mature Cows(5 years old)

152

Breed Differences for Maternal Efficiency

1Germplasm Progress Reports, ARS-USDA Meat Animal Research Center2Ranked by grams of calf weaned per kilogram of dry matter intake per cow. Composite rank across high and

low feed compiled by NALF

Breed

2Biological Efficiency RankFirst Calf Heifers

(2 years old)

Low Feed High FeedComposite

RankBirth Wt.

(lbs)

4

EFFICIENCY: The Name of the GameFeed Efficiency

“By adding Lim-Flex to my breeding program it allowed me to add the additional frame size that my herd was lacking while adding muscle. Including Lim-Flex into the breeding program at Cross Four Ranch

has also increased the performance on cattle as they enter feedyards. Increased average daily gains and better dry-matter conversions have

helped lower our cost of gains. Improved yield grades with higher cutability on cattle is reflected directly on grid results with cattle that

consistently grade 80-90% Choice and Prime.”

-Fred Wacker, Cross Four Ranches, Miles City, Montana

The implementation and usage of Limousin genetics in both conventional and natural cattle feeding programs can add to your bottom line. Limousin cattle have advantages and add extra value to these programs not only at the cow/calf and feedyard levels of the beef industry, but also in the packing house sector of the business. Feedyards requiring cattle that excel in terms of performance that directly impacts cost of gains can utilize Limousin influenced feeder cattle to increase profitability.

Given Limousin’s advantages in feed efficiency, muscling and strides made in docility, they are still the perfect complement to the Angus breed’s easy fleshing and marbling ability in a crossbreeding program. Efficient pounds of production that are high quality in terms of both tenderness and marbling are very marketable products in today’s cattle business.

For cattle feeding programs that are geared more towards programs that require cattle grading Choice, The Lim-Flex portion of the breed provides feeder cattle that exhibit the benefits of heterosis through growth, muscling and feed efficiency, while still giving the cattle the ability to grade choice with improved yield grades. The benefits of added muscling that increases dressing percentages and cutability, are also advantageous to packers when procuring cattle that will yield more pounds of saleable product and fewer pounds of waste and trim. Advantages realized when using cattle that efficiently increase the pounds of saleable product per cow unit will also be critical to most producers at a time when production and feed cost are high.

For feeding companies that are supplying cattle to natural and NHTC programs, Limousin-cross feeder cattle can help offset the loss of implant benefits and the use of beta-agonist’s to recapture lost performance of technology product usage through genetics. Those same advantages achieved from

heterosis that positively impact increased weaning weights and performance traits to the commercial cow-calf man, also bleed over into lower cost of gains at the feedyard where superior feed efficiency translates to higher average daily gains and lower dry matter conversions rates, which is really what feed efficiency is all about. Limousin cross feeder cattle can project to a larger finish weight when crossed into British based cow herds allowing feedyard managers the ability to roll back breakeven on cattle farther without hurting feed conversion rates. These cattle excel in NHTC programs and natural branded programs offered by companies like Tyson, JBS and Meyers Natural Beef. Higher percentage Limousin and Fullblood cattle still excel into programs like Laura’s Lean and Strauss. Limousin genetics yield opportunity for a variety of marketing options through natural programs such as:

Meyer Natural Foods:Combining the natural way of raising cattle with the coveted Certified Humane and Ameri-can Culinary Federation designations.

Laura’s Lean Beef: Specializes in tender lean beef and is a great natural market for higher percentage Limousin cattle that excel in tenderness without excess fat.

Strauss Free Raised Veal: Exclusively procures nat-ural Limousin-influenced 450 to 550 pound calves for their veal product. Calves are sourced directly off the cow and the same price is paid for bulls, steers and heifers.

Time  on  Feed Weight  Change Retail  Product  Weight187  days 750  -­‐1300  lbs.     500  lbs

Limousin 13.9 13.35Gelbvieh 13.25 13.04

Simmental 13.73 13.78Red Angus 13.33 13.04 12.58Charolais 13.04 13.04

1Germplasm Progress Reports, ARS-USDA Meat Animal Research Center2Feed efficiency expressed as live weight gain in grams/MJ

Breed Differences for Feed Efficiency

Breed

13.5214.43

13.73

14.11

CROSSBREEDINGThe Lim-Flex Advantage

6 Inverness Court East, Suite 260Englewood, Colorado 80112-5595

(303) 220-1693 www.nalf.org

Limousin are the ideal complement to British-based cattle. Limousin females are biologically efficient and flexible enough to be used under a variety of environmental conditions. Limousin are the leading major Continental breed for calving ease along with moderate milk and mature cow size.

With Lim-Flex hybrids, there are genetic options to fit every need, from fullblood and purebred Limousin for a “full-shot” of muscle and efficiency, to Lim-Flex hybrids for a “blended-shot” of Limousin with added marbling and maternal from Angus (black or red). With Lim-Flex, breeders can offer a just-right shot of Limousin to meet the needs of most any crossbreeding program.

Lim-Flex® stands for Limousin with muscle and efficiency, along with flexibility — the most significant strength of this powerful genetic blend:

• Flexible seedstock for simple, easily managed crossbreeding • Flexible market progeny that consistently hit dressing percent, along with yield and quality grade targets fo

mainstream, case-ready markets • Flexible females adapted for efficiency across a wide range of environments • FLEX stands for Limousin Efficiency Cross (X) — the beef industry’s answer to profitable system-wide production

of case ready products

COW EFFICIENCY + 8 %

COW LONGEVITY + 38 %

COW LIFETIME PRODUCTIVITY + 25 %

CALF WEANING WEIGHTS + 5 %

CALF YEALING WEIGHTS + 4 %

C R O S S B R E E D I N G A D D S V A L U E

NALF Tagging Programs: LimMark and LimChoiceA common belief when feeding Limousin cattle is that there are limited programs to feed for. However, NALF’s

LimMark and LimChoice tagging program aids Limousin customers in identifying their cattle and positioning themselves for greater returns by coupling reputable genetics with documented information. The idea

originated at the Limousin Visions Symposium in 2004, where feedyard managers shared the breed often does not get the recognition it deserves.

In order to maximize the benefit to producers, NALF has partnered with the USDA Process Verified Programs (PVP), Tri-Merit and IMI Global, to offer verification services along with the LimMark/LimChoice tags. Cattle enrolled in the program must be Source and Age verified and have the option to be verified in Certified Natural, Non-Hormone Treated Cattle (NHTC), and Humane Treatment programs for added value.