Limousin Cattle: How a French Draft Breed Became a Lean-Beef Standard

Where Do Limousin Cattle Come From?

Limousin cattle come from the former French provinces of Limousin and La Marche, centered on the area around Limoges. The Wikipedia article on Limousin cattle notes the breed was originally a draught animal. The North American Limousin Foundation describes the region as rugged terrain that produced efficient, hardy cattle.

The French Limousin Herdbook was established in 1886, the same year a Limousin bull won honors at the Paris all-breeds competition, according to Wikipedia. The NALF adds that the herd book was reorganized in 1923 and 1937, putting the registry under national oversight.

The French Merger That Never Happened

In the 1960s the French government proposed merging the Limousin into the Blonde d'Aquitaine. Breeders opposed the merger, and the breed was kept separate. The same article says the breed did not spread widely beyond France until after a 1962 reform.

France's own numbers show the scale. Wikipedia reports about 900,000 Limousin cows in France in 2004, with 63,000 recorded in the herd book, and a national Limousin herd of 2.69 million head in 2014, second only to the Charolais among French beef breeds.

Prince Pompadour and the Move to Canada

The first Limousin genetics reached North America in November 1968, when the bull Prince Pompadour was imported to Canada from France, as the NALF history page records. In April 1969 eleven more bulls and five heifers followed. Semen from Prince Pompadour became available in the United States in July 1969.

French animal disease regulations limited direct exports to the United States, so Canadian-born offspring and semen became the main source of Limousin genetics there. From 1968 to 1974, more than 91 sires and 544 females were imported into Canada. Kansas Colonel, born and raised in Canada, became the first live Limousin bull imported permanently into the United States in the fall of 1971.

How the North American Limousin Foundation Began

A preliminary meeting on May 6, 1968, discussed whether a breed foundation was feasible. The five founding members named by the NALF were Bob Purdy of Wyoming, Charlie Moore of Iowa, Bruce Waddle of Colorado, Sherm Ewing of Canada and James Scott of Colorado. Scott was the only one who had previously seen a Limousin. NALF was organized under Colorado law on June 20, 1968.

The first annual meeting was held July 24, 1969, at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. The first National Limousin Sale took place at the National Western Stock Show in 1971, and the foundation reached its 1,000th member in 1972.

Lean Beef, Muscling and Lim-Flex

Limousins carry less marbling and subcutaneous fat than British breeds, and take longer to reach marbling targets. A US Meat Animal Research Center study found a saleable meat yield of about 46.0 percent of live weight for Limousins, against 34.9 percent for British breeds. A later study reported about 39.4 percent, and the article attributes part of the decline to loss of French Limousin content and of the F94L myostatin variant in US purebreds.

Lim-Flex, a certification mark for Limousin and Angus crossbreds, was created in 2000. It requires 25 to 75 percent Limousin and 25 to 75 percent Angus or Red Angus pedigree.

Learn More

Another overview is the Oklahoma State Limousin profile. For more breed histories, see the ranching section of farm.FM and one farm.FM story about Limousin cattle.