The Importance of Taking The Time

Welcome to the Limousin365 annual Herd Sire Edition. As you page through this issue you’ll find relevant herd sires, progressive programs, and the breed’s finest spring sales, along with feature stories and industry news. It’s official, the first half of the 2023 bull sale season is in our rear view mirror and now is the time to charge into the spring breeding season with optimism.

I’d like to encourage you to study your hole card and take the “time” to make sage breeding decisions that meet at the intersection of BOTH marketplace acceptance and your ultimate program goals.

As I write this column, the word “time” continues to come to mind. So, I’d like to take the “time” to acknowledge a man that always made “time” for not only myself (which I will forever be grateful for, both professionally and personally) but, taken the “time” to assist scores of Limousin breeders. Mark A. Smith is the gentlemen I’m referring to. It’s fitting I’m writing this in the Herd Sire Edition because this is the “time” of the year Mark impacts many through his consulting efforts and genetic insights. If you haven’t heard yet, it’s my pleasure to present the news.

Mark Smith To Be Inducted Into The North American Limousin Foundation Hall Of Fame

The North American Limousin Foundation (NALF) is proud to announce the induction of Mark Smith into the NALF Hall Of Fame at a ceremony in Rapid City, South Dakota, this summer during the National Junior Limousin Show and Congress, July 11, 2023.

Bruce Lawrence, NALF President, said, “We are extremely grateful to have had the expertise and service from a man that has devoted 42 years of his life to the Limousin breed and its members and is very deserving of being inducted into the NALF Hall Of Fame. He continues to be involved with the breed through various facets and still operates Grassroots Genetics and Consulting along with Grassroots Insurance.”

In 1981, Mark was offered a job with the International Limousin Journal which proved to be the beginning of a 42-year odyssey with the Limousin breed.

He was an integral part of the premier Limousin marketing firm American Cattle Services from 1982-1987; a NALF staff member from 1987-1990; from 1990-2000, he was a managing partner of the semen sales company Limi-Gene; and in 2000, he served as NALF President. He hung his own shingle up in 2001 with the formation of Grassroots Genetics & Consulting. From there, he added insurance sales, photography and videography services to his resume.

It’s impossible to know how many miles he has traveled, how many sales he has worked, how many hands he has shaken or how many pounds of sale day brisket he has eaten, but if such records were kept, he’d be near the top of the leaderboard.

When it comes to buying cattle on order or suggesting which AI sires to employ, Smith developed a reputation as one of the most trusted eyes in the business. The number of cattle he has purchased for others through the years has been lost to time, but suffice to say he gained the trust of seedstock operations from coast to coast and on both sides of the border.

In terms of his work at ringside, again the number of Limousin animals he helped sell will likely never be counted, so let’s just say he always handled himself in a professional manner while representing breeders across the country.

Given his longevity in the Limousin business, Mark has watched sons and daughters take over for their parents and in some instances, he is now tutoring third and fourth generations.

In 2022, Mark changed his business plan. The desire to spend more time with the only one who ever wanted to have a full-time seat riding shotgun, (his lovely bride De), he decided to take down his “bid spotter” shingle and retire his Hampton Inn Diamond Status to devote more time to Grassroots Genetics & Consulting and Semen Business and to Grassroots Insurance.

Mark assures us, he plans to stay involved in the Limousin breed, helping with matings, soliciting the best bulls and making sure breeders have an avenue to purchase frozen genetics from a long-time reputable dealer.

Contributions in Mark’s name, along with letters of appreciation and support to be included in the book presented to Mark and his family, can be sent to the NALF office. Checks should be made out to NALF Hall of Fame (HOF) and mailed to NALF at 6205 S. Main St., Suite D-280, Aurora, CO 80016.

In closing, congratulations Mark—the breed, myself included—owe you a debt of gratitude that can’t be repaid.

I sincerely hope you enjoy our Herd Sire Edition, it’s of benefit to your program and a promotional piece the Limousin breed can be proud of. A tip of the hat to all of the advertisers, readership and to those that continue to support and offer feedback as it relates to your magazine, Limousin365.

God Bless and I look forward to seeing you down the sale trail this spring. We are all in it together and Limousin proud.