EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

by Mark Anderson Executive Director North American Limousin Foundation

Iam going to apologize for this rather short article in advance. Tammy and I are currently in our second week of calving on the Hamlett Ranch in Montana as part of our NALRF research project. We have not had a lot of time for anything else but tending to calves in the harsh Montana winter that won’t seem to go away. Alison Jones, and her husband, Brandon, are just starting to calve out the other group of calves at the Schott Ranch in Stockett. I appreciate the work the staff is doing to help us out, not only here in Montana, but the crew back at the office who are keeping things running for NALF.

I’m encouraged at the first ranch. We bred 229 cows last Spring and currently have 110 babies on the ground halfway through the calving period and a lot of pregnant cows out there looking very close. We will know our conception rates soon and actually have an actual number by the time you read this. One thing that is very apparent so far is the fact that we have some really nice calves on the ground out of our Limousin and Lim-Flex® sires. It looks like they will make really good feeder cattle that should produce high-quality carcasses after they finish feeding at South Dakota State University (SDSU) by 2024.

The Limousin sired calves are out of CJSL Data Bank 124D, COLE Genesis 86G and Wulfs Endurance K069E. The Lim-Flex® sired calves are out of AHCC Easy Rider 5594E, MAGS Faultless 154E and MAGS Cable 517C. Our ranchers thus far have been really impressed with the calving-ease and are surprised how stout the Limousin and Lim-Flex sired calves have been out of their commercial Angus cows. To be frank, they are big backed and big butted. They will be competing against calves by three Angus sires of similar EPD values—Musgrave 316 Colossal 137, Woodhill Complete A130-C2 and the popular Angus sire, SAV Rainfall 6046.

I appreciate all the effort, commitment and help from the NALF Board on this much needed research project. It will be interesting to measure the impacts from heterosis for commercial cattlemen by using quality Limousin and Lim-Flex® sires on commercial Angus cows. We will find out the benefits of using Limousin and LimFlex® genetics and possibly the traits we might need to continue to work on in the future. Having the research conducted at SDSU will provide a good third party assessment of the feeding performance and carcass traits when comparing the three different contemporary groups of feeder cattle. We are really excited to see the end results!

We are also looking forward the National Junior Limousin Show and Congress in Rapid City, South Dakota, this July where we plan to celebrate the 50th anniversary of NALJA! The NALF staff appreciates the work and effort put in by the whole crew from South Dakota headed up by the Peterson family and the efforts Kiley McKinna has put forth getting ready for this event. We will also be inducting a very deserving Mark Smith into the Limousin Hall of Fame in Rapid City as well! We hope to see you there!