SIR, – I write regarding Jim Brown’s article in the November 4 edition of The Scottish Farmer in which he made reference to Limousin bulls being ‘difficult to sell’ at the recent Stirling Bull Sales.

While I recognise that the popularity of native breeds has seen an increase in recent sales, I must disagree with Jim’s observation that the sale at Stirling proved difficult for Limousin bulls. The facts are that the sale saw an 84% clearance rate of bulls (up by 17% on the year) to an increased average of £5065 (up by £120 on the year) and 41 bulls sold, which was one more than in 2016.

Across the UK, 2017 has been another strong year of demand for the Limousin breed, so much so that gross (society) sales of pedigree Limousin cattle are likely to exceed £6m this year, which is again well up on the previous year. Across the premier sale fixtures, the results have been consistently ahead of last year – averages and clearance rates have both been up and more bulls have been sold.

For example, across the recent October Stirling and Carlisle sales, 154 Limousin bulls sold to average £6498 at a clearance of 79%. Not exactly the ‘difficult to sell’ scenario Jim suggested. It’s worth noting, in addition to Stirling, that of the 113 bulls sold at Carlisle, 33 of them went to Scottish buyers.

The reality is that there is a sustained and growing demand for Limousin bulls in Scotland and in every corner of the UK, and one that is being driven by commercial buyers. In this uncertain environment, beef producers are looking for easy calving, easy care cattle that are feed efficient and will produce high end suckled calves with tremendous carcase attributes.

The Limousin is synonymous with these traits which, after all, are the core economic drivers of profitability. May I suggest that commercial producers are, in fact, proving themselves to be incredibly willing to pay for Limousin bulls confident in the breed’s ability to deliver the consistency, performance and efficiency that profitable beef production demands.

Iain Kerr

Chief executive,

British Limousin Cattle Society,

Concorde House,

24 Warwick New Road,

Leamington Spa.