Limousin celebrations as breed gears up for 50th Anniversary in the UK

A golden celebration of this extremely popular breed which boasts no fewer than 3000 breeder members, registering 18,000 pedigree calves and generating sales of more than £6m per annum, is being staged to mark the first introduction of the breed to the UK, from France, in 1971.

Druk Larissa, Royal Show champion in 1984 which went on to make 29,000gns in 1995 selling to the USA

Thousands of breeders and enthusiasts are expected to attend next weekend's events, which commence on Thursday, July 28 with an Open Day at Whinfellpark – home of Allan Jenkinson's Whinfellpark herd from Brougham, Penrith. From 11am to 4pm, enthusiasts will get the opportunity to have a nose round some tremendous cattle and enjoy what is on offer in terms of hospitality, stockjudging, trade stands.

This will be followed by two days of National Limousin 50th Anniversary shows on Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30, at Borderway Mart, with an elite sale of pedigree animals included on the Friday evening within the market.

Fanfaron – one of the first imports and sold widely by MMB Milk Marketing Board

An anticipated entry of 400 cattle are expected to come in front of an international line up of judges to include Christian Laloi, from France and Paul Sykes from Ireland, who will be placing the pedigree cattle on the Saturday. On the Friday, Louise Forsyth, Scotland and Jim Quail from Northern Ireland, will be selecting the top winners in the commercial section.

A specially erected marquee at Borderway for the event, will also include catering, a bar and disco, for an Exhibitor Dinner and Anniversary Supper held on Thursday and Friday respectively.

Other events arranged for the Anniversary Celebrations include three new National competitions for a Pedigree herd and Commercial herd, judged in September by Jim Scott of the Ardigon herd and Peter Alexander, Mains of Mause, Blairgowrie, respectively. The winners will be announced at an Awards Dinner, on Friday, October 14, in Carlisle.

Gerwyn Jones sold Graiggoch Rambo for a world record price of 180,000gns in May

British Limousin landmarks

1970 Establishment of The British Limousin Cattle Society (BLCS) as a limited company. First chairman was FJ Bedell who took on the role until 1978 when he was then appointed honourary president until 1984. First breed secretary was PM Stewart, followed by DS Lewis who took on the role from 1971 to 1979.

1980 Dispersal of the Druk herd achieves sees 34 cows average £4295.55; seven in-calf heifers at £3465 and 15 maiden heifers average £2863.

1981 BLCS hosts the fifth International Limousin Congress. Royal Highland Show champion – Harvest Olympus, bred by Christopher Cliff, sold by Alan Fotheringham, sells to North America for £7500.

1983 BLCS Offices at National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh, officially opened by HRH Duchess of Gloucester on July, 5.

1985 The 10-year-old cow Druk Larissa sold by John Powner at Midland Marts for 29,000gns to USA. At the same sale, another female, Canfield Ultrasonic sold for Mr Watson-Steele for 27,000gns to the same buyer, Dr Vernon Ryan, Texas.

1986 Limousin becomes the UK’s leading AI beef breed

1995 Broadmeadows dispersal sets a record average of £5724 for 65 sold with 44 females averaging £7156.

1996 First-ever British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) figures reveal Limousin as the UK’s most numerical beef breed. Limousin has retained this position each year through to present day.

2003 Limousin-sired BCMS passports attain 36% UK market share, averaging 34% over a 10-year period.

2004 The United Kingdom hosts the International Limousin Congress.

2004 Nine bulls sold at the ILC Elite Pedigree sale to average £15,400.

2004 Limousin heifer Bailea Umandy, from MT Jones and Son, sells for 50,000gns at Carlisle and sets a new Limousin world record for a pedigree maiden heifer

2006 Limousin bull Haltcliffe Vermount sells for 100,000gns at Harrison and Hetherington’s Borderway Mart, Carlisle, for vendors Matt and Craig Ridley, to set an all-beef breeds World, European and British record at auction.

2007 Limousin bull, Samy, wins a third consecutive Burke Trophy at the Royal Show.

2007 BCMS figures for the year confirm Limousin has a 34% market share of beef-sired passport applications in Great Britain. British Limousin remains the leading beef breed sire to date with 2019 being the 24th consecutive year.

2008 Discovery of the F94L gene, a modification of the myostatin gene, found almost exclusively in the Limousin breed. Shown in international research to increase the weight of prime cuts in animals by as much as 19%, overall beef yield by 7%, 11% less shear force to cut a sample of eye muscle.

2008 British breeder Aled Edwards is elected as World Limousin president

2009 Perth Spring Limousin Show and Sale sees Newhouse Black Colorado become the first black Limousin to be crowned champion at a British Limousin Cattle Society show and sale by judge Grant Laing.

2009 Carlisle in May saw a clearance rate of 90% with 175 bulls of the 194 forward finding new homes. Bulls grossed £962,500 with the female sale held the previous evening pushing the total Limousin sale gross over the £1m mark – at that time the highest grossing pedigree sale held at Borderway Mart.

2010 Pedigree sales gross £6.36m, a record figure. A UK all-breeds centre record average of £6045 set at Carlisle in February for 176 bulls sold. For the first time, a Limousin bull sale surpasses the £1m mark in gross sales.

2011 Pedigree registrations in the year breaking through the 20,000 barrier for the first time to a new record mark.

2011 Limousin heifer Bankdale Erin sells for 65,000gns at Harrison and Hetherington’s Borderway Mart, Carlisle, at dispersal sale for vendor Gordon Wilson of the Bankdale herd, to set a world record at auction for a pedigree beef heifer.

2011 UK all-breeds record for frozen embryos set at on-farm Haltcliffe sale when two embryos sell for 4500gns per embryo.

2011 A UK all-breeds and all-centre record average of £6232 is set at Carlisle in May for the 121 bulls sold.

2012 UK all-breeds and all centre record average of £8242 is set at Carlisle in February for the 131 bulls sold.

2012 Dolcorsllwyn Fabio, from Glyn and Nia Vaughan, is sold for 120,000gns setting a new Limousin world record and a UK and European bovine record.

2012 Pedigree Limousin cattle sold at official British Limousin Cattle Society (BLCS) sales break through the £8m mark in the year for the first time to set a new all-breeds record sales gross mark of £8,184,303.

2013 BLCS purchases Concorde House.

2014 The maiden heifer Glenrock Illusion sells for 125,000gns and sets a new UK and European all-breeds record for a bovine animal and a new world record for a Limousin animal.

2015 Trueman Jagger from Henry Savage and Sons sets a new Limousin world record price, and an all-breeds UK and European record, when selling for 140,000gns in October.

2015 A UK and all-breeds centre record average of £8709 is set at Carlisle in October for the 85 bulls sold.

2017 Ampertaine Mozart, from James McKay, becomes the fifth Limousin animal to sell for six figures when making 100,000gns at the Society’s May Sale held in Carlisle.

2018 UK all-breeds record for a frozen embryo is smashed when a mating of Grahams Coffee and Claragh Franco from Robert and Jean Graham sells for 8000gns at Carlisle.

2020 Another first – two full brothers, Goldies Olympia and Goldies Owain, take the overall champion and reserve titles respectively at the Carlisle February sale, each selling for 30,000gns.

2021 The heifer Wilodge Poshspice sells for a world record-priced 250,000gns in January.

2022 The world record bull price was smashed at the May bull sale as first-time vendor Gerwyn Jones’s Graiggoch Rambo flew through the bids to sell for an incredible 180,000gns.

2021+1 British Limousin celebrates its 50th Anniversary