The Limousin () is a French breed of beef cattle from the Limousin and La Marche former provinces of France. It was formerly used mainly as a draught animal, but in modern times is reared for beef. A herd-book was established in France in 1886. With the mechanisation of agriculture in the twentieth century, numbers declined. In the 1960s there were still more than 250 000 head, but the future of the breed was not clear; it was proposed that it be merged with the other blonde draught breeds of south-western France – the Blonde des Pyrénées, the Blonde de Quercy and the Garonnaise – to form the new Blonde d'Aquitaine. Instead, a breeders' association was formed; new importance was given to extensive management, to performance recording and to exports. In the twenty-first century the Limousin is the second-most numerous beef breed in France after the Charolais. It is a world breed, raised in about eighty countries round the world, many of which have breed associations.
History Origins
DNA studies have identified close genetic relationships between Limousin cattle and other south-west European breeds. One study reported a possible common origin or recent gene flow between the Limousin and Charolais cattle breeds.This might be a result of limited DNA sampling detecting Charolais genetics introduced from base females incorrectly identified as Limousins. whereas other studies indicated that a closer genetic relationship exists between Limousin, Gasconne, Aubrac, Bazadais, Salers, and Blonde d'Aquitaine cattle.
One historian reported that the Limousin breed's origins can be traced to the blonde Garonne breed of south-western France, which was merged into the Blonde d'Aquitaine in 1962.
The Limousin belongs to the blond group of European cattle, in a sub-group which also includes the Alpha 16, the Maraîchine, the Nantaise and the Parthenaise.
The Limousin originates in the Limousin, the area surrounding Limoges on the western flank of the Massif Central. It was originally a robust draught animal, used for agricultural work. As elsewhere, oxen at the end of their working lives were fattened and sent to slaughter, at times in major cities such as Bordeaux or Paris. 18th and 19th centuries In 1791, Jacques-Joseph Saint-Martin, an agronomist from Limoges, acknowledged the importance of Limousin cattle in the markets of cities such as Paris, Lyon, and Toulouse. Limousin cattle actually came from the departments of Charente, Dordogne, Haute-Vienne, Vienne, Lot, Corrèze, and Creuse. The market for Limousin cattle declined slightly in the early 19th century, but livestock still remained a major activity in the region.
A large variation in the agricultural systems was operating in the Limousin region, defined by three types of district. These were productive, grain-producing areas, called d'engrais, undeveloped, marginal, predominantly forested land called forestiers, and developing land called d'élèves. Cattle, in particular cows, were used extensively for all types of agricultural work.
At the beginning of the 19th century, a bonus was introduced to reward farmers who retained their best bulls, though they were not productive. The increase in weight of the animals began with improved grassland. The second half of the 19th century had the arrival of fertilizers and improved pastures such as clover and ryegrass, which not only improved the productivity of existing fields, but also transformed the moorland pasture. Vineyards affected by phylloxera were also being returned to pasture. The results were not immediate. In 1862, cattle sold at La Souterraine weighed about 600 kg. The decline of Anglomania in favour of economic pragmatism, and the criticism and fall of the aristocracyThe century was dominated by the fall of the aristocratic elite, starting with the French Revolution in the last decade of the 18th century. aided the development of Limousin cattle. The crowning moment was the honour received by the bull Achilles Caillaud to open the competition in Paris for all breeds in 1886 (the year the Limousin Herd Book was created), and the grand champion prize of all breeds won three years later by Charles Léobardy for his team. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Limousin region was characterised by the mediocrity of its animals. Texier-Olivier Louis, prefect of the Haute-Vienne, observed that Limousin cattle weighed 300 to 350 kg and measured 1.5 m at the withers. The defect was considered to be attributable to poor genetics, nutrition and breeding practices. In competitions, Limousin cattle were among the worst performers. The breed was considered to be a working breed, but poorly shaped and with poor milk.
To improve the breed, some Limousin breeders tried to cross their animals with Agenais,The Agenais breed no longer exists. It was merged into the Garonne breed, which was subsequently combined into the Blonde d'Aquitaine. Norman or Charolais cattle, which were better shaped.
The Limousin breed was also not immune to the wave of Anglomania affecting France in the middle of the 19th century. Some wealthy farmers maintained Durham cattle, which were prized by the elite of the time. However, this practice was criticised by the agricultural society of Limoges. The society encouraged farmers to continue selecting animals that were most consistent with the characteristics of the Limousin breed, which was perfectly adapted to the region's environment, rather than trying to adapt other breeds. Furthermore, the vast majority of Limousin breeders could not afford to raise livestock in addition to their working animals, as was the case on larger properties that practiced crossing with Durham cattle.
Finally, the marginalisation of English animals in competitions from the late 1860s reinforced the case to improve the breed by itself. A herd-book was started in 1886.
20th and 21st centuries
The First World War slowed down the growth of the Limousin breed, which carried through the interwar years despite a reorganisation of the herd book in 1923. Herd book registrations grew slowly, from 600,000 animals in 1890 to 800,000 in 1940.
The Limousin breed almost disappeared when the French government planned to combine it with the Garonne, Quercy, and Blonde des Pyrenées breeds, during the formation of the Blonde d'Aquitaine breed in 1962. All of these cattle belonged to the "blond and red" branch of cattle. Limousin breeders fiercely opposed the merger and the Limousin breed was retained.
The Limousin breed resumed its growth in the 1960s. The size of the French Limousin herd has increased sharply in recent years, with a 50% increase in numbers in France in 15 years. Today, it is the second-most numerous French beef breed, behind Charolais and ahead of Blonde d'Aquitaine. In 2004, of about 900,000 Limousin cows, 63,000 were recorded in the herd book. At that time, 20,000 bulls were used for breeding, 10% through artificial insemination, and 1,600 were recorded in the Herd Book.Animals not entered in the herd book are not certified as being of the Limousin breed. However, this does not mean they do not belong to the breed – only that they are not recorded and performance monitored. Indeed, recording in the herd book is not routinely sought by breeders who have no interest in competitions and in breeding and selling breeding animals, since recording represents a significant cost. France's Limousin herd grew by 2.6% in 2014 to 2.69 million head as of 31 Dec., including 1.09 million cows.Infos rapides Bovins : Hausse du cheptel bovin français en 2014. Accessed June 2015.
The herd-book
Significance The purest form of Limousins have ancestors that can all be traced to "Full French" entries in the herd-book (known in France as Le livre généalogique). These Limousins are known by different names. In the US, and Canada they are known as Fullbloods, in Australia and New Zealand as French Pure, and in European countries such as Britain as purebred or simply Limousin.
In France, two Full French Herd Book classes exist, namely Pureblood (pur sang in French, also translated to Fullblood) and Pure Bred (race pure in French). The Full French Pure Bred Herd Book class, as with all European Union (EU) member countries' herd books, is controlled by EU legislation.
Full French is a term used by the French Limousin breeders' association (known in France as Herd Book Limousin, abbreviated to HBL) to describe cattle that comply with: Bred by French active member-associates of the HBL: The strictly enforced rules of the HBL require breeders to conduct on-farm performance testing of their animals and to have selected animals independently tested by approved official bodies. Independently inspected and certified to be Full French according to the Breed Standard.See score sheet appearing on page 2 of the associated reference translated from French into English. Cattle excluded from Full French certification include those imported into France, cattle that are polled (in French sans corne), and cattle that have undesirable double muscling genes (in French gene culard) inherited from non-Limousin base animals.
A less pure form of Limousin is bred up (also known as graded up) from a base animalA base animal does not need to be a Limousin. over a defined number of generations. A parent of each generation's progeny must be registered as a Limousin in the respective country's herd book. In the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, a graded up Limousin, after three generations for females and four generations for males, is known (confusingly with the legal European definition) as purebred, which is then eligible for recording in the respective countries' herd books alongside Fullblood and French Pure Limousins. Unlike the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which allow both purebred and Full French bulls and dams to be used for grading up, in Britain, grading up can only occur using Full French bulls. British graded up females when they reach fourth generation from a non-Limousin base cow can then be registered as Limousins in the British Limousin Pedigree Register. The British Limousin Pedigree Register is separate from the British Limousin Herd Book, which is reserved for animals that have complete Full French ancestry.
Evolution of Herd Book
Prior to July 2007 The herd-book was destroyed in the Second World War. When the French Government decided to merge the Limousin breed into the new Blonde d'Aquitaine breed in the 1960s, which was fiercely opposed by French Limousin breeders, the impetus to re-establish the herd-book was provided. Inspectors were appointed to identify "true to type" Limousins from the Limousin region. These were admitted to the new herd-book as foundation animals (in French titre initial, abbreviated to T.I.).
Following its re-establishment, the Herd Book was opened from time to time for the admission of T.I. females that on inspection satisfied the Full French breed standard. These animals were identified by the letters T.I. placed after their name. The process of admitting new T.I. animals to the Herd Book continued until June 2008. The Limousins recorded in the herd-book were known as Pureblood (literal translation of the French pur sang). The is normally the name given to English thoroughbred horses, although in the context of Limousins the English translation Fullblood is commonly used.
July 2007 to June 2008 EU legislation, pressure from French breeders of polled stock, and other developments, including requirements of European Limousin associations (the 11 countries of EUROLIM), contributed to a restructuring of the herd-book that commenced in July 2007.