Newsletter for week ending 31 January 2004

Due to a huge entry of 550 Hereford and Poll Hereford cattle, the cattle show has been split over two weeks.

Limousin remain in the first week along with Hereord, Poll Hereford, Angus, Charolais and Red Poll.

However, we will now judge at 8.30am on Sunday 4th April. The remaining 21 breeds will be judged in the second week.

The Champions for each breed judged in the first week will be required to stay at the show for the judging of the Horden Trophy on Monday 12 April.

The sale catalogue for the Little River Dispersal Sale is now on the Limousin website. Owner David Blake will offer 54 females, 10 bulls, 23 semen Lots and 4 embryo Lots in the sale at Toowoomba Landmark Saleyards on Saturday 28 February.

If you would like a printed catalogue contact the selling agents Landmark at Toowoomba QLD.

This catalogue has already had over 1300 page hits from 70 visitors indicating considerable interest in the sale.

So far we have eight members who have opted to do all of their registrations and performance input using the batch entry option on our website.

If you are concerned that your electronic data may disappear you can always print off a copy of the data submitted and file it.

You can take up the web-based electronic system at any time by contacting the office.

The Annual Victorian and Riverina NSW Beef Week is underway.

Eleven Limousin studs will have their herds and sale bulls on display over the eight days commencing 28 January.

Six Limousin studs will be on display from February 6 to 11 in the South Australian Beef Field Days to follow.

With the lift in cattle prices, high content Limousin steers weighing 520kg topped the Gunnedah NSW heavy steer market at 204.6 c/kg on Tuesday.

Also at Gunnedah a pen of Limousin X Santa Gertrudis vealers topped at 214 c/kg.

In Wodonga last week the Christensen family from Beechworth topped the heifer, heifer vealers and cow sections with Limousin X cattle as follows:

4 Limousin X heifers 592.5kg @ 173.6 c/kg = $1,029

8 Limousin X heifer vealers 347.5kg @ 180 c/kg = $625

2 Limousin cows 625kg @ 138.2 c/kg = $864

The top priced steer vealers were Limousin X, account Nangunia Pastoral at Table Top NSW.

12 X Limousin X steer vealers 355kg @ 197.2 c/kg = $701

At Dunnedoo NSW, Greg and Joan Stevens of "Rangelands" Birriwa topped the yearling offering with 14 Limousin X Shorthorn steers 10-12 months at $730.

Prominent Canadian stud Top Meadow Farms of Ontario Canada had a very successful Production Sale recently with 49.5 lots selling for an average of $5,467 (Can).

Top price of $45,500 was paid by a syndicate for a polled French pure bull calf. Included in the purchasing syndicate was Jean Luc Kress of KBS Genetics in France who will market the bull in Europe. We may yet see polled Limousins in the home of Limousin.

Those who take notice of US EPDs will notice a big change in the EPDs because the base for some traits has been changed substantially to make US Limousin EPDs look like US Angus EPDs.

The change to the base is to make it easier for commercial cattlemen who buy Angus and Limousin bulls. The average EPD for Limousin is now the same as the average EPD for Angus so that commercial breeders only need to relate to one set of averages.

The adjustment to the US Limousin EPDs are Birth Weight +1.3, Weaning Weight +23, Yearling Weight +42 and Milk +13.

Yours in Limousin
Alex McDonald