Welcome to 2006
2006 is upon us with a very busy four months ahead highlighted by the
International Limousin Conference in the first week of April.
In my rush to get the final newsletter for 2005 I
made a major error in notifying dates of events for the ILC Core
Conference. The correct dates follow:
Wednesday 5th
April: free night
Thursday 6th
April: Business and Technical Conference at Taronga Zoo
Thursday 6th
April: Harbour Cruise
Friday 7th April:
Steer Judging
Friday 7th
April: Final Dinner at Homebush
Saturday 8th
April: Limousin Judging at Sydney Royal
My apologies but I can assure you these dates are correct.
ILC Sale Entries
There are still some spaces in the ILC Sale at Sydney Royal on Saturday
8th April.
The closing date for entries has been extended to 31st
January. Both Elders and Landmark are
involved in the sale. The duty agent is
John Horne of Elders in Dubbo.
National
Show and Sale Entries
Don't forget to get your entries in for the National
Show and Sale to be held on Thursday 20th April at the Wodonga
Selling Centre. If you need entry forms
please call the ALBS office.
Increased
Muscling – Less Dark Cutters
The following report comes from this week's Weekly
Times.
"Research revealing heavily muscled animals are
less prone to dark cutting could save meat processors millions of dollars.
The incidence of dark cutting beef and lamb is about
10 percent, according to Meat and Livestock Australia. MLA said that equated to an annual loss of
$36 million for the beef industry.
Research by Dr Graham Gardner at Murdoch University,
WA, has shown that the selection of highly muscled sheep and cattle can reduce
the incidence of dark cutting.
Dark cutting beef, which is often associated with pH
levels of 5.7 or higher, is darker and drier than normal beef and has a shorter
shelf life. It is not accepted under
the MSA grading system. A high pH level
in meat is caused by an abnormally low concentration of muscle glycogen at
slaughter.
Dr Gardner said selecting for muscling attributes
within a breed made the animal less sensitive to stress. This was because the muscle produced more
glycogen at slaughter, making it less prone to dark cutting.
The results are from studies in sheep and cattle Dr
Gardner started in 2001.
Dr Gardner used Angus and Piedmontese sired cattle
in his research. There was no
difference between breeds at 15 months but both increased adrenalin sensitivity
at 36 months.
The increase in Angus sired cattle was almost twice
that of the more heavily muscled Piedmontese.
There had been a major shift in producers using
muscling indices as part of their breeding program, Dr Gardner said.
MLA said the study could go a long way towards
solving a major industry problem and it was keen to fund further research.
This could include the impact selection for muscling
had on meat quality, reproductive efficiency and colour."
This study shows that heavier muscled cattle (and
sheep) produce less dark cutters.
However stress is also known to be a major factor in depletion of
glycogen and dark cutting. The ideal is
to have heavily muscled docile cattle.
Express
Female Sale Averages $10,318
In an outstanding sale on 5th November
the Express Ranches Fast Forward Female Sale in Oklahoma, USA topped at $60,000
for a half share in the 2005 National Champion Female EXLR Luvly 7127N and
averaged $10,318 for 59 lots.
Another outstanding sale was $26,500 for a half
interest in the top selling Lim-Flex female EXLR Rebeca 1019P, a half blood
daughter of BR Midland out of EXLR Rebeca 614H. Another Lim-Flex female sold for $19,000. She was a black and polled three quarter
blood daughter of Wulfs Fanfare out of EXLR 558F.
Limousin Sales and Events
10th February: Timor Major Herd Reduction, Coonabarabran,
NSW.
14th February: Rockhampton Limousin Bull Sale, Rockhampton,
Qld
22nd February: Mandayen Special Performance Sale, Millicent,
SA
24th February: White Lakes Annual Limousin & Angus Bull
& Female Sale, Brunswick, WA.
2nd March: Donna Valley Annual Bull Sale, Holbrook, NSW.
10th March: The Classic Limousin Bull Sale, Culcairn, NSW.
14th March: Stevens Autumn Bull Sale, Birriwa, NSW.
21st March: Colac Bull and Female Sale, Colac, Vic,
22nd March: ILC Pre Conference Tour commences in Perth.
25th March: West Moreton Bull and Female Sale, Laidley, Qld.
27th March: ILC Pre Conference Tour commences in Adelaide.
1–9 April: ILC Core Conference
7 April: Lardner Limousin Sale, Lardner, Vic.
9th April: ILC Post Conference Tour commences in Sydney.
19-20 April: National Show and Sale, Wodonga, Vic.
Yours in Limousin
Alex McDonald