South East Limousin Club Breeding Seminar

A good attendance enjoyed an informative Breeding Seminar held by The South East Limousin Club in Kilkenny on Friday 4th February. Speakers from NCBC, ABS Sires, Dovea AI and The Limousin Society outlined sire options for pedigree breeders.

All speakers concurred that Limousin was the most complete breed and great to work with. The challenge for breeders is to maintain and develop both the Terminal and Maternal Qualities of the breed.

It was also pointed out that there is a lot of choice out there and breeders need to pick and match. Also many of the bulls mentioned have few progeny on the ground so data reliability would be low. In fact it was argued that where data reliability was low figures should possible not be produced especially on maternal traits.

Rose Goulding of NCBC suggested the following sires

Ramses - Maternal, easy calving and milk
Netherhell Epic - Maternal with weanling muscle
Ultime - Maternal, easy calving with muscle
Roundhill Saturn - Easy Calving, muscle and very Docile
Ardlea Dan - Muscle and Docility (Not for Heifers)
FL25 - Muscle, back breeding to Rocky (Not for Heifers)
Acajou - Should deliver strong weight for age
Grahams Unbeatable - All rounder
Vison - All rounder

Arwell Owen from ABS Sires had the following options

Amazon - Should deliver growth and shape, would suit smaller cows
Chytoden Conan - Suitable for heifers, from Dauphin line so milky  giving small growthy calves
Camorn Dauphin - Maternal, out of a great cow family
Fieldson Alfy  - Suggested good on Mas Du Clo cows, muscle and  Mas Du Clo would protect Alfies head
Marchermore Augustus - Out of Ronick Hawk (Limited semen available)

Arwell also said ABS had some Sexed Semen available but cautioned use stating that sexed semen was best suited to heifers since the semen is weakened by the sexing process and there are less semen per straw.

Ger Ryan of Dovea highlighted the following sires

Queenshead Altea  - Medium size, very correct and stylish, muscle and  good on calving
Castleview Casino - Not for Heifers, would improve size
Milbrook Dartango - Not for Heifers
Newtown Bunty  - Medium sized, early maturity
Roundhill Dara - Short gestation, very easy calving, ideal for beefy maiden heifers
Utile Ben - Very correct and shapely, not big, would be good on a big plain cow
Sauvignon - Heavy muscled progeny, a semen royalty applies
Elite Erasmus - Out of a very good Elite cow, has highest SBV in the country at present at 197, Straws 8 euro
Vagabond - Will hold muscle and give size and growth
Broomfield Regency - A good out cross
Bahut - A good outcross, should deliver muscle, very stylish with super legs and feet

Sersia Bulls available from the Limousin Society included

Mas Du Clo - Will deliver muscle rather than size, well proven with many good offspring, good on docility. Figures have recently fallen due to some evidence of calving difficulty and fertility questions with daughters. Size has restricted weight
Neuf - A good cross on Mas Du Clo females, will improve size and correctness. Data reliability good. Easy calving but caution on docility
On Dit - Very well regarded in France, and starting to gain favour in Ireland. Figures rising on both maternal and carcass. Very fertile, easy calving, docile and a good outcross. Showing to be both good on Beef and Maternal. Deserves serious consideration.
Urville - From French Maternal System with good results, daughters milky, fertile and good on calving. Caution re docility
Bial - New, sired by Nestor out of an Ionesco dam, Ideal in the back breeding. Very Beefy with good Topline and excellent HQ. Will deliver early maturity and muscle. French experience shows good on calving and docility
Braise - New, sired by Tison out of  a Genial dam, similar to  Bial but not quite as muscled
Anecdote - New, sired by On Dit, Maternal, Easy calving