An expert eye runs the rule over Limousins

Martin Davis from Ballinalee won the Limousin North East Club’s finals, in the January to February 2025 heifer class.

“We come here every year, and it’s getting harder and harder every year to win it - the quality of cattle is getting a lot better. It’s lovely to win it, especially in your own club.”

“She’s by a locally bred bull from here in County Cavan - she’s by a bull called Claddagh McCabe, bred by Adrian McCabe from Ballyjamessduff so she has local connections. She is a good calf - her mother was bought from Carlisle at £14,000 and these are the first calves from her, so we’re very happy with her.”

The Celt notes that it is nice to have French judge in Olivier Rambert deciding where the rosettes go.

“He probably looks for something different in his cattle than we would for he Irish market, but he seems to like the Irish cattle as well.

Olivier is happy to discuss the merits of Martin’s weanling heifer.

“I liked the way it was very quiet, the way it walked - it was very well prepared. I like the way people are very proud to show their genetics - then after that it’s details,” Olivier, the Limousin judge told the Celt.

A true expert in the breed Olivier is alive to national preferences.

“The Limousin standard is different from one country to another depending on what customers expect and what sort of beef they expect. If you are in Ireland or England you want thicker animals, more muscly type. In France you would expect more tardif (late) type - bigger animals, but not as muscly as you would have in Ireland.”

He suspects the breed’s popularity is due to its flexibility.

“There’s Limousins in 80 countries around the word this is why it is almost my job to promote Limousin, and keeping the link between Irish Limousin breeders and French Limousin breeders,” said Olivier, who is a manager from Interlim Genetique, a French commercial company which exports semen, embryos and livestock.

“It’s a very plastic breed, you can adapt Limousin depending on your expectations.”

What did Olivier think of standard at Virginia Show? “It’s very good in both females and males, of course not everything is perfect, which helps me in my judgement otherwise I would still be on the first class, but it’s good.