The History of Limousin Cattle

In the heart of France about 16,000 years ago, bulls were painted on cave walls in what is now known as the Great Hall of the Bulls at Lascaux in the Dordogne region.
The complex of caves discovered in 1940 near the village of Montignac contains nearly 2,000 figures, of which 605 have been identified and recognised in fossil evidence. Of these, 36 are bulls, the largest of which is a black bull measuring 5.2 metres long. Although black dominates the cave paintings, three of the bulls are a similar colour to Limousin cattle.

A short distance from the caves in the adjacent Limousin region (one of 26 regions in France), cattle gradually adjusted to the ancient granite, acid soils that were deficient in essential minerals.
The Limousin region comprised natural meadows, moors, forests, bracken and broom. The climate was extreme, varying in temperature from -15°C to +30°C, with snow sometimes lying for several weeks at a time.
Until the middle of the 20th century, Limousin cattle were used for draught, and selection pressures over the centuries resulted in them evolving into large-framed, muscular and solid animals, with good sturdy legs.
Animals ready for slaughter had carcases with a high beef yield, because they carried very little fat and had a naturally fine bone structure. These traits meant that Limousins became recognised as extremely effective and efficient producers of high quality beef.

Recent history
Cattle on the road to Paris
Limousin cattle had attracted attention as early as the 17th century for their muscular power. Bulls at the age of 8 or 10 were fattened and driven on foot to large towns such as Bordeaux and Paris, a journey that took 12 to 14 days.
In 1770, when there was a shortage of meat in Paris, the Intendant Turgot sent to the Brive and Limoges bureau a message from Mr. de Sartine, the Lieutenant General of the Paris Police, asking if they could ‘count on the Limousins after Easter’ for supplies to the capital. In those days, they only weighed between 300 and 350kg!
19th century: the beginning of pure breed selection
First Prize at the second Agricultural Show, Paris 1856
After unsuccessful attempts at cross breeding, Limousin farmers in the mid 19th century became increasingly convinced that selection combined with improved diet and hygiene was the only way to improve the breed.
Charles de Léobardy was one of these breeders. On his estate of Le Vignaud, at La Jonchère in the Haute-Vienne department, with the help of his tenant Royer, he entered some animals with remarkable conformation in competitions. From 1854 to 1896, the estate won 265 prizes with the best group, including the Grand Prix d’Honneur for all French and foreign breeds in 1889, ahead of 64 competitors.
The Limousin Herd-Book was started on 18 November 1886. A committee of 12 members established a very strict set of regulations. After two years, 479 animals had been registered. In 1890 the Book had 674 animals, 3,142 in 1897, and 6,416 in 1914. The committee then ceased its activities.
From 1893, a special competition had been organised every year to identify the best animals of the breed. Throughout the second half of the 19th century, the Limousin breed carried off numerous prizes, notably the Poissy competition in 1857, 1858 and 1859.
Reorganisation in 1920
In 1920 the Limousin Herd-Book was resurrected. The breed standard required farmers to produce animals with a larger frame, and each breeder received a cow book to record the progress of his efforts and selection results. The animals were tattooed in the ear with pliers and indelible ink.
On 31 December 1924, the Limousin Herd-Book became closed. It contained 999 bulls and 7,300 cows. Since then, the Special Competition has only been open to animals registered in the Herd Book.
From post-war decline to today's expansion
The Limousin breed started to decline in popularity in the 1930s, which continued until the 1960s. It was then that the French Herd-Book was to become one of the essential driving forces behind the rebirth and expansion of the Limousin breed, including as an international breed.
The French Limousin Herd-Book today has nearly 1,800 farmer members, grouped into 14 regional sections, with more than 48,000 registered dams. Each year, 4,100 new males and 14,000 females are certified using genealogical, phenotype and genetic data.

Expansion in France
In 1964, 16 departments (a department is on average just over twice the land area of a British or US county, and averages about 6,000km2 in area) had 1,000 member breeders and 10,000 registered cows. Since 1985, the number of cows in production has increased by about 3% per year. Now 70 departments (of a total of about 100 in France) and 1,800 breeder members are represented, and 55,000 cows are registered in the "Full French" book, with 120,000 under official performance testing.
There are 25,000 user breeders with a total of 900,000 pure breed Limousin cows, and each year more than a million calves are born in France from a Limousin sire.
Export to all continents
Spurred on by a few enthusiastic breeders, the 1960s was also when Limousin cattle were exported in significant numbers. The first country outside France to import Limousins was Argentina in 1966. This was followed by the USA in 1968, Great Britain in 1971, and Australia in 1975.
Limousins are now present in more than 70 countries, where they are used as a pure breed and in crossbreeding programs with local breeds for beef production. It is the most popular breed as an industrial cross over dairy breeds in the United Kingdom and Denmark.