For the eleventh consecutive year, BCMS figures have confirmed British Limousin as the leading beef breed sire in Britain as well as the largest numerical cattle breed – beef or dairy. The recently released figures show that 687,382 Limousin sired cattle were issued with passports in 2006. This represents a massive 35% of available market share, a figure that is exactly in line with the previous year’s figures.

Limousin sired birth registrations account for 35% of available market share.

Since the establishment of the British Cattle Movement Service eleven years ago, to record all British Cattle births and movements, 7,319,623 Limousin sired birth registrations have been recorded. The 2006 figures also re-affirm that Limousin is the UK’s dominant cattle breed, beef or dairy. In the dairy herd Holstein Friesian or Holstein Friesian crosses amounted to 579,617 registrations.

The Charolais is the second largest beef breed with 332,098 passports in the year representing 17% of market share. Aberdeen Angus remained the most popular native breed with 222,290 registered births representing 16% market share. The numerical advantage of the Limousin breed is highlighted by the fact that the combined total of the second and third breeds, Charolais and Angus, is a collective 554,388 passports, some 132,994 behind the Limousin figure and a gap which has increased by more than 14,000 on the year.

The Limousin breed’s ongoing commercial popularity is also reflected at pedigree level where registrations of both bull and heifer calves came in at just under 19,584 in 2006, another breed record figure and up over 1,500 on the year.

Commenting, Iain Kerr, Chief Executive of the British Limousin Cattle Society, said: “These are excellent figures that confirm the ongoing demand for Limousin cattle. The Limousin breed continues to drive the UK market by providing commercial producers with easy care, added value cattle. In markets around the UK, whether it is in the prime, store or breeding ring, the all-round performance, flexibility and predictability of Limousin cattle is providing a marked and demonstrable premium.”

By applying a conservative animal average of £600, the overall industry value of commercial Limousin sired cattle is in excess of £400 million per year. A geographical breakdown of the 2006 BCMS figures show a clear numerical lead for the Limousin breed in each of the home countries: 35% of all registrations in Scotland (178,232), 33% in England (389,440) and 43% in Wales (119,710).

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