Limousin is one of the most common breeds used on Irish suckler farms today. The breed originates from the Limousin region in France, where it is still prominently used for beef production.
A recent visit to the Sommet de l’Élevage show in Clermont which showcased the crème of French cattle breeding also facilitated tours for international visitors to French livestock farms. One of the farms visited was a pedigree Limousin suckler herd owned by the Giraud family.
Farm details
The Giraud family farm in the Auvegne region is just a 10-minute drive from Clermont-Ferand. The family own 195ha comprising 90ha of crops and 105ha of grassland. It is quite fragmented, with some of the land 14km away from the main block. The farm is run by three labour units – brothers Philippe and Michel, and Philippe’s son John-Philippe.
Much of the grassland is on steep hilly areas and is not suitable for tillage. The home block, where some of the land and cattle sheds are located, is 650m (2,133ft) above sea level.
The Girauds keep 60 pedigree Limousin suckler cows and also buy in 120 Limousin bull weanlings throughout the year and finish them indoors.
The grassland receives very little artificial fertilizer, with just 70kg/ha of nitrogen spread in the spring and 20-25t/ha of farmyard manure from the cattle sheds. Some of the grassland also receives a seaweed fertilizer that is bought in from a farmer-owned co-op. Grassland is of mixed quality, with the more level areas used for silage and hay production and the hilly areas used for rough grazing.
The Girauds used to run a dairy herd of 50 Montbeliarde cows but decided to change from dairying to suckling because rules came in that would require a significant investment in their farm building infrastructure.
Cow management
There is no set time for calving, with a bull let run with the cows all year round. However, most calve in the autumn and early spring. The average calving date is early November. The Girauds use four stock bulls that are all proven and recorded in the Limousin herdbook. Bulls are changed every two to three years and one bull runs with 25 cows at a time.
Heifers calve at 36 months; farmers in France are much more relaxed about age at calving compared to here in Ireland, where the advice is to aim to have heifers calving at 24 months.
French farmers receive coupled aids of €187 per suckler cow from the first to the 50th cow, €140 for the 51st to the 99th cow and €100 for the 100th to 139th cow.
Cows are housed in November in a straw-bedded shed and are put on a diet of grass silage, hay, maize silage, beet pulp and a mineral supplement.
Housing usually ends in April and cows move back to the grazing ground, where they receive no supplementation. Calves at grazing receive some concentrates in a creep feeder. Male calves’ average birth weight was 39kg and their weight after 210 days was 282kg, which gives an average daily gain of 1.2kg/day.
The heifer calves averaged 36kg at birth and their weight after 210 days was 266kg, which means their average daily gain was 1.1kg/day.
Finishing system
Progeny from the suckler herd are either kept for breeding or are sent for finishing once weaned at 10 months. Only animals with the best genetics are kept for breeding, usually three to four bulls and 15 heifers, while the rest are weaned at 10 months and mixed with bought-in stock for finishing.
Bought-in Limousin weanling bulls from the co-op cost €2.50-€2.70/kg. The finishing diet for these animals is maize silage 10kg, grass silage 7kg, beet pulp 5kg, alfalfa hay 1kg, concentrates 1.5kg (1kg wheat and 500g mixed meal ration) with a mineral supplementation and lithothamnium (seaweed extract). The animals are slowly built up on this diet and usually finished at 18 months at a carcase weight of 400kg.
Finished livestock are usually bought by the farmer-owned co-op or, depending on the market, the Girauds sell stock as forward stores to an Italian feedlot for a 100-day feeding period. Finished 18-month bull beef is currently securing a beef price of €3.70/kg.
The Girauds are starting to slaughter 12 animals a year (either young bulls or heifers) through an abattoir in Clermont and sell the meat through farmgate sales.
The abattoir slaughters and bones out the animals and sends back the meat in 10kg boxes. It costs the Girauds €1.70/kg for this slaughtering and boning service, but it is quite lucrative for the family because they sell on this meat to local consumers such as schools and restaurants and the prime cuts can fetch up to €12/kg.
In France, locally sourced produce is taken very seriously which means there is a market for local meat producers. John-Phillippe says they hope to build this business but will only do so if it is profitable.
Farm facts
195 ha – 90ha crops (20ha sunflower, 12ha maize silage, 43ha wheat, 15ha barley); 6ha alfalfa.10ha temporary grassland, 89ha permanent grassland.Altitude: 650m (2,133ft) above sea level.Climate: Oceanic with mild summers.Soil: Clay –limestone (pH 7-8).Mean annual rainfall: 600mm
Limousin is one of the most common breeds used on Irish suckler farms today. The breed originates from the Limousin region in France, where it is still prominently used for beef production.
A recent visit to the Sommet de l’Élevage show in Clermont which showcased the crème of French cattle breeding also facilitated tours for international visitors to French livestock farms. One of the farms visited was a pedigree Limousin suckler herd owned by the Giraud family.
Farm details
The Giraud family farm in the Auvegne region is just a 10-minute drive from Clermont-Ferand. The family own 195ha comprising 90ha of crops and 105ha of grassland. It is quite fragmented, with some of the land 14km away from the main block. The farm is run by three labour units – brothers Philippe and Michel, and Philippe’s son John-Philippe.
Much of the grassland is on steep hilly areas and is not suitable for tillage. The home block, where some of the land and cattle sheds are located, is 650m (2,133ft) above sea level.
The Girauds keep 60 pedigree Limousin suckler cows and also buy in 120 Limousin bull weanlings throughout the year and finish them indoors.
The grassland receives very little artificial fertilizer, with just 70kg/ha of nitrogen spread in the spring and 20-25t/ha of farmyard manure from the cattle sheds. Some of the grassland also receives a seaweed fertilizer that is bought in from a farmer-owned co-op. Grassland is of mixed quality, with the more level areas used for silage and hay production and the hilly areas used for rough grazing.
The Girauds used to run a dairy herd of 50 Montbeliarde cows but decided to change from dairying to suckling because rules came in that would require a significant investment in their farm building infrastructure.
Cow management
There is no set time for calving, with a bull let run with the cows all year round. However, most calve in the autumn and early spring. The average calving date is early November. The Girauds use four stock bulls that are all proven and recorded in the Limousin herdbook. Bulls are changed every two to three years and one bull runs with 25 cows at a time.
Heifers calve at 36 months; farmers in France are much more relaxed about age at calving compared to here in Ireland, where the advice is to aim to have heifers calving at 24 months.
French farmers receive coupled aids of €187 per suckler cow from the first to the 50th cow, €140 for the 51st to the 99th cow and €100 for the 100th to 139th cow.
Cows are housed in November in a straw-bedded shed and are put on a diet of grass silage, hay, maize silage, beet pulp and a mineral supplement.
Housing usually ends in April and cows move back to the grazing ground, where they receive no supplementation. Calves at grazing receive some concentrates in a creep feeder. Male calves’ average birth weight was 39kg and their weight after 210 days was 282kg, which gives an average daily gain of 1.2kg/day.
The heifer calves averaged 36kg at birth and their weight after 210 days was 266kg, which means their average daily gain was 1.1kg/day.
Finishing system
Progeny from the suckler herd are either kept for breeding or are sent for finishing once weaned at 10 months. Only animals with the best genetics are kept for breeding, usually three to four bulls and 15 heifers, while the rest are weaned at 10 months and mixed with bought-in stock for finishing.
Bought-in Limousin weanling bulls from the co-op cost €2.50-€2.70/kg. The finishing diet for these animals is maize silage 10kg, grass silage 7kg, beet pulp 5kg, alfalfa hay 1kg, concentrates 1.5kg (1kg wheat and 500g mixed meal ration) with a mineral supplementation and lithothamnium (seaweed extract). The animals are slowly built up on this diet and usually finished at 18 months at a carcase weight of 400kg.
Finished livestock are usually bought by the farmer-owned co-op or, depending on the market, the Girauds sell stock as forward stores to an Italian feedlot for a 100-day feeding period. Finished 18-month bull beef is currently securing a beef price of €3.70/kg.
The Girauds are starting to slaughter 12 animals a year (either young bulls or heifers) through an abattoir in Clermont and sell the meat through farmgate sales.
The abattoir slaughters and bones out the animals and sends back the meat in 10kg boxes. It costs the Girauds €1.70/kg for this slaughtering and boning service, but it is quite lucrative for the family because they sell on this meat to local consumers such as schools and restaurants and the prime cuts can fetch up to €12/kg.
In France, locally sourced produce is taken very seriously which means there is a market for local meat producers. John-Phillippe says they hope to build this business but will only do so if it is profitable.
Farm facts
195 ha – 90ha crops (20ha sunflower, 12ha maize silage, 43ha wheat, 15ha barley); 6ha alfalfa.10ha temporary grassland, 89ha permanent grassland.Altitude: 650m (2,133ft) above sea level.Climate: Oceanic with mild summers.Soil: Clay –limestone (pH 7-8).Mean annual rainfall: 600mm 
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