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Animal records
Lackham Limousins serving up £1500 profit margins!
Easy calving Limousins heifers at Lackham College
Lackham College Limousins go on display
Project students get hands on Limousins at Lackham
College
As
important as breed analysis and development is within the Lackham Limousin
project, the herd's educational role in providing a public showcase of well
managed livestock cannot be underestimated.
In the first public showing of the pedigree cattle, the Lackham Limousin herd proved to be one of the main attractions at the college‚s traditional annual Lambing Weekend in March.
The farm welcomed over 5,000 visitors who enjoyed a variety of farm activities including taking tractor and trailer rides to visit the working farm to see the young livestock, new born lambs and piglets.
Lackham's three 2001 born bulls, Shogun, Simply Red and Stewart were on show throughout the weekend and agricultural students took it in turns to handle the animals and talk to the general public about the temperament of the cattle and what it was like working on such a unique project at the college.
The herd provoked a lot of interest with visitors, many of whom stopped to watch a Powerpoint presentation in the cattle sheds about the Limousin project and showing images of the students at work.
Farm manager, Philip Steans said: "This was a wonderful opportunity for people to get back into the countryside after the difficulties last year. The annual event has always been popular with families who spend the whole day at the farm learning about our animals. This year was made even more special by having the impressive Limousin bulls on display!"
Progress to Date The project is continuing to grow from strength to strength. The students have started to learn about halter training and are learning to walk the cattle around the grounds ready for showing.
Average growth rates since birth for the bulls are 1.49kg/day, ranging from 1.19 for the January born calf to 1.89 kg/day for the July born bull. The heifers average 0.91kg/day with a range of .66kg/day to 1.18kg/day. The two bulls sold on the hook are Roland and Spielberg both born early in the year weighing 628kg and 588kg respectively. Roland graded E3 and Speilberg U3 and they killed out at 61 per cent.
The second crop of calves started in late February 2002. Our first born was a 38 kilo bull called Timmo followed by a heifer named Tara who was born on April 1 weighing 47kg. Both were sired by Normande Jack. Lackham Limousin Beef on the Menu! In a new pilot initiative,
Lackham Limousin beef will shortly be on sale to members of staff at Wiltshire College Lackham. The staff are very excited about the prospect of tasting the quality beef that Philip is sure will not disappoint. He has been inundated with requests and feels sure that this is a natural extension of the project that could grow into something bigger in the future. Philip said: "This is a superb outlet for us - we have over 1,000 staff keen to taste the beef. They will act as an unofficial taste panel and give us their comments and thoughts about the product. We know all the staff and can trust that their feedback will be measured and honest."
Farm manager Philip Steans has decided to sell the first two bulls that
aren't meeting breeding potential. The bulls are being sold on the hook
due to temperament in one instance and straight legs in the other. Philip
has stipulated that he wants the animals hung for over three weeks for the
carcases to mature.
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