In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Mark Anderson, executive director of the North American Limousin Foundation, during the 2026 Cattlemen’s Congress about the current state of the Limousin breed. Anderson says the past year has been a strong one across the board, noting success on both the show side and the commercial side of the business. “We’ve had a really good year,” Anderson said, pointing to strong demand for show heifers and rising commercial bull sale averages.
Anderson explained that while Limousin breeders may not market as many show cattle as some larger breeds, quality has driven value. “We may not make as many as some of the other bigger breeds, but we’re selling higher probably as anybody on the good individuals that are very competitive around the country,” he said. He added that juniors and exhibitors have seen strong results, while commercial producers have benefited from higher cattle prices and improved bull demand.
Much of that commercial success, Anderson said, comes from Limousin’s hybrid strength, particularly through programs like Lim-Flex. “It’s amazing how much just a half-blood bull will do,” he said, explaining that producers can add ribeye and muscling while still maintaining marbling and feedyard performance. Anderson emphasized that Limousin cattle “perform exceptionally in the feed yard, in the packing house, and feed conversion-wise,” making them attractive in grid-based marketing systems.
Genomics and EPD advancements have also played a major role in recent progress. Anderson said genomic tools have helped accelerate improvement, especially in carcass traits. “We’ve been able to make tremendous genetic progress the last five years,” he said. While Limousin doesn’t aim to match Angus marbling, Anderson noted that crossbreeding has made meaningful gains, adding that these cattle now excel “in today’s market, where it does matter, with the upper two-thirds of Choice and Prime.”
Looking ahead, Anderson is excited about potential modernization of the beef yield grade system and what that could mean for Limousin cattle. When asked by Hays if he thought new updated yield grading would benefit Limousins, Anderson said “I do” adding “as red meat yield takes over and we are able to accurately identified at the packing house level then the premiums will start to improve for higher yielding cattle that have more product in them.” Anderson adds “the yield grade system’s been good, but it’s old — it’s from the ’60s — and it’s probably time for an upgrade,” Anderson said. With continued progress through genomics, crossbreeding, and multi-breed evaluations like IGS, he added, “It’s just going to get better.”
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
