Page 20 - MWC 4-20-2023s

The Midwest Cattleman · April 20, 2023 · P20
Leonard Limousin Emphasizes Efficiency

by Brenda Black

ark Leonard, owner State college students. His seedstock supplier for Lim- est during that decade.
of the oldest contin- topic: Entrepreneurship in ousin fans in more than 40 The purebred business in
Muously active Limou- the cow-calf business. states and 23 different coun- the Leonard family, however,
sin operation in the state of “One student asked how tries. And that's selling them stretches farther back. Mark’s
Iowa (possibly in the U.S.), many years it took for me to private treaty, one by one by great grandfather brought
would rather work than va- build a successful business,” one. the first registered Angus cat-
cation. He abhors the notion Leonard said. “I told him if “I like doing business one on tle to Northwest Iowa in 1900.
of retirement, even though you stay laser focused on help- one,” Leonard said, “because The apple didn't fall far from
he's reached that coveted ing other people for about 40 somebody can tell you what the cowman's family tree. At
age. It simply runs counter to years, one day you'll say, 'This they want to accomplish with age 12, Leonard and his fa-
the constitution of Leonard works.'” their cattle. I take the time to ther William purchased the
men. Every one of the eight The follow-up question help them sort through bulls first units of Limousin semen.
brothers in his dad's family honed in on how many hours and meet their goals. If they “Dad had some Charolais
worked well into their 80s. a week a fella would have to want to feed out, we'll look at bulls and had some cows die
“That's the route I'll prob- work in that 40-year tenure. feed efficient bulls. If they sell trying to calve with them,”
ably take,” Leonard said. As Leonard answered tongue- feeder cattle, we'll talk about Leonard said. “But he want-
for his wife's suggestions to in-cheek, that one would only weight and frame scores. If ed extra performance, carcass
get away from it all, Leon- have to work half time. they are keeping heifers, ma- and muscle mass. As a feed-
ard refers to those as “nasty” “There are a 160 hours in ternal calving ease and mod- lot guy, Dad thought Limou-
thoughts. a week,” Leonard said. “Just erate milk will matter. No- sin could give him what he
Such tenacity comes with put in 84 hours a week, I body wants cows that milk wanted, without killing the
a price. Leonard attempted to told them. None wanted to be like a Holstein. What's most cow. It worked. The first Lim-
communicate his hard work self-employed after that com- important is for that cow to ousin calves out of Registered
ethics employed at Leonard ment.” raise a live calf and have the Angus, Hereford and Charo-
Limousin & Angus when he His resolute overdrive has ability to calve easily.” lais cross cows hit the ground
was asked to serve on a panel rendered Leonard Limousin Leonard Limousin DNA at the Leonard farm to quite
to address a group of Iowa as an internationally reputed tests all bulls to get genomic a bit of fanfare and awe. Then
enhanced accurate data, so we found out that leaving the
that customers can be confi- testicles in the bulls brought
dent the bull will meet their more than steers.”
requirements. As for those kept intact and
“Some want red,” Leonard developed for sale, they'll be
said. “Some think every calf in the Leonard Limousin pro-
has to be black and for sure gram long after a steer would
want to get a homozygous sire. be shipped. Leonard bulls
At an auction, you'll get about are honed and grown for two
45 seconds to make up your years. That's a lot of time and
mind about which bull to buy. risk. So, to invest in only ge-
Way too often, a guy will buy netics that pull their weight,
a bull in that environment be- Leonard follows some pretty
cause he's cheap enough, then strict, self-inflicted policies
learn too late that he doesn't that demand much from the
meet their goals.” cow herd producing those pro-
In the '80s and early '90s, spective herd sires. He states
Leonard was promoting his his ten Core Beliefs on the
Limousin genetics by attend- Leonard Limousin & Angus
ing shows and exhibitions. In website for all to see:
1986 alone, he was on the road 1.A cow has to calve by her-
150 days, touting the benefits self, first time, every time.
of Leonard Limousin, and the 2.A cow has to get pregnant
breed that led Continental every year.
registrations in the U.S. and 3.A cow has to raise a calf
had gained significant inter- good enough to sell as breed-