Registration Categories
Registration categories are determined by the pedigree of the animal.
Fullblood
Fullblood means Limousin cattle whose ancestors all trace directly to the Herd Book Limousin in France. In the CLA herbook they are 100% and designated with a CFM (Canadian Fullblood Male) or CFF (Canadian Fullblood Female) prefix at the beginning of their registration number.
When registering Fullblood calves, you must contact the office to request parentage verification testing be completed. Once the test results come back positively, the Association staff will upgrade the calves from purebred status to fullblood status.
Lim-Flex
Lim-Flex cattle are a hybrid composition of registered Limousin and registered Angus or Red Angus genetics. FLEX stands for Limousin Efficiency Cross (X).
The term "Lim-Flex" can ONLY be used to describe percentage Limousin cattle that:
- contain between 37.5% to 75% Limousin blood, as calculated by the Association
- contain between 25% and 62.5% Angus or Red Angus blood, as calculated by the Association, AND
- are the result of a breeding program using a registered Limousin sire or dam of at least 75% Limousin blood, and a registered Angus or Red Angus sire or dam of at least 50% Angus or red Angus blood, as calculated by the Association
Both sire and dam must be registered with their respective breed associations and meet CLA DNA requirements for sires/donor dams. If one or both parents are unregistered, the animal cannot be described or registered as a Lim-Flex and instead is to be described and registered as a Percentage Limousin animal in the CLA Herdbook.
Purebred
Canadian Purebred Limousin cattle must by 90% or greater Limousin blood as calculated in Canada by the equation of sire + dam divided by 2. Half percentages are rounded up.
e.g. SIRE 94% + DAM 91% = 185/2 = 92.5%
Rounded up the resulting calf would be 93% Canadian Purebred
In the CLA Herdbook, purebred cattle are designated with a CPM (Canadian Purebred Male) or CFM (Canadian Purebred Female) prefix at the beginning of their registration number.
NOTE: Cattle from other countries, particularly the USA, that are described as purebred in that country may not in fact be considered purebred by CLA standards. Please inquire with the CLA office about the Canadian purebred percentage of any cattle before you import them.
Percentage
Cattle of less than 90% Limousin blood that do not meet the requirements of Fullblood, Purebred, or Lim-Flex are considered Percentage Limousin in the Canadian Limousin Herdbook.
These cattle can be valuable for an "upgrading" or "breeding-up" program where you aim to increase the Purebred Limousin percentage in resulting calves. i.e. Breeding a 75% Percentage Limousin female to a 95% Purebred Limousin bull would result in an 85% calf which could then be bred to a 94% Limousin and result in a 90% Limousin Purebred calf
In the CLA Herdbook, BOTH Lim-Flex and Percentage Limousin are designated with the CXM (Canadian Percentage OR Lim-Flex Male) or CXF (Canadian Percentage OR Lim-Flex Female) prefix at the beginning of their registration number.
Unregistered
An animal in the CLA Herdbook with NO PREFIX and only numbers as their registration number is UNREGISTERED.
Transferring Ownership
The added value of owning certified purebred stock is only achieved with the certified documents. When selling or purchasing a Registered Limousin, transferring the papers is vital in preserving the integrity of the Limousin Herdbook, as well as the value of the Limousin performance breed in the beef cattle industry.
In the case of the sale of an animal or an interest in the animal for breeding purposes, the seller shall complete the application for transfer and forward the application for transfer and the certificate of registration to the Association within 90 days of the date of the sale.
The seller shall provide the purchaser with the transferred Certificate of Registration evidencing the purchaser's ownership of the animal, within 180 days of the sale of the animal.
For more information refer to CLA Bylaws, Page 43-44 - "Transfer for breeding purposes"