Limousin Roots Run Deep at E M Tedford & Sons

Written by Tessa Verbeek. Photography by the Limousin Voice.

Original Canadian Limousin Association members hold true to the breed that has kept them in business for generations.

The Tedford family has been raising Limousin cattle since the breed was first imported into Canada. Ernest Tedford first saw the Limousin breed while visiting the Brandon Research Station in 1969. The muscle definition and composition that the bulls displayed at the station left an everlasting impression on him. In 1970, Ernest, his wife Wilma and their three sons Lyall, Harvey and Darryl established Circle T Limousin near Estevan, Sask. The original farm homestead was established in 1906 and is now a centennial third and fourth generation program. The breeding program later became known as E M Tedford and Sons. Ernest and Wilma attended the founding convention of the Canadian Limousin Association in Calgary. In March of 1970 Ernest joined the Canadian Limousin Association where Circle T Limousin was issued the 79th membership of the Association. They are the earliest CLA membership that remains actively registering cattle.

They began artificial insemination of their cow herd that year, and purchased a package of bred females before the first AI calves were born. The first Limousin calves were born at Circle T Limousin in 1971. A total of 52 calves were born that year from various well-known sires including Decor, Dandy and Danseur. These first calves piqued the interest of Ernest leading him to apply for a permit to import fullblood cattle. In 1972, with permit in hand, Ernest set out to France and selected his first Limousin heifer. He chose a Domino daughter out of Bambi by the name of Halo. The following year, armed with more permits, Ernest returned to France and imported three more females.

Limousin cattle in the Tedford herd.

Photo by E M Tedford & Sons.

“In the early years, one of the most exciting moments was the acceptance of the Limousin breed at the fall calf sales,” recalls Ernest’s son Darryl, “This was one of the highlights that helped sell our progeny as well as the driving force behind the expansion of the breed itself. The new grading system that emphasized a lean carcass and muscle helped sell feeder calves into other provinces such as Ontario and Quebec.” Furthermore, the interest and value for this type of carcass was supported at Canadian Western Agribition with the 25 years of the carcass competition.

A demand at the market meant that commercial cattlemen were looking for Limousin bulls to use over their herds.

“We would have commercial cattlemen request Limousin bulls for use in the PFRA pasture program, which resulted in excellent commercial calves,” Harvey comments, “In the early years we showed cattle in every major show across Canada and all the small shows in southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. We exhibited at Canadian Western Agribition for 20 years. We were trying to promote the breed and our herd.”

The Tedford’s first marketed their breeding stock with a female production sale beginning in 1982. In 1987, they took part in the first Cowman’s Kind Bull Sale in High River, Alta. and continued with bull and female sales in Moose Jaw, Sask. for 19 consecutive years until 2006 when they made the decision to sell their bulls through private treaty and have enjoyed success in doing so since. The reach of their genetics has not been limited to western Canada. Approximately 40% of their sales are outside of Saskatchewan. Breeding stock and genetics from their herd have been sold to producers in nine provinces within Canada, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Washington, Australia, England, Brazil and Columbia.

Cattle at E M Tedford & Sons

Photo by the Limousin Voice

The interest Ernest showed in the breed allowed him to help organize the Saskatchewan Limousin Association in 1972. He later became the first president of the Saskatchewan Limousin Association in 1973. His interest in the breed led him to visit other breeders within the Manitoba Limousin Association, so much so that in 1975 the Manitoba Limousin Association created an honorary membership category just for him. In 1988, Ernest attended the Limousin World Congress in Australia and again in 1992 when it was held in Fort Worth, Texas. Ernest’s active role in the Limousin breed led him to receive a number of accolades. He was awarded Limousin Leader of the Year in 1978 for his outstanding service and dedication to the Limousin breed in Canada. He was the first to receive the Saskatchewan Limousin Association Distinguished Breeder award in 1990, the EBEX award for business excellence in the export category in 1994, and was the 12th recipient of the Farmer of the Year award from the Estevan Chamber of Commerce in 1996. The Canadian Limousin Association honoured him with a Canadian Limousin Association Award of Distinction in 1997 and he received the Scroll of Honor Award from the Saskatchewan Livestock Association for his contribution to the community and the livestock industry in 1999. At 90 years of age, Ernest passed away in May of 2008. Lyall, Harvey and Darryl, along with their families, have continued actively registering Limousin cattle under the memberships of E M Tedford and Sons and Circle T Limousin. Today, they have registered over 4,273 head of Limousin cattle.

Over the years, the Tedford family has witnessed firsthand how far the Limousin breed has progressed. “The Limousin breed has matured into a more functional animal when compared to 50 years ago,” Lyall says, “The cattle are far more complete and balanced in their makeup. Today, we have cattle with depth of body, thicker topped, heavier boned, improved docility and scrotal performance that emphasizes more than just single trait selection.”

“Limousin cattle have made leaps and bounds in all of these areas, now we as breeders need to fine tune these traits without compromising any other gains. This is one of the many challenges breeders face going forward. We have cattle that excel in all of the EPD performance traits necessary to be competitive in today’s industry,” says Harvey, who served as Canadian Limousin Association Assistant Secretary-Manager in 1974 and 1975 and Secretary-Manager from 1976 to 1993.

E & M Tedford & Sons Limousin cattle.

Photo by the Limousin Voice.

In order to accomplish these goals, they have taken advantage of technology and utilize both carcass ultrasound and genomics to aid in decision making and the improvement of carcass traits. They know that genomics do not work without the hard data – carcass ultrasound measurements, weights, scrotal measurements, docility scores and the like must be judiciously submitted to the Association. Their goal is to expand the genetic capacity of their herd. They currently maintain a herd of 150 breeding age females, with an emphasis on selecting females based on a wide approach that focuses on the best overall females, while ensuring that they maintain volume and capacity and do not have traits fall by the wayside in order to achieve gains elsewhere. They seek to bring homozygous polled bulls that are above average in all 13 traits into their herd for breeding purposes. This approach has provided a strong cowherd that is the base for a strong set of bulls to be offered privately each spring.

The Tedford family looks forward to being a part of the future of the Limousin breed through the challenges and expectations that the beef industry holds.

“The evolution of the breed must still follow the principles of sound selection, but the goals keep changing. As breeders we can’t address just one trait, we have to put the ‘pedal to the metal’ on all traits to be able to excel the breed within the cattle industry,” Harvey cautions, “As soon as we focus on one particular trait all other aspects will begin to lack. A well-rounded approach is to tackle all traits to be able to excel the producers into the future. If we continue to focus on these traits, we will be more widely accepted in the industry.”

The E & M Tedford & Sons farm in 2019.

Photo by the Limousin Voice.

The future of the herd is in good hands under the careful management of experienced operators Lyall, Harvey and Darryl, and the exuberance of the next generation. Darryl’s daughter, Katelynn Tedford, was actively involved with the Canadian Junior Limousin Association and has now completed a degree in Animal Science from the University of Saskatchewan and is continuing her education in Agronomy. She has a keen interest in the use of genomics for continued improvement of the herd. She continues to educate herself to be able to bring a higher understanding of different aspects of the operation.

The Tedford family maintains that the purebred business is a people business and they have appreciated the fellowship and support their friends in the Limousin industry have shown towards their program. Over the years they have made many friends throughout North America. Pioneers of the breed have been mentors to the Tedford family and influenced the direction in which their herd developed. Their herd is one of the few left in the industry today that was built from the original imports into Canada and through careful management, prudent decision making and adoption of technology, this founding Limousin herd has stood the test of time.