Alliance recites 3Ls It might seem like an unholy alliance at first glance, but a marketing group with traditional Aberdeen-Angus beef links has just got into bed with the British Limousin Cattle Society. Not so, says Jim Ironside of the Northampton based Branded Beef Breeders organisation. The breeds are aimed at different market segments, with Angus targeted on a niche market, while the more numerous Limousin is a volume share market vehicle. "In any case, the real competition in Britain is not between breeds but between home produce and imports and this venture will give supermarkets a chance to back the home industry in a highly visible way," he adds. Among suckler beef producers, Limousin is the choice of one in five for the terminal cross providing an excellent carcase and lean beef, hence the adoption of the Lean Lean Lean' brand, which will be shortened to 3L Beef for day to day working use through Limousin Producers. The 3L agreement will be based on a deadweight system and procurement which will initially come from producers within 100 miles of Northampton and will in time be rolled out nationally. BBB retains its Angus connection with new producers being added to its 1,400 membership regularly. FMD has curbed production but the group still aims to put through 8-10,000 head in a full year. First full-year target for the Limousin venture is 7-8000 building up to 20-25,000 after three years. The group is confident the scheme will earn producers a premium worth £12-£15 per head. {{MEAT }}

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