The breed’s beef is widely recognised as being some of the finest in the world and that has been capitalised on across the world, from the UK to the USA, South America and across Europe too, he says. “The eating quality of Aberdeen-Angus beef is a unique selling point that the breed must continue to make the most of that, but crucially breeders must also ensure their cattle suit the commercial producer.

“Without commercial farmers using Aberdeen-Angus bulls there won’t be sufficient beef to fulfil the demand, so we must ensure they can buy bulls that do the job for them,” he explains.

“And over the time I’ve been involved with the breed it is clear that breeders have adapted to change and responded to commercial demands. The change has been immense and there’s no doubt the cattle we see today are a more commercially viable type than those that were around nearly 40 years ago when I first started in the business.

“And, while I believe there’s a great future for the breed that must be tempered by careful management to ensure the cattle are still of a type wanted by commercial cattle producers.

“The breed’s great strength lies in its ability to adapt to a huge variety of farm conditions and systems. Angus cattle are great when bred pure and are equally as good when crossed with other breeds, either as a terminal sire or as the maternal line.”

Paramount to this maternal use though is the milkyness of the Aberdeen-Angus dam and in breeding for size and power there is a danger that some of this could be lost, believes Mr Leggat. “The Aberdeen-Angus cow is great at producing calves off grass and in the changing economic climate as grain prices rise and forage based, lower input systems come to the fore this could be an important facet of the breed.”

He says the variety of type within the breed, while seen by many as a weakness is in fact a benefit. “One type of beast does not suit all situations and the variety available means that buyers can buy stock to suit their farm and system. Additionally, it means breeders can adapt the breed to suit future market demands without having to select from outside the breed.” It is thanks to the dedication of a small band of breeders that the breed is where it is today, adds Mr Leggat. “A nucleus of herds worked hard to keep the breed on the map and there will always be a debt of gratitude owed to them. The local clubs were instrumental too in promoting the benefits of the breed and the cattle we see today are the result of many years of careful and selective breeding by committed breeders who knew the breed had the attributes to perform commercially.”

Allied to this dedicated pool of breeders were a number of processors who also ‘put their money where their mouths were’ and backed the breed, says Mr Leggat.

“Without the belief shown in the breed by the likes of the Galloway family of Scotbeef and also Dovecote Park the breed may not have made the strides it has today. And the work of many leading chefs has been paramount in driving demand for Aberdeen-Angus sired beef too.”

Looking at the wider industry Mr Leggat believes there is still a future for suckler production in the UK. “But many farmers are rightly looking closely at their costs and paring them back wherever possible.

“This could well be a good thing for the Aberdeen-Angus breed. Aberdeen-Angus cross cows are a good size and tend to be very fertile too.

“With feed and labour being two of the key costs for many suckler herds cattle which eat less and require less management should be in greater demand in future.”

But while this may be one way for the breed to capitalise on the shrinking suckler herd it, like all breeds, faces the threat posed by the general slow-down in the economy and the pressures coming on the industry from increased costs and environmental issues. “I’ve been lucky to be involved in the beef industry at a time when new breeds have been imported and have evolved and adapted to suit the UK market. This has helped the native breeds refocus on their ambitions and the Aberdeen-Angus has led the way in this.

“But all breeds must be on the mettle in these changing times and that’s one real benefit of multi-breed sales. Seeing what’s going on in one breed can often be a major catalyst for change for others.”

And much like the other breeds there have of course been a number of animals which have been at the forefront of driving this change when it’s been needed, says Mr Leggat.

“However, it is very hard to pick out any particular sires which have done more good than others. After all everyone’s idea of what makes a good bull is different. It is true to say though that we’ve sold some exceptional bulls through the Perth Sales over the years, some of which have gone on to breed well and others less so.

“There have of course been some great imported sires over the years too and these have left an indelible mark on the breed and have added many great attributes to herds where they’ve been used.”

Looking to the future Mr Leggat believes the current crop of major sires being used can have every bit as bigger influence as previous generations have. “But there is much more required by buyers now than before. They want a correct, well fleshed bull, but they also want good EBVs and a known, sound health status. All of which is understandable and to be applauded, what breeders must do is be mindful of this and be clear with their buyers what it all means.

“Many buyers are still confused by the myriad of information available at a bull sale and it can be hard to understand what it all means while also looking for the bull that will suit their needs.”

The most important thing breeders can be seen to be doing is to bid on their new stock sires at a Society sale, as this helps increase confidence in the quality being offered

However, he believes one of the most important things breeders can do to give commercial men confidence in the breed is to be seen to bid on and buy stock bulls at auction. “If commercial buyers don’t see pedigree breeders seriously considering bulls at a sale they can quickly lose faith. There are a number of them who will quickly say that if there’s nothing worthy of a pedigree herd then what will be there be for them.”

Thankfully, this is a rare occurrence and at most sales there are good bulls to suit every budget and system and again this is testament to the dedication of Aberdeen-Angus breeders and the adaptability of the breed to changing market circumstances.

The County Tyrone-based farmer farms more than 400 acres which comprises of lowland and hill rising to 800ft above sea level. His main enterprises are a 120-cow suckler herd and a flock of 80 commercial ewes.

The suckler herd comprises of native breeds and is run alongside a small number of pedigree Aberdeen-Angus and Hereford cows which are registered under the Gortavea prefix. “I prefer the native breed cows as they are smaller and better suited to my farmland. They are also hardier and have the ability to keep condition on a low input grass-based system,” explained Tynan, who is a DARD Focus Farmer – a scheme funded by the Rural Development Programme which aims to promote good farming practice.

Aberdeen-Angus bulls form the backbone of the beef finishing enterprise. There are currently five pedigree Aberdeen-Angus stock bulls on the farm. Tynan buys the majority of his bulls privately from one breeder. “I usually buy yearling bulls from an easy calving strain. I like a traditional type of bull with good conformation and breed character, a nice placid temperament and sound legs and feet. Buying privately also allows me to see the bull’s dam and other progeny from the same bloodlines.”

He added: “The Aberdeen-Angus is easy calving and the baby calves thrive from birth. They are docile and easily managed, and have the added advantage of being less labour intensive with no de-horning.”

“With rising feeds costs there is definitely a place for the native breeds when it comes to finishing beef cattle. I have been supplying cattle to Aberdeen Angus Quality Beef Ltd for over 10 years, and the cattle attract a maximum premium of up to 32p per kilo over and above factory base price,” explained Tynan, who also finishes up to 50 bought-in calves annually.

He aims to finish half of his heifers and bullocks off grass by the end of October each year. They are slaughtered at about 20-months-old with the heifers achieving an average deadweight of 270kg and the steers weighing about 290kg dead. “Last year I achieved 65% R grades and 35% O+ grades, with the Angus cattle attracting an average bonus of about £80/head,” added Tynan.

Replacement heifers are bought privately on an annual basis from recognised sources, and calve into the herd at two-years-old. The herd is vaccinated for IBR, BVD and Lepto and is spring calving with the majority of cows calving in March and April. They are grazed on the hill land throughout the summer months, and the calves are weaned at nine-months-of-age and are offered creep feed at housing, which is usually around the end of October.  Heifers and bullocks are pushed around two months prior to slaughter. “The Aberdeen-Angus progeny are easily fleshed at grass and achieve a daily liveweight gain of about 1kg/head/day.”

Cows are overwintered indoors in slatted and straw bedded sheds. They receive 30kg of silage/head/day, which is mixed with straw and fed using a feeder wagon.

Tynan also harvests two cuts of silage annually which is mainly put into clamps, with the addition of some round bales. “I like to make reasonably good grass silage with plenty of bulk and fibre. In the future I want to try and maximise the feeding value of my silage, so I will be aiming to try and improve the quality which will allow me to further reduce concentrate usage.”

“My meal usage is about 700kg/cow unit, but my aim is to reduce this figure to 500kg,” explained the Strabane farmer who is in the top 25 per cent of suckler herds participating in the CAFRE Benchmarking scheme. “I like to keep my system simple – low input and low overheads. My aim is to make a profit before subsidy, while allowing myself an adequate wage.”

Three years ago Tynan opened a small farm shop, marketing pre-packed beef under the Gortavea Farm Meats label. “I am currently selling one animal per month through the shop but I plan to increase this in the future. Within the next two years I hope to be in a position to finish 150 cattle a year through Aberdeen-Angus Quality Beef Ltd.”

Robert Whitcombe among his Red Angus herd

The award is presented by the EBLEX Beef Better Returns Programme (Beef BRP) to the recorded herd that shows the greatest genetic gain for commercial traits over a 12-month period.  There is a separate award for each of ten UK breeds.

Robert Whitcombe took on the family farm in 1990, when the re-routing of the A3 trunk road split the property in two.  Berry Grove Farm is a mixed farm of 100ha (250 acres), with 25 Red Angus cows, 30 South Devon cows and a flock of 35 Border Leicester ewes.

The breeds have been chosen for ease of management, fertility and productivity. They are managed on a predominantly home-grown forage diet.  The Whitcombe’s chose the Red Angus breed because they are functional cattle that do well on grass and also work well alongside the South Devons.

The Red Angus herd was established in 1998 when embryos were imported from the USA.  Numbers have increased by using embryo transfer, keeping homebred replacements and purchasing from other Red Angus breeders in the UK. The aim is to reach 40 cows.

Performance recording

The Red Angus Association in America pioneered performance recording in 1954 and now requires full herd recording.  As well as the Estimated Breeding Values commonly used in the UK, they also have EBVs for important commercial traits such as fertility and ‘stayability’, which is a productive lifetime prediction.

The Whitcombes find the figures for the Red Angus embryos from the USA to be extremely accurate. They also keep their own records for family history, looks, functional characteristics, feet, udders and performance, for all their breeding stock.

“Recording helps us make informed breeding selections in a balanced way,” says Robert Whitcombe. “We are choosing the right animals to keep, based on their maternal figures, as well as scanning for muscle depth to find the ones which will yield the most meat.”

The Whitcombes operate a spring calving herd, with the heifers calving at two years old, indoors.  The calves run with their dams until housing at the beginning of November, when they are weaned.  To obtain a more accurate measurement of the 200-day weight from mothers’ milk alone, the calves are not fed creep.  The cows are fed just hay or low quality silage. All males remain entire until weaning, when bulls going on for breeding are selected, and the rest are castrated.

“Promising animals have good weaning weights, wean easily and produce good 400- and 600-day weights,” explains Mr. Whitcombe.  “They are also ‘feed efficient’ – it is very important they can finish off forage relatively quickly.

“We also want the cows to calve easily and unassisted, so we choose bulls that throw calves with moderate birth weights but high potential growth rates.  We are looking for ‘curve benders’ – animals with figures in the high percentiles on a graph, particularly for growth and meat yield.”

But it is not all down to figures. Mr Whitcombe admits that as well as EBVs, animals must have ‘eye appeal’.

Two bulls have been used with the herd this year, alongside AI and embryo transfer.  The main stock bull currently is ‘Oaklea Red Grenade’ sired by Canadian-bred Red Fine Line Mulberry.

The Whitcombes sell to commercial customers, mainly farmers breeding suckler replacements using Red Angus bulls on compatible breeds, such as South Devon, Simmental, Lincoln Reds, and Stabiliser.

There is good demand for bulls and heifers. However whilst the herd is increasing, surplus females are in short supply and there is a waiting list.

Most of the customers buy directly off farm. These producers are looking for high health status animals, reared locally. The fact they are performance recorded is also important and enhances the herd’s reputation.  A few animals have been exported to France and Ireland.

Customer approval

Commercial producers Nick and Mike Harding farm near Blandford Forum in Dorset, running a spring calving Simmental-based suckler herd of 100 cows, mainly Hereford or Simmental X Friesians. The heifers are mated with Red Angus bulls and the cows mainly with South Devons.

Mr Harding relies on EBVs when choosing bulls and is interested in traits such as ease of calving, birth weight, 200- and 400-day weights.

The youngstock is finished straight to the abattoir with entire males averaging 325-360kg deadweight at around 12 months of age. Heifers run-on a second summer and are finished approaching two years old.  Weaned at housing, they spend their second winter out on stubble turnips, finishing at 300-360kg deadweight.  Cows are out-wintered and housed close to calving.

The Hardings have bought two bulls from the Whitcombe’s herd in recent years and like the fact they could go and see them on the farm.

“Robert’s bulls are just the type of cattle we are looking for – they produce functional animals that perform very well on grass alone and can look after themselves. The fact that they have a depth of figures behind them really helps. They are undoubtedly helping my herd meet its business objectives of producing consistently high quality, high earning slaughter cattle.”

Worthy winner

“This is the first time that a Red Angus herd has won the EBLEX award for the Angus breed,” says EBLEX breeding specialist Samuel Boon.

“The Whitcombes are experienced and innovative breeders, striving to provide top quality breeding stock that will produce commercially desirable progeny. Their use of records and information to attain top end results is reaping dividends and will continue to do so as they build the herd up in the future.”

Amongst other things it appears that raising soil pH by applying lime could reduce the incidence of Johne’s disease in cattle, but it will only be part of the answer.

Participating int he study from left to right: Katie Adam, Rupert Hough, Bill Robson, George Gunn and John Lohoar

Johne’s-or to give it its full title, paratuberculosis- is notoriously difficult to eradicate on a herd basis, never mind nationally, but the recently launched Paraban Initiative looks set to raise understanding of the disease to a new level. With some 20 participating bodies from across industry and academia, including SAC and Quality Meat Scotland, all working together, the focus of the programme will be on nine farmer “champions.”

Their farms, spread from Caithness to Cumbria and including dairy and beef units, have offered to act as open workshops to allow the disease to be studied more closely. The project Is being led by SAC vet George Gunn.

The inaugural meeting was held at Glenbervie Home Farm, Drumlithie. Farm manager John Lohoar said the 200-cow pedigree Aberdeen-Angus herd was established in 1992 from two sources and had been a closed unit ever since.

Nonetheless, and despite good biosecurlty, Johne’s had been a problem at varying levels since around 1999. A rigorous testing regime has ensured clinical disease, where cattle waste away and are badly affected by diarrhoea, is never seen. This is largely thanks to a strictly Implemented culling policy. The farm business had been a member of SAC’s Premium Cattle Health Scheme for 11 years and blood-tested every animal every year at a cumulative cost to date of £18,000.

More than 6000 metres of ring fencing had been erected to segregate Glenbervie cattle from  neighbouring herds, and no access for drinking was allowed to streams or ditches.

Despite that level of attention, between 2.5% and 6.4% of cattle had tested positive annually, meaning they had to be segregated immediately and, in the case of cows, culled a few months after calving. Mr Lohoar had even gone to the lengths of culling out the offspring of any cows testing positively.

Asked why he was so determined he said the philosophy of the Macphies of Glenbervie bakery ingredient business, of which the farm is part, is that everything has to be done to the highest standards.

Rabbits and roe deer are sometimes implicated in the spread of Johne’s, but Mr Lohoar said rabbit numbers were now tightly controlled. Culled roe deer had been routinely tested and none had ever shown a positive result.

Laurencekirk vet Bill Robson said it had been a frustrating business tackling Johne’s at Glenbervie. Some years only a couple of cattie tested positive whereas in other years it could be as many as a dozen, with many of them being young cattle. Testing was now carried out every six months and cattle as young as a year old were included, although this was generally too early for detection of a disease which had a long incubation period. “The problem is that there is no treatment. Biosecurity is important and, remember, buying stock from an accredited herd doesn’t mean no risk, only low risk,” he said. “The bacteria which causes the disease can survive in the soil for four years and in dung for nine months.”

SAC epidemiologist Katie Adam, who Is to be performing the blood and faecal tests for the Paraban project, admitted procedures were difficult and had been criticised in the past. Calves were generally infected at or soon after birth but a blood test was unlikely to be reliable until an immune response had developed at over one year of age. Once faecal shedding of the bacteria was found It was generally too late and other cattle were in danger of being infected.

Rupert Hough of the James Hutton institute is to be involved in environmental assessment and it was his early studies which led to the link with low pH and liming. Various international research going back to the 1930s had shown cattle grazed on acidic soils were much more prone to Johne’s than those on alkaline soils.

Acidic soils also released iron more readily and this also encouraged the disease, as did high organic matter and wet solis. Glenbervie soils are naturally acidic and have high organic matter, so this looks to be one early line of inquiry for the Paraban group.

The desire to produce a premium product at a time when economic production and ease of management are all crucial, lay behind Des Bradley’s decision to change from using Charolais bulls to Aberdeen-Angus on his suckler herd, as Doreen Forsyth reports.

Home Farm, Grimsthorpe, South Lincolnshire, has been a family business since 1969, when Des’ father, Vic rented the first farm. Des, and his wife Jane took over in 1984, and a second farm was rented in 1992. Covering over 1000 acres, 200 plus acres are down to permanent pasture, with 700 plus in arable production, mainly winter wheat and oilseed rape.

Some 3-400 tonnes of round bale silage are made, but the cows get priority for the grass which is shared between 140 suckler cows and 70,000 free range laying hens. The farms lie on the eastern side of the county which experiences low rainfall so grass is not always available, but the large arable acreage ensures an abundant supply of cereals and straw.

The Bradleys have always been innovators.  Des explains. “My father set up the first free-range egg business more than 25 years ago, and we now have 70,000 hens on the farm”.  It is the biggest part of the farm business, but Des has seen a “financial crash” in free-range egg production, and feed prices have risen astronomically.  “The market is now also over-supplied” he comments.

Vic Bradley also set up one of the first Charolais herds in the UK in the late ‘60’s, and for many years produced Charolais cross bull beef.  Farm Manager Tony Martin says   “When that market collapsed it was decided, with the help of Meadow Quality, that it was necessary to add value to our finished product.” And Aberdeen-Angus seemed the obvious solution to produce a premium product. Once the decision was made, the last crop of Charolais calves were castrated as a practice run at finishing steers.

In August 2007 their first Aberdeen-Angus bull, Rawburn Explosion was purchased from the Elliot family of Roxburgh Mains in the Scottish Borders, followed by subsequent visits to the Perth Bull Sales where Wedderlie and Auchengray bulls were purchased. “On the way home from the sales we also sourced a mature bull, Blackhaugh Ed,  bred by Andrew Elliott as we wanted a spread of age,” explains Tony. The most recent purchase from Stirling Bull Sales is Wedderlie Kamikaze, bred by Messrs J and J Campbell.

EBV’s are vital to the success of the operation at Home Farm. “We conducted a great deal of research into EBV’s before we bought, as we were looking particularly for large framed bulls with good growth rates, and all the sires are from the top end of the market,” adds Tony.

The cows which are cross-bred, mainly Hereford x Friesian and Saler x Hereford Friesian, were put to the first Aberdeen-Angus bulls in the summer of 2008

The cows are calved very tightly form mid-February through to mid-March, as Tony feels it make for easier management and it’s healthier for the calves.

Its heavy land at Home Farm, so cows are housed throughout the winter after grazing well through the summer to put on condition in preparation for a lean winter in the yards.  Cows are fed a winter ration of pot-ale syrup poured over a round straw bale. While still on their mothers, steer calves are offered a home produced creep feed of milled wheat, bought-in protein blend, chopped straw for fibre plus minerals. This is fed from August until weaning in November.

After weaning calves are housed, with steers and heifers separated. They are then fed an ad-lib total mixed ration (TMR) made up of silage, milled wheat, protein blend, straw and minerals, to a protein level of 18%.

“Our feeding system here at Home Farm is geared around growing frame, and although it’s a bit of a challenge it pays dividends,” says Tony.

Young stock are weighed and assessed on a monthly basis throughout the winter and when the steers are deemed to have sufficient frame they are moved on to a high energy finishing ration of wheat, straw and minimum protein. Heifers stay on a grower ration all through the winter before being turned out to grass in mid-March.

Tony explains the reasoning behind this, “I know it seems like an early turnout, but we like to house the cows for as short a time as possible, as we feel they can lose condition throughout the winter, and we want them to regain top condition before being put to the bull.”

In an attempt to assess the success of the change over from Charolais to Aberdeen-Angus, a trial run was undertaken to compare Charolais cross steers and Aberdeen-Angus cross steers. “The AA’s competed very well with the continental crosses” comments Tony, “plus we had the benefits of a premium price”. (See Table 1)

A similar trial conducted with the heifers didn’t look quite as good, but the bonus was that the Aberdeen-Angus crosses fattened much better at grass, whereas the Continentals “always have to be fed,” he explains.

So was it the right decision to change to Aberdeen-Angus bulls?  Tony concludes “It was a bit of a challenge to change the system to suit, but it’s created a lot more interest in our end product, and gives us all a lot of pride in producing such a premium product.”

Table 1

Charolais cross steers 2008/09

Average LWG 574kg. Average DWG 310.9kg. 54.18 KO%

Average Age 14.5 months

Grades –Fat class 2×3 56×4

Conf -1xU 71xR 4×0

Aberdeen-Angus steers 2009/10

Average LWG 582kg. Average DWG 316kg 54.25% KO

Average age 14 months

Grades – Fat class 2×3 68×4 3×5-

Conf – 1xU 64xR 8×0+

By Julie Hazelton

David, who farms 200 acres in the townland of Brone on the outskirts of Garvagh, Northern Ireland, has been running Aberdeen-Angus stock bulls for more than 10 years. The main enterprises on the farm includes a 75-cow suckler herd and a flock of 120 commercial ewes.

Garvagh-based suckler herd owner, David Torrens, with a batch of home-bred Aberdeen Angus bullocks

The suckler herd comprises Continental crossbred cows which are split into two batches – spring and autumn calvers. “I like cows with good stature and bone. Up until three years ago I was buying replacement females, but now I’m introducing homebred heifers into the herd. They are all bred from my last senior stock bull, Calfward Primover D051. He was an Ankonian Elixir son with super figures – a terminal sire index of +32, a self replacing index of +44 and an excellent milk value of +17kg,” explained David.

He added:”I aim to retain the heifers bred from my best cows. To fit the selection criteria dams must be milky, have good confirmation and a nice temperament. I have a lovely batch of 15 maiden heifers almost ready for bulling.”

Heifers calve into the herd at about two years of age. “This is a one-man operation, so I like things to run smoothly from day-to-day. The Aberdeen-Angus is easy calving and the newborn calves are lively at birth. The Angus-bred dams are quiet and easily managed. They have plenty of milk and make super mothers.”

Calves are weaned at seven or eight-months-old. Spring-born calves are reared on their mothers at grass, while the autumn-born calves are housed in a creep area where they have access to ad-lib silage and a small amount of concentrates.

One of the Aberdeen-Angus bulls used in David Torrens' suckler herd

David is currently running two Aberdeen-Angus stock bulls. They include an easy calving son of Baronagh Euro which was purchased privately from a neighbouring pedigree breeder. The herd’s junior stock sire is Dalriada Thadeus H549, who was the champion at last year’s breed society show and sale in Dungannon. “This is a super bull. He’ll be three-years-old in September and is sired by Nakkeg Nord. I don’t mind paying for the right bull – a good bull with sound Breedplan figures is an investment for the future of my enterprise.” When selecting a stock bull David is looking for a long clean animal with good confirmation, sound legs and feet and good bone.

Progeny from the suckler herd is finished on farm and marketed through the Aberdeen-Angus scheme operated by Linden Foods in Dungannon – suppliers to Marks and Spencer.  To qualify for the Linden Foods Aberdeen Angus Club, all cattle must be the progeny of a pedigree registered Aberdeen Angus bull. Cattle must also be registered on the company’s database at least 21 days prior to slaughter.

David is a member of the Linden Select Farm scheme, which is similar to the Farm Quality Assurance scheme. All cattle are fully traceable, and farm audits are carried out on a regular basis.  Cattle marketed through the scheme attract a bonus payment of up to 36p/kg for U grades, and 30p/kg for R grades. “The bonus depends on the weight and grade of each individual carcass, but it equates to between £90 and £110/head,” said David.

Heifers are finished at about 20 months of age and weigh between 300 and 320kg deadweight. Bullocks are slaughtered between 20 and 21-months-old and achieve in the region of 370 to 410kg. The majority of David’s cattle are achieving R3 and 4L grades, with a few U grade carcasses.

“Aberdeen-Angus-bred progeny are easily reared and naturally fleshed on grass and silage. They grow exceptionally well and are nice placid cattle to work with,” concluded David, who pushes the cattle for 100 days prior to slaughter, feeding 5kg/head of a beef finishing ration which is mixed with home grown wholecrop wheat.

Emphasis on performance and feed efficiency has taken the Nightingale herd to new heights, as Eddie Gillanders reports

Willie Robertson was last profiled in the Aberdeen-Angus Review in 1984. The Nightingale herd was only 10 years old at the time but had achieved remarkable success in its short existence.

The Robertson family at Nightingale

These early successes included a reserve intermediate championship at Perth, a top price of 12,500gns, a Royal Show championship, Nightingale bred animals which went on to win championships at the Royal Highland and Royal Dublin shows and – most significant of all – sold most of its young bulls to become herd sires in leading herds throughout the country.

Now, 27 years on, the influence of the Nightingale herd has permeated throughout the breed and has been achieved by the adoption of an imaginative breeding programme based on performance, structural soundness and selection. This achievement has had both pedigree and commercial beef producers beating a path to the Robertson farm in the village of Bishampton near Pershore in Worcestershire to buy breeding stock.

The accolade of “master breeder” is not one to be bestowed lightly and will not sit comfortably on Willie’s shoulders but is one which has been well earned and is well deserved.

And Willie will be the first to acknowledge the support he has received from his wife, Rita, and his daughters, Angela and Katrina (Sutherland), in the development of the herd and the more recent involvement of Angela’s son, Piers.

New breeders could do no better than study the principles of breeding which Mr Robertson has applied to his genetic programme and absorb his sage advice based on more than 40 years of experience breeding Aberdeen-Angus cattle.

Mr Robertson admits his own start in the breed was inauspicious, but a visit to Canada in 1974 completely altered his thinking. He came back convinced that larger-framed cattle in vogue in North America at the time were the type required to reverse the decline in the breed in the UK.

He started by importing four females and it is no accident that most of the stock bulls used in the Nightingale herd over the years have been Canadian-bred. He relentlessly pursued a policy of selecting for height and length and brushed off criticism that the breed’s traditional qualities of fleshing and hindquarters were being lost in the quest for size.

“To make genetic progress, you have to narrow down your breeding objectives to two or three characteristics,” he argues. “You may have to make sacrifices to achieve your goal but if you try for the complete animal, you’ll never get there. We achieved a larger frame size and then concentrated on improving muscling.”

But he counsels against size at any cost and urges breeders to use their abilities to determine fact and separate it from myth. “Our most serious error in breeding cattle today is trying to breed bigger cows without consideration of efficiency and cow herd maintenance costs,” Mr Robertson contends.

“Looking at two year old heifers at shows, it appears breeders can’t get them big enough, with big bones and poor fleshing and not a calf in sight. This is a million miles away from being an efficient type of animal.”

The emphasis, he says, should be on efficient feed conversion and the identification of animals capable of achieving superior performance on grass and conserved fodder.

The breeding policy at Nightingale has been moving in this direction and one of the first bulls sold from the herd with this “cost efficiency” make-up is Nightingale El Paso which is now at Wedderlie.

Mr Robertson is particularly excited about another young bull, Nightingale Dunbar K551, who weighed in at 433kg at 200 days on his 10 year old dam with only milk and grass. “When weaned on November 2 at 224 days, he was scanned with a massive eye muscle of 109 and put on 3.8kg per day for the next 14 days when fed,” Mr Robertson reports. “He is the top performing bull ever at Nightingale.”

Calves are not creep fed but receive one feed per day for four-six weeks before weaning. Calves are weaned at housing in the autumn and are fed twice a day with a 14% protein diet along with a silage/straw forage. All feed is measured and removed if not eaten promptly. The maximum fed, if required, is 10kg at 400 days and thereafter 5kg.

“We have found that this system allows the animals to grow and develop without causing any strain on the digestive system or limbs,” he says.

Mr Robertson also has some advice on how to assess the live animal and suggests that it is the side elevation which is important. “It always amuses me how long people spend at the rear of a bull discussing the hindquarter which is regarded as second class with limited use,” he says. “If you are obsessed with a big muscled back end and do not recognise the front end, you finish up with a very ordinary breeding bull. I always look at the front end first to assess a bull’s masculinity and character before moving to the back end.”

One vital assessment which is not often discussed is testicle size which should be a first consideration because it has a direct bearing on fertility.

However, it is different with a female where the assessment should start with the back end to assess pelvic shape and udder before moving to the front to consider femininity and personality.

Overall, he suggests, the animal should appear to be in three parts, father than compact – to ensure growth, performance and mobility. “The slope of the shoulder in bigger cattle can sometimes be too straight and this is simulated in the structure of the hindquarters and legs. A vital component of the structure is the attachment of the top of the shoulder to the rib,” he adds.

The quality of Aberdeen-Angus beef is widely attributed to marbling but Mr Robertson believes it goes further, with a correlation between marbling, milk and medium bone.

In 2009, a leading supermarket carried out a blind tasting of steak from several beef breeds and the tasting public was blown away by the quality of steaks from Aberdeen-Angus x Holstein heifers which were selected by 92% of those tasting.

“The combination of Aberdeen-Angus on the Holstein gives the finest eating quality beef and coincides with my thoughts on the correlation of marbling, milk and bone,” he says. “Heavy boned cattle produce a hard type of muscle which does not lend itself to quality meat and should be discouraged in the Aberdeen-Angus breed.”

Researching the lineage and history of cow families in Canada in the early days, Mr Robertson concluded that the make-up of most of the good old Canadian cows comprised one third old line-bred Canadian lines, one third Wye Plantation (the herd which pioneered bigger-framed Aberdeen-Angus cattle in the USA) and one third Emulous or Rito.

“Genetics has always been massively important to us and we have experimented with outcrosses and wild outcrosses,” he says. “The first generation appeared to produce decent cattle as a result of hybrid vigour but subsequent generations failed.”

He adds: “We have always purchased the same type of cattle with an emphasis on structural soundness, long clean bodies, good testicles and, above all, dams and near relatives had to have good udders and be of excellent type. An outcross bull could undo decades of work.”

Mr Robertson is particularly pleased that Nightingale sires generally improve the EBVs of the cattle in the herds where they are used and he also tries to buy stock bulls which improve the EBVs of the Nightingale herd.

He illustrates the reality of this claim by pointing out that the EBV of his current stock bull, Auldhouseburn Karlos D218, purchased at Perth for 6500gns, has improved by 27 points from +22 to +49 compared with a combined improvement of only 24 points for the seven bulls which were sold at higher prices on the same day, costing a total of £145,500.

One of his sons, Nightingale Ploughman, out of one of the top cows in the herd and now at Genus, is a top bull for calving both on heifers and cows, short gestation and calf quality. “The price you pay for a bull doesn’t change it,” he says wryly.

Today, the Nightingale herd comprises 70 cows and the success of the breeding policy is borne out by the sale of bulls directly off the farm at less than a year old to some of the largest dairy and suckler herds in England and into the Borders.

In one herd, 25 Charolais bulls have been replaced by 25 Nightingale bulls and Aberdeen-Angus has replaced Limousin in Abington Farms’ 150-cow suckler herd in Suffolk where the stock bull is Nightingale Poundman C183, a full embryo brother to Netherallan Peter Pershore which has bred so well at Blelack and is now at Shadwell Estate.

Poundman has been used at Abington for six years, putting 80-85 cows in calf over a nine-week period every year and 100 in his sixth year.

Nightingale bulls continue to come to the fore at shows with Nightingale Dalmigavie siring the champion at the last Royal Show, Netherallan Peter Pershore siring the champion and several high priced bulls at the first Perth bull sale at Stirling, Nightingale Ernie siring a bull which has been winning major shows in Ireland, Nightingale Panmure winning the championship at the biggest show of Aberdeen-Angus in England at Newbury and Nightingale Defiance siring the reserve champion at the Royal Highland Show.

The last article on Nightingale in the Review concluded with the observation that Mr Robertson was setting the Aberdeen-Angus breed on a new path where performance counts above all else. The success of the Nightingale herd over the past 27 years has more than proved the point.

Owned by the husband and wife team of Alan and Naomi Morrison, the Drummeer herd is based in townland of Drummeer near Maguiresbridge in County Fermanagh.

“I’ve always had a fondness for Aberdeen-Angus cattle, and my grandfather owned the Hillmount herd in the 1960s,” says Alan. “When I decided to start a pedigree herd Aberdeen-Angus was my first choice. The breed’s ease of management is ideal for my situation” explained the part-time farmer who is an Animal Health and Welfare Inspector with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Alan and son James with their 2010 show cow

Foundation stock was sourced from the Tamnaskenny and Alwood herds. The herd currently comprises of 12 breeding cows and followers, and the stock bull was purchased privately at 13 months of age from County Roscommon breeder, Tommy Shryane.  Santanna Duke is a February 2007 born Nakkeg Nord son bred from a Priestown Jupiter dam – his full sister was All-Ireland heifer champion in 2006.

Alwood Polly, a Dalrene Cruz daughter purchased from Danny Smith, Florencecourt, went on to win the Aberdeen Angus championships at Armagh, Omagh and Clogher Valley Shows. Her heifer calf, by Fordel Eisenhower, was junior and reserve supreme breed champion at Balmoral Show in 2007.

Alan and Naomi Morrison’s Drummeer herd secured the yearling heifer and bull calf championships at the Northern Ireland Aberdeen-Angus Club’s calf show in 2005, the reserve yearling heifer championship and reserve heifer calf championship at the same event in 2007. In 2008 the Drummeer herd claimed the reserve yearling heifer and reserve heifer calf championships, followed by the yearling heifer and yearling bull championships in 2009.

To date, bulls have sold to a top of 4000gns and Drummeer progeny have dominated Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society shows and sales at Dungannon.  Drummeer Pedro claimed the male championship honours in February 2010 and sold for 3250gns. A couple of months later, the Morrison’s secured the male and female championships at the April event, selling for 4000gns and 3500gns respectively.

Weight recording has played an important role in the development of the herd. “I have been weight recording since the herd was founded,” explains Alan. “It’s important to use estimated breeding values (EBVs) as more and more young people are college trained, and older farmers are becoming self educated about performance figures.

“Most customers are interested in calving ease, even before terminal sire index and self replacement index. I keep this mind when trying to improve my herd average for EBVs. However, the quality of the bull must be right too. A future sire needs to have the complete package – conformation, performance figures and genetics.”

The Drummeer prefix has also featured strongly in the club’s Northern Bank-sponsored herds competition. It won the small herd section in 2006, the medium section in 2010, and was placed third in the small herd section in 2008.

The inaugural Native Breeds Show, held at Portadown in September last year, proved to be another successful outing for the Drummeer herd when its three-year-old cow, Knockadrinan Blackbird G400, claimed the reserve female championship. She was sired by Gigginstown House Drew E300 and was accompanied by her March 2010 Santanna Duke bull calf, Drummeer Blackboy K136.

Knockadrinan Blackbird and her bull calf at foot

Alan joined the Northern Ireland Aberdeen Angus Club in 2005, and was elected as chairman in 2009/10 – he is believed to be the youngest ever chairman in the history of the club.

“Membership of the club has given me the opportunity to meet fellow breeders. The older club members are very experienced and knowledgeable. I enjoy going to shows, and sales such as Stirling, as it’s a great way of learning more about the breed and the bloodlines available. I’ve also had the opportunity to judge at local shows such as Antrim, Lurgan and Newry.”

“The Aberdeen-Angus is the greatest beef breed in the world. My ideal cow is a balance between the modern and traditional type. Both have attributes that I like to avail of. The traditional cow has breed character and is easily managed, while the modern-day cow is bigger with more growth and can compete with its Continental counterparts.”

Aside of his Angus interests, Alan completed a three-year National Diploma in Agriculture at Greenmount College in 1998 and has been farming 120 acres in partnership with his father, Edwin. Other enterprises on the farm include a 10-cow pedigree Charolais herd and a commercial suckler herd comprising of 30 cross-bred Charolais cows.

Aberdeen-Angus bulls are used in the commercial herd and the beef steers and heifers are finished off the farm at around 18-months-old. Carcasses are between 360 and 380kg deadweight and achieve U and R grades. “The beef cattle are sold to Linden Foods who have a contract to supply Aberdeen-Angus beef to Marks and Spencer,” explains Alan.

Edwin and Alan Morrison are currently receiving a premium for their Aberdeen-Angus cattle. The U graded carcasses receive an extra 36p/kg, while the R grades are worth an extra 30p/kg, over and above beef price.

Alan added:”Fermanagh is a grassland area, and the Aberdeen-Angus cattle are easily finished off grass. We’ve had commercial bullocks achieving a daily liveweight gain of 2.2/kg a head at grass. Low levels of concentrates are fed, which means we are saving on feeding costs, and this coupled with the bonus at slaughter, means these cattle are profitable in today’s beef market.”

“Our farmland is heavy, and County Fermanagh gets high levels of rainfall. Over the last three years it has been very wet, and in 2008 our cows were housed for winter in mid August.” Cattle are normally housed from the end of September onwards, and cows are kept in cubicles and fed ad lib silage. The youngstock and stores are turned out in mid March, as Alan and his father like to take advantage of young spring grass. Cows are then turned out in mid April.

The herd is spring calving, and heifers are calved between 24 and 30 months of age. “This breed is easy calving and the cows are docile, easy to manage and have plenty of milk.”

AI bulls currently in use include Youngdale Superior, and the Blelack herd’s former stock bull, Netherallen Peter Pershore.

In the future Alan aims to increase the size of the Drummeer herd to 15 breeding females. “I am aiming to have a uniform herd of consistent breeding females and I intend to continue trying to combine the attributes of the modern and traditional Aberdeen-Angus.”

He concludes: “I think that Aberdeen-Angus cattle will continue to flourish in the future. With feed prices continuing to rise, this breed will remain a popular choice for commercial farmers and the demand for Aberdeen Angus beef will safeguard the premium paid to producers at slaughter.”

Although in its infancy in terms of pedigree breeding, the Luddenmore herd of Dr Michael and Martin Sheahan has been thought about for many years. “My father had ideas of setting up an Aberdeen-Angus herd for many years and having attended shows and sales in the UK for some time, we couldn’t have been more impressed at the high standard that had been achieved by the Angus breed,” comments Michael.

So in 2005 the Killmallock, Co Limerick-based Luddenmore herd was established with the purchase of three cattle from the dispersal of the Fullam herd. “From the beginning we concentrated on proven and established cow families. This initial seed stock included North American embryos and included Hamilton Farm Evening Tinge and Tibbies, along with a Coldstream Tidy Bee daughter.”

Michael admits these initial purchases have been incredibly lucky for him. “Our first calf out of Tibbie, Luddenmore Titan, was top priced bull in Carrick in 2007. Evening Tinge enjoyed some show success, but it was her daughter by Dalrene Cruz who cleaned up in 2009, standing champion at numerous shows as a calf.”

One of the herds foundation females Fulham Evening Tinge

Buoyed by their initial success, Michael and his father set about sourcing cattle with proven family track records. Several trips throughout the UK saw them make a number of purchases both privately and at auction.

“One of our early purchases was a genetic full sister to Aynho Rossiter Eric from the McLaren family, Aynho Rosa Erica D231, who has excelled in producing show quality stock,” comments Michael. She also won the Mogeely cup last year for Club Cow Family. Her son, by Dalrene Cruz, was National bull calf champion in 2009 and sold for one of the top prices that year. Both of her daughters have also won their classes at the National Show.

2006 saw the purchase a daughter of the noted Kim of Fordfourie, Halbeath Kirsty E140 and Elliot Erica E019 a daughter of Cudlobe Ellen Erica 46D.”

A personal favourite of Michael's, Elliot Erica

The famous Netherton Matrons sale also allowed them to purchase proven donor cows, such as Netherton Fleur B199 and Flora B162. And their judgement was soon proved to be right as Fleur’s first calf to carry the Luddenmore prefix was National heifer calf champion in 2008 and her full brother won the National in Kelso this year.

Flora’s first calf, Luddenmore Fionn, proved a stand out from day one and was purchased privately by Dovea AI station where he now stands. “From reports back, breeders are excited by his first crop of calves,” adds Michael.

The Netherallan dispersal then saw Luddenmore purchase Netherallan Elba F057, a Vermillion Payweight daughter out of Youngdale Elba for a record calf price. And although it was a record price, she has already paid for herself as her first calf has been sold in a half share deal for £20,000 to James and Bill Porter for their Old Glenort herd.

Duncanziemere Jody G263 was the next to be purchased at the Best of Blacks sale in the Borders. “Having seen her as a calf on the Clarke’s farm we were impressed by the cow family and in particular by her calf G263. Several embryos were also purchased and five daughters have now joined the herd.

Along with the purchase of Wedderlie Emillicent E020, the most recent buys include two daughters of Netherton Frances A103, one from Messrs J Lascelles of Balmachie and one acquired with the purchase of the Prohurst herd last year.

But of all his purchases, Michael’s personal favourite is Elliot Erica E019, who he describes as a picture perfect Angus and a complete package with numbers and style. “Our latest crop of calves includes some exciting progeny from Erica sired by the well known Rawburn Rommel.”

2009 and 2010 saw the herd augmented by the birth of several exciting calves, born as a result of contract flushes purchased after several visits to Canada. These include calves out of double Farmfair and Agribition Champion DMM Miss Essence 21R, her dam 90k, and the legendary Miss Essence 147H from Miller Wilson.

To date Luddenmore cows have been mated to top AI sires such as Rawburn Rommel, Dalrene Cruz, Youngdale Touchdown, Youngdale Superior and Netherallan Peter Pershore. But this year will see the Sheahan’s start to use some of their home bred bulls, with Luddenmore Mr Edition (DMM Miss Essence 21R x Hoff Limited Edition) and Luddenmore Eclipse (Netherallan Elba F057 x Rawburn Rommel) being used in the herd’s extensive flushing programme.

Luddenmore Mr Edition is one of the first homebred bulls to be retained as a stock sire by the herd

During the 2010-2011 breeding season, Michael hopes to see some 70 pedigree calves hitting the ground. “These will be the result of both natural and ET matings and in the future we hope to maintain our pedigree calf numbers of about 80-90.

At Luddenmore the main focus is on getting the females right, as Michael is adamant that if you get the cows right the bulls will follow. The care, welfare and health status of the cattle is equally of primary importance and all stock is tested for Johnne’s and vaccintated for BVD, Lepto and IBR.

“Each blood line must perform and any female that fails to produce a good calf, or isn’t deemed good enough for breeding, becomes a recipient. The embryo programme allows us to see quickly what matings will work and thus speed up our genetic progress.

“It also allows us to both expand our numbers and our bloodlines without compromising our high herd health status. We can also take advantage of top genetics from around the World.

The success of the herd has also seen the collection of silverware outside of the show ring. Not only has the herd won the medium size herd in the Club’s herd competition for the last two years, it also won the first club calf competition with Luddenmore Eclipse this year.

And having built the herd relatively rapidly from a few top end investments, the inaugural Foundation Female Sale, held in 2010 with Jerry Henchy’s Fraiarstown herd, was a success with Luddenmore averaging at €3000 for mainly maiden heifers and heifer calves. Sale topper for them at €4500 was an Ayno Rosa Erica x Youngdale Touchdown calf, who went on to win at Irish Beef Expo in 2010. Going forward the plan is to offer about 25 quality females at the Foundation Female Sale.

Alongside the Angus herd, when he’s not busy being a doctor or involved in the family’s waste business, Michael’s passions also lie in Charolais and Simmental pedigree cattle. “I started to breed pedigree cattle when I was 16 with my first purchases being Simmental and we still run a few now. This year one of our heifers took the female championship at the Autumn Premier sale and sold for the top price of €6200.

The Charolais herd is similar to the Angus herd in that the main focus is both on the pedigree and phenotype of the animal. The herd is part of an extensive flushing programme and cows are AI’d to top Charolais sires. Like his quest to find new Angus bloodlines, Michael regularly travels to France in pursuit of new genetics.

By Eddie Gillanders

Commercial realism is the cornerstone to the success of the Deveron Aberdeen-Angus herd which has emerged as one of the leading herds in the country over the past few years.

Owners, Hamish and Margaret Sclater, have made judicious use of the show ring as a marketing tool to demonstrate the success of their enlightened breeding policy, but it is the tight management of the cattle to ensure production efficiency and the emphasis on performance which marks the success of the herd.

Hamish and Margaret Sclater of the Deveron herd

“We saw the move into cattle as a means of building up our capital base and we opted for the breed because we saw opportunities for the marketing of Aberdeen-Angus cattle and I had some experience of the breed with my father’s Balnamoon herd,” says Hamish, who farms at Denhead Farms, Dunlugas, Turriff, Aberdeenshire, and is currently serving a second term on the Society’s Council.

“I took the view that building up an Angus herd offered better long-term security and would give us better control over our income if we could achieve continued genetic improvement, compared with our malting barley enterprise and our previous 100-sow outdoor pig enterprise, both of which depend on highly volatile markets.

“But we didn’t have the resources to splash out on expensive females from the leading herds. We gave ourselves a budget of £10,000 which we thought would be enough to buy three good heifers but finished up buying seven by concentrating on well-bred females from less fashionable herds at modest prices.”

Three of the original foundation females, Lindale Lady (900gns), Fairoaks Elize X17 (750gns) and Newcairnie Jacqueline Erica (1900gns), have had a huge influence and have spawned three of the most successful families in the herd.

A great grandson of the Lindale cow, Deveron Latimer G188, by the 30,000gns former Perth champion Netherton Figo C244, sold for £14,000 to David Sole for his Glenbuchat herd, while a son of the Newcairnie cow, Deveron Jasper Eric F170, sold for a herd top price of £20,000 to Albert de Cogan’s Mogeely herd.

Jasper Eric was sired by the Aberan DMM Decision 26H son, Deveron Limited Edition C094, possibly the best bull bred in the herd, who sired only two calves before being found dead in the field following an accident. If that were not enough, his semen could not be used because of a labelling error at the AI station which was a costly blow.

The three partners in the AI company were subsequently declared bankrupt and Hamish received nothing for damages nor legal costs of more than £70,000.

“This is what is driving us on to redouble our efforts to succeed in breeding better cattle to help recoup these horrendous losses,” Hamish explains.

The Fairoaks cow – which traced back to a family in Mr Sclater’s father’s Balnamoon herd – has also made her mark, a great granddaughter by Young Dale Dudley 26M, the 10 month old, Deveron Elize H232, winning the female championship at the National Calf Show at Edinburgh in 2008 and going on to take the yearling heifer championship at Perth in February, 2009, and selling for the top price of 6000gns to Ballindalloch.

The same canny approach has been adopted in the selection of stock bulls, an example being one of the early sires, Beltie Gaffer Cruz, a Dalrene Cruz son out of a show winning cow, which was purchased for 520gns as a 10 month old calf at the dispersal of Louis Beddie’s Beltie herd.

Other bulls in the same category include Gigginstown Toy Boy, bought at a Gigginstown sale for E2500 and Bramley Grange Black Brindley D64, purchased as a calf for only £800 and boasting high Estimated Breeding Values (EBV’s) for both milk and eye muscle.

Much detailed research goes into the pedigree of potential sires and, particularly these days, their performance traits. “We pay a great deal of attention to EBVs and try to buy bulls with the highest EBVs, provided they prove structurally sound with no obvious faults when we see them,” says Hamish.

“A bull with a high growth EBV will sire calves with high growth rates and those with a high milk EBV will sire heifers which produce milk. It’s as simple as that although the aim, of course, is to get a balance of the best of both.

The four bulls used in the herd in 2010 have all recorded a Self Replacing Index in the top 1% of the breed at 61 – 63. Blackhaugh Easy Papa G733, by Nightingale Papa A069, recently sold on to Karl Hancock for his Blackthorn herd, was selected on his high performance figures in Andrew Elliot’s Blackhaugh herd, while Netherton Trendy Man A085, a TC Stockman 365 son with exceptional calving figures, was found as a nine year-old in Barry Haigh’s Redkite herd in Oxfordshire.

Two home-bred sons of Easy Papa have also been used – Deveron Baltimore J289, and Deveron Jackson Eric 283, which was bull calf champion at the 2009 Black Beauty Bonanza and has been entered for the Perth sale at Stirling in February.

The first daughter to be sold from the herd by the Blackhaugh bull, Deveron Jasmine Erica J272, reserve heifer calf champion at the English National Calf Show at Carlisle in 2009 and yearling heifer champion at the Black Beauty Bonanza in November, has also been entered for the sale. Deveron also won the bull calf championship and reserve at the Black Beauty with two sons of the same sire.

The most recent acquisition again demonstrates the thoroughness of the selection process at Deveron. A bull which impressed both Hamish and Karl when they visited Grant Hirsche’s GH herd in Canada at the time of the World Forum in Calgary in 2009 was GH Cover Boy.

“He is a really powerful bull, with a great head, great bone and tremendous figures – just the type of bull required in the UK,” says Hamish. The pair have joined forces with Rosan Porter’s Gaston Wood herd to buy one of this outstanding sire’s few ET sons in the UK, Rawburn Gaffer Goldrush, from John Elliot.

The herd now numbers 48 cows, with a further 12 heifers due to go to the bull next year and plans to expand to 100 cows. “We are accelerating our ET programme to multiply up progeny from the best breeding cows,” Hamish explains.

The herd’s championship tally includes 10 champions at the Black Beauty Bonanza since 2003 (he is particularly proud to have won the McCombie Trophy for the best pair of home-bred calves for the last four years) and the supreme championship at the National Aberdeen-Angus Show at Westmorland in 2006 with the yearling bull, Deveron Kankara E146, and second and third prize tickets when the show was held at Newbury in 2009.

“People question why I travelled 600 miles to compete at Newbury, but while it is nice to win, the main purpose is to show the public what we have to offer,” says Hamish. “Our farm is 260 miles north of the Border so we have to take the cattle to the shows rather than expect buyers to make a speculative visit to us. We will deliver bulls anywhere in the UK and have sold bulls to Norfolk, Somerset, Hampshire and Oxfordshire as a result of contacts made by showing at the National Shows.”

The management of the herd is geared to maximising the output of the cow and achieving rapid generation turnover. Heifers are calved at about two years of age, while stock bulls are moved on as their daughters come into the herd and cows are sold when there are daughters retained in the herd.

“Aberdeen-Angus heifers are quite capable of calving at two years of age and it makes a huge difference to profitability,” Hamish says. “Calving at two years means a cow is producing an extra calf in her lifetime which is worth a lot of money.”

The aim at Deveron is to get heifers up to 450kg for serving at 15 months and this is achieved not by extra feeding, but by keeping the heifers separate from the cows after weaning to avoid bullying at the trough which can deny heifers access to feed and result in weight loss.

He dismisses as a myth the argument that the growth of heifers will be stunted by calving at two years of age and they will not grow into large mature cows. “We recently sold a cull cow weighing 1040kg for £1155 and the bull we are selling at Stirling in February is out of a two year old heifer, so I don’t think the argument stands up,” he says.

Feeding costs are kept to a minimum by maintaining the cows over the winter on straw, draff (distillery by-product) and minerals and extending the grazing season by incorporating early and late maturing varieties to get an extra week of grazing at each end of the season. No artificial fertiliser has been used on the 140 acres of rotational grass for five years and Hamish is pleasantly surprised at how clover in the mixture has flourished.

Calves are creep fed from July onwards and this year the best bull calf achieved a daily liveweight gain of 1.9kg before weaning in November.

“I am constantly amazed at just how efficient the Aberdeen-Angus breed is at achieving high weight gains from grass and it is a message we need to get over to commercial beef producers. Pure bred Angus cattle can perform just as well as Continental crosses given the right genetics.”

The Deveron herd is an example of what can be achieved with Aberdeen-Angus cattle with modest investment and a low cost management system designed to achieve high output based on selection for performance.