The move to Aberdeen-Angus in a suckler herd previously based on Continental crosses has greatly eased the management load at Burghill Farms, Brechin, Angus.

The Continental cows were housed throughout winter and calved inside which was proving highly labour intensive as well as being wasteful of straw. The intensive nature of the enterprise had also resulted in a scour problem which was proving difficult to cure.

Farm manager, Bruce Christie, made the bold decision in 2000 to disperse the Continental cattle and establish a 100-cow outwintered Aberdeen-Angus herd to utilise the unploughable land on the 2000acre largely arable unit which spans both sides of the A92 Brechin by-pass.

“We decided to move to Aberdeen-Angus for a variety of reasons but mainly because of ease of calving and the consequent longevity of the cows, the suitability of the breed for outwintering and the expanding premium market for Aberdeen-Angus beef,” says Mr Christie.

“We could see that the popularity of the Aberdeen-Angus breed was increasing and we thought there might be an opportunity for selling breeding stock.”

Assisted calvings were common practice with the Continental cows but the calving jack has hardly been used since switching to Aberdeen-Angus.

“The easy calving nature of the Aberdeen-Angus is a real bonus,” says Mr Christie. “With our experience with the Continentals, the temptation is to help but if you leave the Aberdeen-Angus cow alone and come back in an hour, nine times of 10 the calf will be born and up and sucking.”

Bruce Christie with one of the herd's stock bulls

The herd was established with the purchase of all the surplus heifers for three years running from Rognvald and Barbara Sinclair’s Unigarth herd at South Unigarth, Sandwick, Orkney.

The herd is now closed to maintain a high health status – apart from the purchase of stock bulls – and is clear of BVD and leptospirosis. Johne’s disease is proving more difficult to eliminate although no clinical signs are evident, However, one or two reactors appear every year as a result of blood testing and are immediately isolated from the main herd and sold for slaughter.

The main emphasis is on the finishing of steers and heifers and the herd is managed on a strictly commercial basis. Most progeny are sold to Scotbeef Ltd for Marks and Spencer but some bulls have been retained, or sold locally, for breeding, and heifers are also sold for breeding, including a large group which went to Estonia.

“We are flexible in our approach to marketing and take advantage of sales for breeding if the price is right,” says Mr Christie. “But the returns from the beef market have been excellent with the added Aberdeen-Angus premium.”

Advantage is also being taken of the high price for cull cows to dispose of older cows and cows which fail to hold to the bull and bring in heifers sired by a series of top performing bulls which have been brought into the herd.

Leading the stock sire team is Wedderlie Ebullient B349, by Tui Eric Y003, purchased at Perth for 10,000gns, along with a home-bred son of the 25,000gns Wedderlie Netmark and Unigarth Preditor Y323. The latest acquisition is the Blelack Blackstock A227 son, Blelack Blarney G740, first in his class at Perth in February, 2009, when purchased for 5500gns.

“I pay attention to beef value and calving figures when selecting stock bulls but they have to look right and temperament is very important,” says Mr Christie. “A good stock bull is a worthwhile investment, particularly when you are retaining many of his female progeny for breeding or selling heifers for breeding.”

Good use is made of the stock bulls by calving two-thirds of the herd in spring and a third in autumn although Mr Christie is considering phasing out the autumn-calving herd to tighten up calving interval and resist the temptation of giving spring-calving cows which fail to breed a second chance by slipping them into the autumn-calving herd

“It works well at the moment as we calve at two and a half years of age so the autumn-calving herd is used to breed heifers for the spring-calving herd and vice-versa,” he explains.

Cows are wintered on a low-cost ration of baled silage and straw while growing cattle receive the same with Propcorn-treated barley and wheat dark grains as a protein source.

Steers are finished at 18-20 months to produce at 310kg – 330kg deadweight and heifers at 20-2 months to produce a 290-310kg carcase.

“The ease of management and low cost feeding regime, coupled with a premium of at least 10p/kg for the finished cattle, makes for a profitable beef enterprise which fits in well with the other enterprises on the farm,” says Mr Christie.

* The North East Scotland and Central Scotland Aberdeen-Angus Clubs are staging an open day at Burghill Farms on Saturday, May 29.

The event is being organised by the North East and Central Scotland Aberdeen-Angus clubs and will feature a farm tour, stockjudging, practical demonstrations, educational exhibits, seminars, cookery demonstration and trade stands. It will be open to the public from 11.00am to 4.00pm.

“We are greatly indebted to Lord Dalhousie and his farm manager, Bruce Christie, for kindly agreeing to host this event at Westside,” said Neil Wattie, Jun, chairman of the North East Aberdeen-Angus Club.

“It will give farmers the opportunity of viewing one of the leading commercial Aberdeen-Angus herds in the country and will highlight the easy-keep advantages of the Aberdeen-Angus breed and the expanding market for Aberdeen-Angus cattle, fuelled by the strong demand and premium prices for Certified Aberdeen-Angus beef.”

All proceeds from the event, after expenses, will be donated to charities nominated by Lord Dalhousie. The main beneficiary will be the Mental Health Foundation but donations will also be made to local charities, including the Royal Highland Education Trust – Angus Countryside Initiative, Dalhousie Day Care Centre and Brechin Cathedral.

Burghill Farms is a largely arable farming enterprise on the Dalhousie Estate extending to 2000 acres with a suckler herd of 100 Aberdeen-Angus cows – 70% of which are pure-bred – with all progeny finished on the farm. Around 20 heifers are retained for breeding each year and the remainder finished or sold for breeding with all steers finished on the farm and sold to Scotbeef Ltd for Marks and Spencer.

The Angus herd was founded in 2000 when the switch was made from Continental breeds with the purchase of bulling heifers over three years from the Unigarth herd of Rognvald Sinclair at South Unigarth, Sandwick, Orkney. A closed herd policy is now operated and only stock bulls are bought in.

Details of sponsorship opportunities and trade stand information available from Eddie Gillanders, Secretary, North East Aberdeen-Angus Breeders, 11 Sunnyside Gardens, Drumoak, Banchory, Aberdeenshire. AB31 5EZ. Tel/Fax: 01330 811616. Mob: 07801 186303. E-mail: eddie.gillanders@btopenworld.com

“This is a tremendous entry from 29 herds from Shetland to Angus and includes 60 bull calves which will give commercial beef producers an ideal opportunity to view the latest Aberdeen-Angus genetics,” said Neil Wattie, Mains of Tonley, Alford, chairman of the North East Aberdeen-Angus Club.

Judging starts at 9.30am and this year’s judge is Doug Robertson, owner of the renowned Coldstream herd in Alberta, Canada.

The junior showmanship competition on Friday evening has attracted an entry of more than 20 youngsters although entries can be made on the night. Competitors should report to the club caravan at 6.00pm to be allocated calves for showing. Judging will commence at 6.30pm.

Main sponsor of the show is Sellars Agriculture of Oldmeldrum.

The show at Thainstone Centre, Inverurie, on Saturday, November 14, is well established as one of the most successful shows of Aberdeen-Angus in the country, regularly attracting and entry of 150 calves and yearlings from herds throughout the North and North-east.

It is organised by the North East Aberdeen-Angus Club and is open to members of both the North-east and Highland clubs. Entries are expected this year from as far north as Orkney and Shetland.

“The Black Beauty is one of the Aberdeen-Angus breed’s most prestigious events and gives both pedigree and commercial beef producers the opportunity of viewing the latest breed genetics from herds in the northern half of Scotland,” said North-east club chairman, Neil Wattie, Jun, Mains of Tonley, Alford. “We are again expecting a huge entry which is sure to draw an audience of interested breeders from all over the UK and Ireland.”

Mr Wattie’s company, Sellars Agriculture of Oldmeldrum, main agents for Claas tractors, combines, balers and other harvest equipment, and Lemken cultivation equipment, has stepped in as major sponsor which will ensure a prize fund of more than £4000. “We are delighted to support this important event for the Aberdeen-Angus breed and for the North-east farming industry,” said Mr Wattie.

Judge for this year’s show will be well-known Scots-born Canadian breeder, Doug Robertson, owner of the renowned Coldstream herd near Calgary, Alberta.

Mr Robertson has been in North America since 1967 when he took a consignment of Aberdeen-Angus bulls, including two Perth champions, to the USA.

He has worked with leading herds in both the US and Canada for more than 40 years and, until his recent retirement, managed a herd of donor and recipient cows for a leading embryo company, as well as running his own 25-cow herd founded in 1978.

Coldstream genetics have been imported to the UK and have been behind at least one Perth champion while bulls have sold at Perth for 28,000gns and 25,000gns. “I am delighted to have been asked to judge the Black Beauty, which I’ve heard a lot about, and look forward to making a return visit to what I regard as my calf country,” said Mr Robertson, who judged the first national Aberdeen-Angus show at Westmorland in 2005.

Mr Robertson is the fourth overseas judge to officiate at the show, following in the footsteps of Norman Catto, Argentina (2005), Freddie Schumacher, Germany (2006), Albert de Cogan, Ireland (2007) and Soren Vester, Denmark (2008).

Entries close on the 23^rd October. To enter please contact Eddie gillanders 01330 811616; Email eddie.gillanders@btopenworld.com

 The Award, run by the RSPB in association with BBC Countryfile, Plantlife and Butterfly Conservation, honours farmers around the UK who manage their land sensitively for wildlife and the environment – and John Moir has successfully integrated a host of conservation measures into his commercial farm business.  As Scottish winner, John will be presented with a cheque for £200, and is eligible for the overall UK prize of £1000 if he collects enough votes online before August 28th.

The Moir family farm 668ha of land on the northeast coast of Scotland in Aberdeenshire, with herds of Aberdeen Angus and Scotch Mule ewes alongside spring and winter cereal crops.  However, a keen interest in wildlife and nature friendly farming means several measures have been taken to be as kind as possible to nature.

The nationally threatened corn bunting has seen a significant increase on the farm during recent years and nests have been protected through delayed cutting of grass, and John has even helped to trial seed mixtures to find the best habitat for the red-listed farmland bird. 

Other conservation measures adopted through the Rural Stewardship Development Contracts include unharvested crops, grass margins, beetlebanks, species-rich and open grazed grasslands to enhance habitats for birds, butterflies and other wildlife.    

The farms are situated close to the Loch of Strathbeg Nature Reserve, which attracts tens of thousands of pink-footed geese each winter.  By taking part in the Strathbeg Goose Management Scheme, thousands of geese are able to graze several of the Moirs’ grass fields undisturbed every winter.  In addition, the Moir family are involved in the Savoch Burn Catchment Initiative to reduce diffuse pollution of this watercourse that feeds into the Loch of Strathbeg.  Having been organic since 2006, their management reduces the run-off of nutrients into the burn and by planting riparian woodlands and allowing water margin vegetation to develop, valuable buffer strips have been created.

John Moir said “It’s a great honour to be awarded in this way by the RSPB.  I’ve always believed that commercial farming can go hand in hand with helping biodiversity, and it’s a pleasure to know that the way I manage the land here is actively helping to provide a home for birds and insects for the good of the countryside.”

Mark O’Brien, Farmland advisory manager with RSPB Scotland said “John Moir fully deserves this award for showing what farmers can do for nature, and we hope that people will vote for him for the UK prize of £1000 by visiting www.rspb.org.uk/farmvote.”

Fortunately, a very warm welcome was extended by the trainers and the ladies that kept us going all day with cups of tea and cake. I knew that the North East Club worked hard for the Youth Development Programme and their secretary Eddie Gillanders said he felt it was one of the most important things the Club does.

Getting 29 workshop attendees was a testament to their hard work – even the local agricultural college had been contacted to gain more participants. The morning started with an interesting talk by Barbara Webster, explaining how to read EBV’s, this was followed by a very amusing example of a power point presentation put together by John. This was to give the seniors an idea of what they could do for their project, a power point presentation to promote the Angus breed. I’m sure sales of Tonley Dash-hound will go through the roof!! 

The morning ended with an entertaining talk on cuts of meats using ‘Angus’ the cardboard bull. John had printed labels with names of parts of the animal on and participants had to stick them on the bull where the thought it was. Charlie McCombie was given the label with ‘boss’ on, a part of the animal I had never heard of before, I think he got it right when he stuck the label to John Lohoar’s jumper! (For those of you like me that don’t know where it is, it’s the triangle indent below the loin). 

After lunch the practical sessions began, starting with weighing and recording information. While cattle were in the crush everyone had a go at putting halters on. Some of the older ones lead the cattle from the crush to be tied up and one young lady showed the boys exactly how it was done. This was followed by some stock judging, where participants had to judge 4 heifers and then 4 bulls. I think everyone picked the same heifer but there was lots of discussion on the bulls. The seniors and intermediates were given a demonstration on how to safely pick out cattle and all had the opportunity to try what they had learnt.

YDP training at Logie

Halter making at Logie

The day ended with us all in the Bothy where they participants were shown how to make halters and all went home with one they had made. All participants left saying what a lovely day they had had. The quote of the day has to go to a very lovely young lady I met who is 9 years old, she told us on the way home that “I’ve really enjoyed today but the only thing was that the icing in the biscuits was a little watery!” I figured if that was the only complaint of the day that couldn’t be bad!

I was very impressed with the first workshop that I have attended. The participants all got on well and very interested in what was shown to them. I hope that any of you who attended can pass on any ideas you might have had for further workshops.

The Youth Development Programme is very grateful to those that make the workshops happen, Messrs M Bruce and Partners, Jim Borland, John Lohoar, Wendy Willox, Steve Wright and Ian Matthews.

The first YDP workshop team and "Angus" at Logie

Sat on the plane on the way home, I really wished I was young enough to participate in this project, then I realised I have the best job in the world and I am lucky enough to be able to attend all the workshop and now I can’t wait until the next one.

“If it’s got a calving value of -12 I don’t want to know.” It may sound like a harsh statement, but in reality too many bulls are bought on looks alone and not on their figures, reckons Willie Ritch.

When it comes to buying a new Aberdeen-Angus stock bull for his 120-cow spring calving suckler herd, run in partnership with his father George, Willie plays incredibly close attention to its figures.

Willie Ritch

Having only been in the cattle breeding business for 10 years, he has quickly established a herd with the genetics that work for his system. “I first started admiring the Aberdeen Angus in the 1990s and since then the breed has improved in leaps and bounds, so I bought my first bull in 1998 to run with black Limousin cross cows.”

With the aim of finishing cattle at 20 months old, calves are weaned in October and fed ad-lib silage and 1kg a head of barley. From January onwards stock are fed a high protein blend and 2kg a head of barley until turnout, which, weather depending, is normally in April. “Providing we have a dry summer, I don’t start supplementary feeding until August, when they receive 1kg a day of barley and 0.5kg of protein blend during the final finishing period.”

Heifers are sold to a local butcher who prefers a carcass weighing between 270kg and 300kg. Steers meeting a target carcass weight of 340kg are sent to a buyer in Coventry for a deadweight contract. “The Aberdeen Angus x Limousin produces a well-fleshed, textured carcass suited to both outlets,” he says.

In terms of stock bulls, Willie prefers to source Aberdeen-Angus bulls at the Perth Bull Sales from producers in the north-east area of Scotland. “I know the breeders, their health status and past bulls from this area have tended to do well for me in the past.” Previous prefixes to have joined the herd are Blelack, Kitewood and Auchincrieve.

But it’s not just about selecting the best available at the sales. Willie takes full advantage of the farm walks organised by the North East Aberdeen Angus Club and creates an initial shopping list based on their visual appearance.

“Often they are not what the breeder believes are their best bulls, but they are the type of bulls that work for me – long, clean with good tops and a well-fleshed back end capable of producing a good carcass.” Seeing them in their natural environment before they are presented in sale condition is also a bonus, he adds.

Once selected, he then turns to the breeding figures. “I check the breeding figures on line and make sure they have the four vital components I’m looking for: Easy-calving figures, good milk figures, a good scrotal circumference and good growth rates. You rarely get all those together, so it’s all about getting a good balance.

“When looking at the performance graphs, you need to be concentrating on the right-hand side of the graph. Any figures heavily weighted to the left of the graph will bring problems in the long run,” he adds. “It’s all about finding the balance excessively high growth rates could mean calving problems.”

Providing the figures and first visual impressions match, Willie is prepared to spend a considerable amount of money on good commercial bulls. “I’ve gone to 6000gns before for a good bull and if I choose a bull which isn’t necessarily a breeders choice of bull I can pick those up at about the 2000-3000gns mark.”