Farmer profile: Graham and Douglas Stewart

Aberdeen-Angus are more than matching the Charolais in terms of physical performance – and generating a higher margin – in the 400-cow suckler herd run by Graham Stewart and his son, Douglas, at Fans, Earlston, Berwickshire.

Trial weighings have shown that Aberdeen-Angus cross steers are achieving an average liveweight of 401kg as yearlings to record a daily gain of 1kg/day from birth which compares with 388kg and 0.95kg/day for the Charolais crosses.

Aberdeen-Angus cross heifers are also outperforming the Charolais with a yearling weight of 373kg (0.93kg/day) compared with 367kg (0.9kg/day) for the Continental breed.

“We are running 50:50 Aberdeen-Angus and Charolais bulls at present but we are considering going 100% Aberdeen-Angus in view of the easier calving advantages of the Angus, better performance, higher price per kg when sold and the suitability of the heifers for retaining as replacement females,” says Douglas.

Over the past two years, Aberdeen-Angus prime steers have commanded an average premium of £18/head over the Charolais. Two years ago the advantage for Aberdeen-Angus heifers was £68 although this was reversed last year when the Charolais made £22/head more. But this was after the top-draw Angus heifers had been selected out for breeding.

Fans was home to a well-known pedigree Aberdeen-Angus herd until the late 1970’s when the decision was made to cross the cows with Charolais bulls. The Aberdeen-Angus was re-introduced in 1997 when it was decided to close the herd and breed their own replacement heifers rather than buying in beef x dairy replacements.

“Since then, we have used more and more Aberdeen-Angus bulls to bring us to the stage we are at now,” says Douglas. “Prior to 1997, we were totally reliant in replacement heifers coming from dairy herds. Concerns over quality, health status, longevity and fertility led us to the decision to buy an Aberdeen-Angus bull and retain his heifers.”

Great emphasis is placed on feet, udders and temperament and the best cows are put to Aberdeen-Angus bulls which are selected on the basis of a high replacement index and good figures for calving ease and milk. The bulk of the herd is now ¾ or 7/8 home-bred Aberdeen-Angus cross.

“This is one of the best decisions we have ever made,” says Douglas. “The cows are much more easily handled because of the better temperament of the Angus, they have a shorter gestation period and fewer calving difficulties, fertility has been greatly improved and we no longer run the risk of buying in disease.”

Calving assistance has been reduced from 2.5% assisted by the vet in 2000 to 0.5% in 2007 and assistance from the stockman has been reduced from 16.5% to 7% in the same period.

Easier calving has had a marked effect on fertility with barren cows dropping from an average of 12% in 2001-03 to 6% in 2006, although vaccinating for BVD and bull semen evaluation has also played a part. Ensuring bulls are highly fertile helps get cows in calf more quickly and older bulls will serve 50-55 cows in a season while younger bulls are restricted to 15-20.

Three quarters of the herd calve in the spring from late March onwards and the improvement in herd fertility has enabled calving to be confined to a nine-week period.

A simple feeding system has been adopted based on home-grown silage and barley fed as a complete diet with only minerals and some soya bought-in. Calves are creep fed at grass from August until weaning in late October and cows are segregated when housed in November and fed according to condition. Feeding is once a day in the morning and straw is available in a bunker which reduces the amount of silage consumed. Growing and finishing cattle are fed a complete diet ad lib. Heifers are calved down at two years of age

“Calving in both spring and autumn means we have cattle to market all the year round,” Douglas points out. “But we may end up calving everything in the spring to simplify management by having all the cattle at the same stage at the same time.”

Stock bulls used over the years have included Tui Erateau, Wedderlie Katharsis, Wedderlie Neutral, Cheeklaw Black Brigand and Mosston Muir Euclid. Recent purchases include Ardoyne Matchpoint and Auchengray Pascall, both purchased at Perth for 5000gns.

The herd is a member of the SAC Premium Health Scheme. Cows are vaccinated against BVD and lepto and regularly screened for Johne’s Disease with any reactors immediately culled.