Feature: Burghill Farms

The switch to Aberdeen-Angus has eased management load and improved profitability at Burghill Farms in Angus, as Eddie Gillanders reports

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.