Andrew Elliot

Easy calving and early finishing are two of the main advantages which convinced Andrew Elliot to switch to Aberdeen-Angus bulls six years ago on his high-lying Borders organic hill farm of Blackhaugh, Galashiels.

The move has lived up to all expectations with the 110-cow Blackhaugh suckler herd last year gaining top place in the Bank of Scotland Aberdeen-Angus Suckler Herd of the Year competition.”We had experience of the benefits of using Aberdeen-Angus bulls on the family-owned farm of Balnakeil in Sutherland and knew what the breed was capable of,” says Mr Elliot.

“At the time, we were sitting up almost every night in the autumn to calve big Continental cross calves and the number of calves sold per 100 cows was low. With hindsight, too many cows were damaged as a result of these difficult calvings and many either did not re-breed or were slow to return to the bull. My Eureka moment came when observing our cows at Balnakeil calving outside on sandhills with minimal supervision.”

He had also discovered that the Aberdeen-Angus could finish more quickly than any other breed when finishing a large number of store cattle to use up surplus grain, rather than selling it on a weak market.

“Our previous systems for both cattle and sheep were becoming less profitable and were not making enough to allow reinvestment in the business,” he says. “Aberdeen-Angus became the sire of choice for a variety of reasons – reduced labour through easier calving and docility, lower feed costs because of the breed’s easy fleshing and increased biosecurity through breeding our own female replacements.

“In addition, a real market premium exists because of the consumer-led market demand for Aberdeen-Angus beef which remains the most widely recognised beef brand worldwide.”

He adds: “But since switching to Aberdeen-Angus a number of other benefits have emerged, including an increase in fertility, reduction in calving interval, fewer cull cows and an unexpected – but welcome – demand for surplus females for breeding.

“Calves get up and suck without assistance and appear to be hardier with a greater resistance to scours and pneumonia which all means a lot less work,” he says. “Easy calving also means cows come back in season more quickly and it’s easier to maintain a tight calving pattern.” The bull runs with the cows for eight weeks and 65- 70% calve in the first three weeks and a further 20-25% in the next three weeks.

Herd health is a major contributing factor and the herd is a member of the SAC Premium Cattle Health Scheme, being accredited free of BVD and monitored for Johne’s disease. Cows are vaccinated against BVD and clostridial diseases.

About 70% of the cows are calved in the spring and the rest from early November until Christmas although Mr Elliot is reversing the trend back to autumn calving to release grass for flushing his flock of 1200 easy-keep ewes before tupping. The freedom to wean autumn calved cows on to rough grazing in late summer reduces grazing pressure towards the end of the grazing season.

During conversion to organic production, the switch was made from feeding silage and bagged concentrate to feeding a Total Mixed Ration (TMR) using a Keenan mixer wagon.

“The cost of organic feed and maximising its utilisation while continuing to achieve target performance was the main driver for the purchase of a feeder wagon,” he points out. However, Mr Elliot reckons the TMR has reduced the cost of feeding an autumn-calving cow over the winter by 50p/day as the more balanced diet has allowed a reduction in the amount of concentrates fed.

Figures from the Scotbeef tracker system comparing Blackhaugh cattle with the average for all Aberdeen-Angus cattle slaughtered at the Bridge of Allan plant highlight the efficiency of the wintering and finishing operation. A total of 133 steers graded slightly better and slightly leaner at 326.2kg – just under the plant average of 333.9kg for 49,105 Aberdeen-Angus steers – but were 124 days younger at 615 days compared with the plant average of 739 days.

Similar results were recorded by heifers considered unsuitable for breeding which were slaughtered 93 days younger than the Scotbeef average at 592 days but produced an almost identical carcase weight of 277kg.

All cows are now home-bred Aberdeen-Angus and Beef Shorthorn crosses, but an initial desire to breed bulls for use on the family’s own farms has led to the introduction of a number of pedigree Aberdeen-Angus. These have been introduced through an extensive embryo programme using top North American genetics with 150 embryos having been implanted in recipient cows.

“Having made the decision to start a small pedigree herd, it was decided that the purchase of embryos would be the best option to maintain health status while accessing top genetics,” Mr Elliot explains.

“By selecting a number of different lines, I hope to identify cattle which best suit my system of low cost, forage based beef production.”

But the beef enterprise is now making a significant contribution to the profitability of the farm and it is the Aberdeen-Angus breed which has made that possible. Andrew Elliot can now legitimately claim to be both a cattle and a sheep farmer.