She took the championship, while her twin sister Black Beaty 2 stood reserve. The two also teamed up to take reserve champion in the Pairs competition later that day.

Black beauty will soon be heading across the water to her new home where she will feature on the winter show circuit in the UK for Harry Emslie and Lynwen Evans, Aberdeen.

Black Beauty 1 with handler Neal McEnroe

sean and Neal McEnroe with Black Beauty 1 and Black Beauty 2

“I’ve always used Angus AI on my MRI milking herd due to their easy calving ability, so it was natural for me to look for Angus cross calves once we stopped milking five years ago.” Calves are bought in at about two weeks old from local dairy producers and as far down south as Cork. “I find rearing them from a young age far easier than buying them in as stores; it’s also more cost effective. The biggest plus though is the nature of them. As suck calves they get used to you and are easy to handle when it comes to moving them from field to field.”

Claves this year have cost anything between 120 and 170 euro, and have been as dear as 200 euro, so it’s vital Mrs Gibney has a good handle on the cost of feed it takes to rear and how much she has to sell for to be profitable.

Yearling Angus cross dairy calves out at grass

Having been finished out at grass on the 90 acre farm with a little help from a home blend concentrate mixture, cattle are sold at 18-20 months to a wholesale retailer in Co Mayo where they have been coming back at about 750-800 euro. “Taking feed in to account I calculate how much they make me a month. With prices currently down as low as 750 euro they are back about 19-20euro a head. The best I can average is 40 euro a head, but on average it’s about 33 euro ahead.”

When a supply of quality Angus cross calves have been short, Mrs Gibney has bought in a few Hereford cross calves to keep the numbers up, but she says these take far slower to finish. “The longer I have them, the less they make me a month.”

Noreen Gibney discussing beef price with Leo McEnroe

And like the UK, store trade is “fierce” in Ireland, but Mrs Gibney says selling stores isn’t as easy for her. “We’re in a huge TB area here, so rearing calves and taking them right through is far easier for me without the hassle of being shut down for any length of time.

Black Beauty 1 from James Alexander

Shown by John Lynch jnr, this twin heifer born January this year is sired by a Lissduff bred bull from Leo McEnroe and has already taken a first prize ticket at Omasgh Show. She is out of a Belgian Blue x Simmental who was the first animal every shown by James, so was retained as a breeding female.

This is James’ sixth commercial championship this year, but judging by the standard of commercial stock on offer today, I’d say it was one that meant a hell of a lot to him. “I’m absolutely delighted to have won today as the competition was so tough.”

Taking a liking to Black Beauty, interbreed judge and pedigree and commercial cattle breeder Harry Emslie later bought the heifer and plans to show het later this year at the Scottish Winter Fair.

Pictures will follow shortly……

According to a recent feature in the Farmers Guardian, Mr Burrell requires Aberdeen-Angus cattle to be fit for purpose as well as suitable for outwintering, which suits his farming policies.

Read more on Mr Burrell’s thoughts of the Aberdeen-Angus at Farmers Guardian.

Margaret and Neville Stacey

The Aberdeen-Angus breed is playing a key role in the switch to organic farming at Garth Fach, Llidiartywaen, Llanidloes, Powys, where Neville and Margaret Stacey have been breeding Aberdeen-Angus cattle commercially for 19 years.

Mr and Mrs Stacey decided in 1990 to switch from Continental to Aberdeen-Angus cross cows on their high-lying 320-acre all-grass hill unit because of the breed’s easy calving advantages and low-cost maintenance. Aberdeen-Angus also gave them the opportunity of breeding their own female replacements and benefiting from the premium prices available for Aberdeen-Angus prime cattle.

“We wanted to move away from “ever hungry” Continental crosses to a breed more suitable for a grass-based system,” says Mr Stacey.

“It is the best move we have ever made and the breed has fully lived up to our expectations. The Aberdeen-Angus cattle are easily maintained on a low-cost system in fairly harsh conditions – the land goes up to 1300ft – and the cows calve unassisted which is a big plus point.”

Mr and Mrs Stacey also appreciated the stability which the Aberdeen-Angus brought to their farming enterprise as a result of the stable pricing policy adopted by Dovecote Park and high premiums available for Aberdeen-Angus finished cattle.

“We wanted a breed that would keep us – rather than the other way around – and we got that with the Aberdeen-Angus,” says Mr Stacey.

The herd has been expanded to 60 cows and breeding heifers, two thirds of which are now pure-bred Aberdeen-Angus, and it has now been decided to switch from finishing to selling stores and breeding heifers following the loss of the Beef Special Premium – which was previously the profit – and to take advantage of the grants available for environmental schemes and organic conversion.

“We sell our steers at 14-16 months at around 460kg and our heifers for bulling at 18-24 months and the ‘phone never stops ringing from people looking to buy Aberdeen-Angus stores or breeding heifers,” Mr Stacey says. “Our calves are not pushed and receive very little concentrates.

“We sell the cattle straight off the farm on a weight basis and have been very happy with the returns.”

The farm reached organic status last June and has benefited from a £150/ha payment under the Organic Aid Scheme during the two-year conversion period and will receive an annual £40/ha payment for the next three years.

The farm is also in the third year of a five-year programme under the Tir Gofal Agricultural Environmental Scheme which pays a grant of £165/ha for the maintenance of hay meadows – plus a 10% supplement for keeping cattle.

“The Aberdeen-Angus is about the only breed which can thrive on the lower quality fodder from the hay meadows,” Mr Stacey maintains. “We are not allowed to fertilise the grass and we can’t cut it for hay until July.”

The Aberdeen-Angus herd has been expanded at the expense of the sheep flock because Mr Stacey found the cattle were more easily managed and more profitable.

Cows calve in April/May, mostly outdoors, and calves are weaned in January after housing in November. The longevity of the cows is another benefit Mr Stacey has found from using Aberdeen-Angus. Outwintering is not an option because of the 50 inch rainfall.

Steers are sold off grass in August/September and bulling heifers over the winter.

Mr and Mrs Stacey are now becoming a couple familiar to shoppers in Wales with their photograph adorning the Aberdeen-Angus service counters as part of the supermarket’s Welsh beef promotion.

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.

William and Janne Patton

Northern Ireland beef farmer, William Patton, has been producing Aberdeen-Angus beef from his suckler herd at Ballymoney for many years. But he only realised the potential of his home-produced beef when he butchered an animal for the family freezer.

He explains: “Our freezer wouldn’t hold all of the meat so we gave some to family members, friends and neighbours. Everyone was so impressed with the flavour and tenderness of the beef that they all wanted more!”

The enthusiasm and demand from family and friends for more Aberdeen-Angus beef prompted Mr Patton, and wife, Janne, to diversify into selling their home-produced beef on the farm. Last June, they opened a farm shop selling premium Aberdeen-Angus beef and other locally sourced produce, including fruit and vegetables, free-range eggs, and organic farmhouse ice-cream.

“The demand for our Aberdeen-Angus beef has been overwhelming and we are now slaughtering around three or four cattle each month just to fulfill this demand,” he says.

The beef is all naturally produced on the farm and is Farm Quality Assured and fully traceable from birth-to-plate.

“Our beef is a quality product which is pre-packed for customer convenience,” he says. “The business has gone from strength-to-strength since we opened the shop and we are now looking at ways of making the Aberdeen-Angus beef more readily available to customers outside the Ballymoney area.”

The suckler herd comprises more than 100 Aberdeen-Angus and Beef Shorthorn cross cows divided into spring and autumn calving herds and mated with Aberdeen-Angus bulls. The farm currently has four pedigree Aberdeen-Angus bulls and one home-bred Beef Shorthorn bull.

Two of the Aberdeen-Angus bulls were purchased from local breeder, James Porter, who runs the Old Glenort herd based at Ballinderry, while the other two were bought at the Perth bull sales.

“I like the Aberdeen-Angus because of the breed offers advantages of ease of calving and longevity. I don’t need to see my cows calving!” says Mr Patton. “The cows are good mothers with plenty of milk, trouble free and easy to get back in calf. Aberdeen-Angus is ideal for an enterprise with only one labour unit as the routine husbandry practices are reduced and the cattle are docile and easy to handle.

 Calves are weaned at around six to eight-month-old and introduced to creep feed prior to weaning. The male and female calves are separated into batches of 25 and receive a ration of barley and maize gluten.

“I don’t feed a tremendous amount of meal as I find that the Aberdeen-Angus is easy to finish off grass,” Mr Patton says. “I like to try and finish my cattle naturally as I think this enhances the flavour of the beef.”

Mr Patton is a member of Aberdeen-Angus Quality Beef Ltd and a regular supplier to Foyle Meats. Steers are finished at an average age of 21 – 24 months, weighing around 320 – 350 kgs while heifers are slightly younger at 20 – 22 months, weighing around  270 kgs.

“Membership of the Aberdeen-Angus scheme is very worthwhile as it pays a bonus, depending on grade, over and above the average market price. On average, I’m £70 to £80 per head better off.”

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.