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.

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.