The Upsall Beef Shorthorn herd - Gerald Turton
Looking for the Ultimate, Functional Suckler Cow? - by Liz Snaith
Shorthorn Strategy - by Ian Ashbridge
Slow-grown Native Beef Proves Healthier - by Jeremy Hunt
Scottish bulls leave their mark upon German Shorthorns - by Claudia Zettler
The Buccleuch Estates, Bowhill Estate - by Liz Snaith
Westmoor Herd wins ‘Most Improved’ Award for Beef Shorthorn breed - by Sara Gregson
Charles keeps “Lazy Man’s Cows” that are Cheap to Keep - by Jennifer MacKenzie
MARK’S WINNING COMBINATIONS - by Jennifer MacKenzie
Angus and Shorthorn shine for young Irishman - Article printed by courtesy of the Scottish Farmer
Traditional Shorthorn beef is proving a top seller at a Bedfordshire farm shop - Browns of Stagsden
Hill Farming has a Serious Role to Play - Tofts Herd
Victoria Poolman talks Beef Shorthorn to Rob Paisley - Westmoor Herd
Easily Managed Beef Shorthorns - Lowther Shorthorns
Glenisla Beef Shorthorns
Looking for the Ultimate, Functional Suckler Cow ?
Article written by Liz Snaith
If you are still searching for a functional suckler cow, then talk to Derek and Cindy Steen. The couple manage 2,500 acres of upland in the Borders where they say Beef Shorthorn is fundamental to their livestock enterprise, both for the now and the future.
“We operate a modern upland farming business, with complementary beef and sheep enterprises managed in a system that’s all about maximising output, from low inputs. We believe we have a breed in the Beef Shorthorn that fits perfectly and one that is sustainable as we move inevitably to an era of fewer support payments.”
The native breed’s maternal qualities – its milkiness, docility and ability to calve easily initially appealed to Derek when he relocated from his native Northern Ireland to secure a larger unit in Scotland more than 15 years ago. A herd of ‘working’ pedigree Beef Shorthorn cows was established and eventually grew to its 110 cow herd size which the couple manage themselves, together with 800 Lleyn ewes at Whitcastles, Corrie, Lockerbie.
“Quite simply, the Beef Shorthorn fits this extensive upland system. Being efficient feed converters, the cattle thrive on grazing either permanent pasture or long term leys for half the year and the remainder, from November onwards, on grass silage made in one cut from long term leys. We outwinter as many cows as land and weather conditions permit, and we don’t notice any difference in the cows’ performance,” Derek explains. Apart from essential cobalt, selenium and iodine prior to calving, these cows do not receive any other supplementation.
A large portion of the herd is put to a pedigree bull and the remainder to a Salers bull, to calve outdoors over a tight six week period in late April and throughout May. “We check the cows at 6am and 6pm and we can honestly say we don’t have any real calving difficulties,” Derek explains. “We are achieving between 96% to 98% of calves reared from cows put to the bull, including several sets of twins.”
Calves are reared off milk and marginal pasture to weaning at an average 300kgs in December. The pick of the bulls are retained to sell on to commercial producers for breeding purposes while steers go on to finish at 340kgs target deadweight at 20 months and heifers are retained for breeding purposes. Heifer replacements are introduced to calve at two years and this season’s performance reflected previous years with 38 out of 39 heifers put to the bull calving within eight weeks.
The couple attribute much of their herd’s performance success to implementing highly selective and ‘draconian’ culling measures. “For the last 10 years we have recorded every breeding female for calving ease, fertility, teat placement and udder attachment which we’re fanatical about, together with performance traits – 200 day and 400 day weight,” says Cindy.
“We’ve now reached the stage where we are planning to go one step further and introduce the Breedplan recording system to enable us to select more accurately, make comparisons with other recorded animals within the breed and use as a marketing tool. In addition, when we introduce a new herd sire, he has to be within the breed’s top 10% for maternal traits and top 1% for calving ease, or already proven.” Their current senior herd sire is Fearn Wyvis who was already proven for calving ease on purchase and his daughters are already emerging with a positive figure for the Calving Ease trait.
Other deal breaking traits include longevity and the Steens say their cows always exceed their expectations and record an average lifespan of 10 to 12 calves, an achievement they partly attribute to good structure and health. The herd is also within the HI Health Scheme and tested Johne’s and BVD free.
While pure females surplus to requirements are sold off Whitcastles at the farm gate as second or third calvers, the Salers cross heifers are shipped to one of the Steens three other farms which between them carry almost 300 suckler cows including a 100 cow closed Stabiliser herd. The Salers crosses are put to the Charolais to produce forward stores that consistently sell in the top end of the market. These herds are complemented by a further 1,700 ewes – hill type North Country Cheviots, Easycare and Lleyns.
Derek adds: “We have opted for a regime that features keeping inputs to an absolute minimum, and adding value at every opportunity. We are breeding and rearing top quality cattle and sheep for ourselves and other producers because we believe they will bring bottom line security. We insist on offering something which does exactly what it says on the tin and perform equally well across a range of systems.
“To the future as we leave behind the current payment system and learn to become even more efficient, then this type of upland we farm could easily become unsustainable if we didn’t have a resource in the Beef Shorthorn which is likely to be more profitable and come increasingly to the fore. It is the ultimate suckler damline.”