Most farmers would agree there are few breeds to beat the Simmental as a commercial suckler female, which combined with the Aberdeen-Angus for hybrid vigour is producing the goods for Patrick Wedderburn of Mountquhanie Estate, Cupar.
Having introduced the Simmental to add more beef genetics to the business’ 300-cow Hereford cross Friesian herd in 2000, the red and white Swiss breed is not only providing an abundance of milk in the crucial first few weeks and months but also valuable weight gain to the resultant progeny.
Add in the Aberdeen-Angus and Patrick and herd manager, Melvyn Watters, believe they have the ideal commercial cow with the black genetics adding hardiness while also bolstering the ease of fleshing characteristics.
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It’s a policy which has been paying dividends on this mixed 2000-acre beef and arable unit for more than 10 years now and it’s one that is fine-tuned on a regular basis depending on the market.
“We introduced the Simmental for the breed’s docile, maternal and milkiness characteristics and when the cows started getting too pure and on the big side, about 10 years ago, we thought we’d buy an Aberdeen-Angus to toughen up the cows a bit and we’ve never looked back,” said Mel, who has worked on the farm for almost 30 years.
“We now crisscross the two lots back and forth. Simmental cross Angus cows are bulled to an Angus and the Angus cross Simmentals go out with a Simmental bull to produce replacement females while the older cows are bulled with a Charolais to breed calves with extra growth,” said Mel adding that the Simmental genetics in the mix ensures fertility and calving are never an issue.
“We never have any bother with fertility and 99% of our calves are quick to get up on the feet and ‘sook’,” he said.
Backing up these statements is the fact that bulls are run with the cows for 43 days and while the the average barren rate in the spring-calving herd is 9-10%, heifers which all calve at two years of age, have just been scanned with only two of the 70 having returned to the bull, which in turn are fattened.
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Most of the cows (240) calve inside in the spring with the remaining 60 calving outside on poorer-quality grass in the autumn.
All cows are in-wintered on straw-bedded courts and silage only, with heifers about to calve given some bruised barley in the mix. Calved heifers are also kept separate from the main herd for another year and summered on the best grass with additional silage and barley if need be to ensure they come to the bull early enough.
Spring calvers calve down from mid-February through to mid-April, and having had their navels dipped in iodine, are put outside as soon as they’re up, suckled, tagged and strong enough to walk out of the field with their mothers.
Overall, cattle graze 320 acres at turnout which is split up into 45 paddocks by electric fencing with each paddock averaging 7 acres. Each lot can then be brought in separately for dehorning, castrating, etc.
Spring-born calves are introduced to creep feed in September before being weaned onto straw-bedded courts in early November and a total mixed ration comprising home-grown barley, dark grains, and a mineral containing XPC yeast to prevent acidosis.
Autumn-born calvers which calve down in August, and September, are also walked to a field of better pasture as soon as they’re fit to walk, before coming inside to straw-bedded courts in November when the calves have access to creep feeding, while the cows get silage only.
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With the easy fleshing, milking ability and maternal characteristics of the dams, and the bulls for the adult herd selected on their performance figures, the growth rates of the progeny from both herds are impressive.
With Simmental and Charolais genetics boosting weight gains, the business is able to sell young bulls at 12 months of age through ABP, Perth, with heifers not kept for breeding, also finishing within 16 months.
In most years, spring-born cattle are finished at 16-17 months of age producing 330kg carcases and R3 grades, while young bulls produce the same grades at 13 months of age with 360kg carcases.
Replacements are retained from the spring-calving adult herd which have been bred from bulls boasting good milk figures and high 200 and 400day weights. Up until this year, calves from this batch were all castrated with the top end sold as suckled calves through United Auctions, Stirling, in November, while the smaller lots were kept on and sold as stores at 14-15 months of age.
This year however, with the beef price on the rise and the huge amount of work involved in selling suckled calves in the backend when there are also in excess of 600acres of winter crops to attend to, another shed has been put up to house 100plus cattle to finish the stots and the bottom end of the heifers.
They hope to double their money in the process too when you think that the spring-born Charolais bullocks sold last November averaged £960, and with finished beef prices now around the £5 per deadweight kg mark, such animals have the potential to sell for more than £2000.
It’s a busy time of year for everyone, even if you’re not selling suckled calves, as the boys are also looking to buy a new stockbull at United Auctions’ Bull Sales at Stirling on October 23, which is where most of the herd’s previous stock bulls have been acquired, to include two from Robert MacGregor, Kirkton of Mailer, another from Corskie and one from Michael Barlow’s Denizes herd. All were bought with average milk figures of +10, which is undoubtedly, paying dividends, when the dearest of those bulls was 5500gns.
However, regardless of the price, Patrick believes any bull that fails to produce progeny that are not up to the mark should be culled, when finishing those calves can cost so much more than the top end of calves, and the bull itself can be sold for £2000 in the fat ring.
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It’s a situation that Mel takes seriously, with all cattle conditions scored and weighed on a regular basis to ensure all are performing as they should with any that are not, addressed to find out why. Weighing on a regular basis and recording the differences, on paper, also identifies which cows and bulls are outperforming the rest.
Farm Facts:
Family farm: Wedderburn family has been at Mountquhanie Estate for several generations and now comprises some 2000acres which includes 356acres at Nydie Mains, Strathkinness and 334 acres rented at Luthriebank. Land rises from 150-650ft above sea-level.
Cropping: 400 acres of winter wheat; 120 acres of winter barley; 120 acres of oilseed rape; 400 acres spring barley and 235acres of vegetable lets. Some 130 acres of silage is harvested in June and 60 acres in August, with 45 acres re-seeded every year.
Staff: Cattleman, Melvyn Watters is assisted by Patrick with back up from Lee Muir and Jon Lavreniadias, who look after the arable enterprise.
Livestock: 300 Simmental cross Angus and Angus cross Simmental cows most of which calve in the spring to produce finished stock sold through ABP, Perth, and replacement females.
On The Spot:
Biggest achievement: Finding a wife.
Best investment: Draining rods.
Way forward for the beef cattle industry in Scotland: To be TB-free!.
Where do you see yourself in 2033: Onwards and upwards.
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