Situated on the edge of Lochore Meadows country park and built on former pit fields is Hilton of Beath Farm.
The Thomson family has been at the farm since 1948 and it is now managed by third generation, John Thomson alongside wife Natalie, daughters Beth and Ellie, and son Jack. The last farm to be sold by the Coal board before they packaged up their remaining farms, Hilton of Beath was purchased by the family in 1993 when it comprised 250 acres. The business is run in partnership with John’s parents James and Anne.
Hilton of Beath now covers 1250 acres with extra bits of land bought and rented and is home to 250 commercial beef suckler cows and a small herd of 10 pedigree Limousins. John also grows 560 acres of arable crops including 275 acres of spring barley sold for high nitrogen distilling in Alloa; 110 acres of winter wheat; 35 acres of winter barley; 85 acres of winter oats, and 30 acres of green manure as part of an Agri Environment Scheme.
While the cereal cropping covers a large area, cattle remain a key enterprise. Calving is split in two blocks with 160 cows calving in March and April, and 100 calving in August and September. Bulls go out around the second week of May for the spring calvers and mid-October for the late calvers where they run for 12 weeks.
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“We are looking to reduce the bulling period, especially with the new changes to the beef calf scheme, in order to tighten the calving period and make us more efficient,” John said.
“We have an excellent scanning percentage, this year it was at 98.2% for the spring calvers. Our heifers calve at 28-30 months – we tried them younger but they just didn’t have the mothering ability and maturity for it so we have found that this is a better age for them.”
Spring calves are sold in the first week of November having being weaned in October with the autumn calvers weaned in July and their progeny sold the first week of October all sold through United Auctions Stirling. In the summer the cattle are grazing grass on the reclaimed pit bings that once surrounded the farm and the calves are creep fed and weighed at regular handling intervals to monitor performance.
“We grow our own winter barley for feed and they are also crept fed Harbro Beef Stock Nuts. Everything is wintered at home and they are inside and fed on our own silage.”
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In an effort to reduce calving issues, spring calvers are fed lower quality silage and then the higher quality forage is fed to the late calvers during the bulling period as well as the young stock.
“Our first cut of silage is made late so that it doesn’t have the same quality and nutrition to prevent overly large calves. Our second cut is usually much better and that gets fed to any inside calves as well as the back-end calvers whilst they are out with the bull.”
The Thomsons regularly buy in bulling heifers from a few known sources, privately and through UA Stirling.
“Our aim is to have all our commercial cows as black Limousin crosses and we buy a fair few black heifers to keep the genetics fresh. Everything here is BVD and Johnes tested so we make sure the animals we buy in have good health status.”
John buys in pedigree bulls to use on his pure-bred Limousin herd for three to four years first and then moves them to the commercial cows. He also uses home-bred bulls. Some of the most memorable bulls include Goldies Crackerjack bought for 9000gns, and Marlepark Edward, a 16,000gns purchase.
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Currently the farm runs eight Limousin bulls. Spittalton Scapa runs with the pedigree herd, purchased for 12,000gns at February bull sales last year from Andrew Burnett. Bangtidy Notorious runs alongside six homebred bulls to cover the commercial herd having previously been used on the pedigree herd. Eldest daughter Beth won the Interbreed Beef championship at Fife Show on Saturday with Beath Tianna a Notorious daughter.
The farm also relies on the home-bred Beath Orion, a Mereside Lorenzo son.
“I look to buy one bull for the pedigrees and then after a couple years I use that bull on the main herd. I also have good home-bred bulls.
“I look for bulls with good breed character, size and power, and for bulls that are good on their legs. Good calving figures is also very important to me as I performance record the pedigree calves. We are known for selling quality cattle, so the calves need to be right.”
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The pedigree Limousin herd was founded in the early 2000s and comprises 10 breeding cows that are mostly managed by Beth.
“When we started the pedigree herd we bought cows, calves and heifers from the Normande herd as well as a couple of cows and calves at dispersal sales,” said John adding that his father introduced the breed to the farm as a terminal sire to run over pedigree Aberdeen Angus.
“We had previously been fattening cattle and selling through ABP in Perth and some through Caledonian Marts in Stirling and found the Limousin worked well and sold well. As cattle, Limousins aren’t too heavy which is something we need to consider farming on reclaimed pit bings.”
While the family used to sell bulls at pedigree sales and did a lot of showing, these days are long gone with time the limiting factor.
“Our farming calendar just gets busier and busier and it is a lot of work to sell at the pedigree sales and shows. However with Beth taking the lead we have got back into showing as she has such a gift for it.” John explained.
Natalie added: “Beth just has such an affinity with the cattle. There was a bull that just wouldn’t walk with John but when Beth was at the end of the halter, he completely calmed down. So last year, we had B Thomson engraved on the show trophies instead of J Thomson.”
The Thomsons also have big plans for the future and are hoping to be able to turn one of their old sheds into a farmshop alongside holiday lodges on the side closest to Lochore.
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“The country park is one of Fife’s biggest tourist attractions and we already get a lot of visitors and members of the public coming through and past our farm. Since we are working with one less shed we have had to sell calves younger to make room for housing the rest of the cattle but it will hopefully work out when we have the holiday park up and running.”
John is also keen to increase both the pedigree and commercial herds until they reach a total of 300 breeding cattle across both herds.
On Wednesday May 29, Hilton of Beath will host SAC Consulting’s Big Beef Roadshow event as part of three farm open days between May and June.
“We are honoured to have been asked by SAC to host the event. It has been a bit of a mad flee to get everything ready in time but it hopefully will be a good day for everyone attending and fingers crossed the sun shines.”
The Big Beef Roadshow 2024 is set to take place across Scotland throughout May and June focussing on supporting beef farmers to improve practices and drive beef systems forward. There will also be sessions on nutrition, feed efficiency, some of the most important veterinary matters including bull fertility, current markets, and an update on cattle EID.
Supported by Universities Innovation Funding, the Big Beef Roadshow will feature specialists, researchers, and vets sharing the latest findings from the Feed into Beef project and other key themes such as efficiency and cattle health.
Tickets for the free event can either be booked prior via Eventbrite online or by calling 01835 342812.
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Farm facts
Farm size: 1250 acres both owned and rented, including 560 acres of arable.
Who’s all involved: John and Natalie, children Beth (18), Jack (16), and Ellie (11), and John’s parents James and Anne, and full-time employee Scott.
Livestock: 250 commercial cows and 10 pedigree Limousins.
Location history: Built on a former mining site, the Thomson Family came to Hilton of Beath in 1948 as tenants. They bought the farm from the Coal board in 1993.
SAC Consulting Big Beef Roadshow event: May 29 from 10:15, Hilton of Beath Farm, Kelty, Fife KY4 0HF
Biggest investment? The cattle handling system, silage pit and training Natalie to calf the cows
Best thing about living in Kelty? Community spirit and the ability to get to The Highland Show ground and Edinburgh city centre in 30 minutes (The road out!!)
Where would you be if you weren’t farming? Driving a race car…or more likely a joiner
Something you can’t live without? My family, they help me out in all aspects of life and keep me sane.
Where do you see yourselves in 10 years? Working away at The Hilton encouraging the next generation.
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