Limousins suit the system for Upper Nisbet's Robert Neill

Based near Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders, Robert runs a 350-strong suckler herd of Limousin cross British Friesian cows, sourced from his brother Tom’s 350-cow dairy farm in Northumberland.

At the dairy enterprise, Tom uses easy-calving, short gestation length Limousin genetics on his British Friesian heifers and some of the cows. Sexed semen is used on the best-performing cows to breed milking replacements.

Robert also has 35 pedigree Limousin cows, which take the Uppernisbet prefix.

Focusing on achieving ‘well-fleshed and well-finished’ animals of the right carcase specification and weight, his genetics strategy starts with understanding customer preferences.

Pedigree cattle run alongside a commercial Limousin herd built up from his brother's Friesian dairy herd

“I typically sell to butchers as they pay a premium for Limousin cattle, and aim to sell up to three animals a week,” he explains.

“Growing up on a dairy farm, receiving a milk cheque every month, focused my mind on the importance of consistent cash flow. So I’m trying

to sell cattle every week of the year to keep income flowing in.”

He said that bulls, steers, and heifers that are not kept as replacements are sold finished through the live ring or deadweight.

“In my experience, the butchers all want Limousin because they get a better killing out percentage on the live animal they purchase – the more waste on an animal, the more that hits them in the back pocket. Butchers regularly provide feedback that our heifers are killing out from 60-62%.”

This feedback is supported by AHDB figures that show Limousin genetics deliver higher-yield carcases in dairy offspring, when compared to all other main continental and native breeds.

Heifers calve down at 30 months of age

For Limousin cross dairy-bred calves, 62% achieved carcase E-R and fat class 1 to 4 specification, on average, compared to just 15% for the main native breeds.

Robert buys a new bull every two to three years to add new bloodlines to the herd. His most recent purchase was Swarland Topaz, a red Limousin, bought for 15,000gns from Andrew Proctor at Carlisle in May this year.

A decade ago, Robert established his own pedigree Limousin herd, using bulling heifers from John Logan’s Homebyres herd. He keeps the best bulls for himself and sells a few locally.

Estimated breeding values (EBVs) are closely analysed to ensure that the genetics suit his and his brother’s farm. A balanced approach ensures calves are not too big, facilitating easy calving for both his suckler cows and his brother’s dairy herd, without compromising on quality.

“We look at EBVs to ensure we have the right genetics in our bulls, also focusing on myostatin for ease of calving, particularly for the dairy heifers.

“For the more mature cows, we select bulls with higher growth rates – but easy calving is still an important trait too.”

Robert's enthusiasm for the Limousin breed as the ideal butchers; animal has seen him invest in pedigree females

Mr Neill has used other breeds such as Galloway, Aberdeen-Angus and British Blue genetics, but always comes back to Limousin because of the market demands.

“The Limousin cross Friesian cows are absolutely fantastic,” he says. “They provide the right blend of milkiness, are easy to flesh, easily kept and have a good temperament.”

Upper Nisbet cows calve in spring and autumn with heifers joining the herd at around 30 months. Heifers and calves are outwintered on kale before being turned to grass in the spring, and spring-calving cows are outwintered on stubble turnips and forage crops.

All animals calve inside, within a tight four to eight-week block, with an barren rate of about 5%.

Anything not in calf is removed from the herd, which Robert says, over time, contributes to improved herd fertility.

“The fertility of your herd will increase if you are strict on that,” he adds.

Robert's Uppernisbet herd produces home-bred bulls to use at home and to sell

Embedding a data-driven approach, Robert has used EID (electronic identification) since 2007 to keep track of cattle performance and ensure animals realise their genetic potential.

He weighs finishing animals at least every 30 days to ensure they do not exceed 600kg (640kg minus 40kg of gut fill).

He explains: “We use the Tru-Test system to monitor daily live weight gains and ensure we’ve got the animals at the optimum weight – there’s no point piling it on if you’re not going to get paid for it.

“For finishing bulls, we want to achieve between 1.5-2kg live weight gain per day.”

Calves, weaned in mid-November, weigh around 300-350kg. Heifers and steers finish between 16-24 months, and bulls between 12-16 months.

All are finished indoors on a total mixed ration (TMR), which contains homegrown barley treated with urea.The farm produces most of its feed, with 405ha (1000 acres) set aside for cereals, including winter barley, winter wheat and spring barley.

All of the winter barley is used for livestock feed. He says: “I’m able to guarantee that the cattle’s diet is soya and GM-free.

“Producing everything on farm helps to minimise the carbon footprint of our beef production.”

He added that operating a high-health herd is important for sustainability initiatives too. The farm is in the Premium Cattle Health Scheme, and is Johne’s clear and BVD accredited.

“We vaccinate heavily to help protect our herd and reduce the need for antibiotics. A healthy cow is a profitable cow,” he says. “I get great satisfaction welcoming our wholesale butcher buyers, and their customers, to the farm and showing how the cattle are produced to high health and welfare standards.

“The whole process, from start to finish, is crucial. I want to show how we’re working hard to enhance the experience of diners eating our beef in high-end Edinburgh restaurants, so it reflects well on us as farmers, as well as the Limousin breed,” he concludes.