Beef Shorthorns – the way forward for Lour Estate, Forfar

With the livestock bred purely for the commercial market, Lour had a history of working with a mix of continental breeds primarily Charolais. It was through stockman Liam Walton that the idea of introducing native Beef Shorthorn genetics was born.

“I have always been interested in Shorthorns as a breed, and with all the livestock being finished on farm we would have to buy in 30 to 40 maiden heifers every year.” Liam explained, “It was getting harder and harder to find good quality heifers to buy in so we decided to buy a Shorthorn bull to breed our own maiden heifers that we could use ourselves.”

The heifers are typically bulled at around two years of age, with the goal of calving at three years old. This management strategy ensures that the heifers have reached adequate physical maturity and sizeRef: RH260924051 Rob Haining / The Scottish

The first foray into Shorthorns was through the purchase of the bull Tofts Weldon at the Stirling Bull Sales in 2018. This was then followed by an Upsall bull in 2019 and from then the Estate cemented its use of the Shorthorns with the breed representing half of their current stock bulls.

“This coincided with the reduction weight limits for finished animals,” said Kerr Howatson, estate manager. “When using other bigger framed breeds, they were not finished when they reached the maximum weight, whereas Shorthorns are and grade far better.”

“We are now using Shorthorns and crossing them with Simmentals to create the perfect suckler cow and it is working a treat,” said Liam. “Hopefully by using this mix of genetics we can select the best animals to keep for breeding and sell the rest. That’s where I want to go with it anyway, and we have had people interested in them as breeding heifers.”

Lour Estate maintains an impressive herd of approximately 180 beef cows, reflecting a significant focus on livestock production as part of their farming operations. The herd consists of well-managed, high-quality breeding stock, selected for their

For Liam, it’s the strong fertility and easy calving traits from the Shorthorn that has really solidified it as the breed of choice.

“It’s like night and day compared to using continentals. Here at Lour we have a bit of steep ground we bull on and that Shorthorns performed tremendously on it. Our Upsall bull went out on the his first year and didn’t miss one cow.” He continued: “We used to have caesareans all the time with the bigger breeds and now since adding in the Shorthorns we have barely had any. We have not had a caesarean for a single cow bred to Shorthorn bar one.”

Lour Estate spans approximately 2,175 acres (880 hectares), with around 1,900 acres (771 hectares) dedicated to arable farming and grassland. The remaining land consists of mixed woodlands and other environmental features Ref: RH260924067 Rob Haining /

It’s not just calving, Shorthorn’s mothering ability has also proved successful at Lour. “They just don’t need all the extra attention, the calves are quickly suckling away no problem. We had 30 sets of twins last year which was a nightmare at the time but fortunately they came from good mothers and some were able to rear both calves without needing intervention.”

The females are kept as breeding heifers with all the males fattened under 16 months on a barley based feed. Deadweights are currently averaging 405kg and selling at £2000 per animal.

The cows calve indoors, providing a controlled and sheltered environment that ensures both the cows and their newborn calves are protected from harsh weather conditions during the critical calving period. This indoor setting allows for closer monitoring

“The figures speak for themselves,” explained Kerr. “We have found Shorthorns finish much quicker than previous breeds so we can get them away much earlier than we used to and we are getting a better price for them. The Shorthorns appear to performing across the board which is good as we were worried about introducing a native breed here and how that would affect the livestock.

“The cost of moving fat bulls in late June/early July compared to the end of August can add approx. £220 per head, so bulls that finish earlier and grade out better with a better return per head can only be a positive.” Maiden heifers that are kept for breeding are bulled at two years to calve at three. This allows for them to develop more milk and be ready to calve. Bulls go out in April and May for ten weeks for mid to end of February calving the following year.

“We have usually got the bulk of the cows covered by April but there’s always a few that need tidied up in May. Another positive about the Shorthorns is that gestation period is shorter than continentals so the process is streamlined in comparison. The ease of calving also helps as the cows are able to get in calf much faster when they haven’t had a bad calving.” Liam said.

Silage already completed and stored in the pit, preparations are well underway for the cows to come in from the fields. Typically, the cows are brought in from late October and remain housed until April, though this timing is largely dependent on weather

With all the silage grown on the estate, this forms the basis for all feed rations. Barley grown on the estate is milled and mixed with Rumitec 35 and fed to the young bulls. Cows are given a dry mineral when they are housed up until Christmas when they are switched to Harbro Super Suckler mineral pre calving.

“All the stock goes inside in October with the aim of the cows getting out end of April or beginning of May after they calve, weather permitting of course!” explained Liam.

Beef Shorthorn, Simmental and Angus bulls are used at at Lours Ref: RH260924048 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

Lour has 250 acres used for grassland and growing silage. Arable is the biggest area at the estate with 1300 acres used to grow spring barley, wheat, oil seed rape, and winter barley, alongside 345 acres for seed potatoes. The estate has also invested in several holiday lets, a sawmill, and renewable energy including ground source, wind turbines, and solar panels.

“Here at Lour the cattle fit very well in the business and that has always been the aim.” Kerr said: “Liam is mostly working with them himself with added help from the team when he needs and during calving we enlist the help of a student.”

Looking to the future, Liam is excited to see how the Shorthorn genetics will improve the herd. “I hope to get to the stage where we can pick and choose the best ones to keep and get into the market of selling breeding females. Saying that, the Shorthorns are some of the most docile cattle I’ve worked with, they have such a good temperament.

“As much as there was some hesitance from the management about introducing natives into the herd, the numbers have proved that we can have confidence in the breed and they are right for the system here at Lour.”

At the heart of the cattle handling unit is the robust and versatile IAE Saracen crush. Designed with both the safety of the operator and the welfare of the animals in mind Ref: RH260924042 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

FARM facts

Farm size: Just over 2000 acres outside Forfar, Angus.

Livestock: 180 commercial suckler cows.

Arable: 1300 acres comprising of spring barley, wheat, oil seed rape, winter barley and 345 acres of seed potatoes.

Team involved: Stockman Liam Walton, Estate manager Kerr Howatson, Michael Murray, Michael Hiddleston, Lee Balfour, Jarek Havran, Liam Smith, and Jill Whiteside.

ONTHE spot

Best investment? Self-locking barriers.

Favourite thing about working with cattle? Seeing what type of animal you are going to get at calving time, especially the Shorthorn when they can come out that nice roan colour.

Something you can’t live without? Good cattle handling system and my calving cameras.

Words you live by? Always be safe don’t get too complacent when working with cattle.

Where do you see the future working with Shorthorns? The confidence in them is here now so we will keep progressing with the Shorthorn Simmental crosses and flush out some of the other breeds.