SOUTH DEVONS
Commercially sound!
The breed that’s quietly going places!
Welcome to the first edition of The Commercial South Devon! This publication is a compilation of beef production units around the UK, each with a different focus on the breed’s attributes, and all demonstrating the versatility and suitability of the South Devon as an integral part of beef production. The South Devon is the largest of the native beef breeds, known for its docility, capable performance, and excellent beef qualities. Its feed conversion ability is highly efficient, and it crosses well with other breeds in systems looking to benefit from additional hybrid vigour. The Breed Society is one of the more progressive, and is keen to take advantage of new technical tools to advance and develop the breed. All pedigree bulls are sire verified by DNA, giving confidence to the store buyer that his finished cattle will qualify for specific beef schemes.
SOUTH DEVON HERD BOOK SOCIETY Westpoint, Clyst St Mary, Exeter, EX5 1DJ 01392 447494 | www.sdhbs.org.uk | info@sdhbs.org.uk With thanks to all our contributors for their help in compiling this publication. Herd profiles written by: Olivia Cooper 01392 840009 | www.oliviacooper.co.uk | olivia.cooper@btinternet.com Design & Artwork: Acstede Design 5 Broomybank, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2SF 01926 851195 | www.acstededesign.co.uk | alan@acstededesign.co.uk
Performance recording with Breedplan is actively encouraged, and monthly evaluations keep data up to date and accessible via the Society’s website. Two Breedplan indices are published to help buyers with their initial appraisal – the Suckler Replacement and the Quality Beef – although we would always advise that greater attention is paid to individual EBVs for specific breeding requirements.
Contributors:
South Devon breeders are encouraged to know the health status of their herd, and to join a CHeCS scheme with a view to moving as quickly as possible to an accredited status.
B MacTaggart, Douganhill Farms, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway
All animals being sold at Society sales are either from herds fully accredited for BVD, or are tested negative for BVD antigen, and all are double vaccinated. A herd health declaration is displayed for each vendor at Society sales.
M T Powley, Elm House Farm, Green Hammerton, York, Yorkshire
As a suckler replacement or as a terminal sire the South Devon has a place in today’s beef production business.
Disclaimer:
I hope you will find the experiences of those beef producers profiled inside to be of interest, and may they give you food for thought!
Caroline Poultney Breed Secretary
N H & M J Cole, Greenwell Farm, Yelverton, Plymouth, Devon J East, Corner Farm, Kirtlington, Oxfordshire A Johns, Dunterton Farm, Stokeinteignhead, Newton Abbot, Devon N & J Newbould & Son, Meikle Cloak, Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbrightshire W J Wright & Son, Oxey Farm, Tilton on the Hill, Leicestershire
Views and opinions expressed in articles where the name of the author is published are those of the author and not necessarily those of the South Devon Herd Book Society.
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
Hill farming on
Turning good quality
Finishing South Devons
The South Devon
Dartmoor, finding the
beef cattle into top notch
for Dovecote Park, with
crossbred suckler cow,
best cattle to suit the
carcases using South
breed docility crucial for
a fundamental part
environment
Devons and continentals
safe handling
of Douganhill Farms’
Contents
business in Scotland
10-11
12-13
14-15
Suckler-bred South
High performance cattle
Pedigree herd run 100%
Devon bull beef – sound
from a low input system,
commercially, with
results from growth
the key to success
attention to detail and
rates, weights and grades
for Mike Powley in
genetic improvement
Yorkshire
tools securing profitability
www.sdhbs.org.uk South Devons | 1
“Choosing the best cattle to suit the environment and to produce quality beef – hill-farming on Dartmoor at up to 1550 ft above sea level” Mat & Neil Cole - Dartmoor
“We use a Shorthorn
or Galloway bull on the South Devon heifers and aim for good early growth rates so they’re a good size before
”
bulling.
Breeding cattle on Dartmoor is no easy feat, with fearsome weather and sparse grazing demanding particularly hardy stock. But Mat Cole and his brother Neil have got the system down to a fine art, choosing their cattle to suit the environment, and building an excellent market for both stores and finished beef in the area. The home farm – Greenwell Farm, Yelverton, boasts the best land, while Princetown Farm – the former prison farm, runs up to 1550ft above sea level and comprises predominantly improved moorland over peat, with up to 4m of rain a year and temperatures falling as low as minus 20ºC. The brothers run 40 purebred South Devon, 100 pure Galloway, and 130 South Devon x Galloway suckler cows across the two farms, with the Galloways on the highest ground, crossbreds on lower in-bye land, and South Devons on the best land. “It’s horses for courses – that’s what the breeds were designed to do,” says Mat. The family also runs 32 Dartmoor mares and 2000 ewes – a mix of Scottish Blackface, Swaledale, Dartmoor Whiteface, and Bluefaced Leicesters for Mule production. “Having ponies, sheep and cattle is essential for diverse grazing on the moor. The hill farm is not suitable for finishing stock – but it is ideal for producing breeding females to sell lower down the hill.” Mat’s father Arnold, who sadly passed away recently, was the third generation to keep South Devon cows, and was partly responsible for establishing the family’s excellent reputation for producing hardy breeding stock. “He always loved South Devons and always bought good bulls,” says Mat. “A bull is half your herd, so it’s money well spent.”
www.sdhbs.org.uk 2 | South Devons
Neil tends to study the pedigrees and buy young bulls at sales or privately, to grow on for six months before use, so they can acclimatise to the conditions. “We don’t want particularly big cows – our South Devons are 600-650kg liveweight; we want good, honest, hard-working animals,” he says. “We also like polled genetics in both the Galloways and South Devons as it’s a lot less work.” Neil has two homebred South Devon bulls which he puts onto half the Galloway cows at the Prison farm, the offspring of which he either keeps as replacement suckler cows, fattens, or sells as breeding heifers to lowland farmers. “We have a lot of regular buyers, who like the fact they come from hill stock.” He also has pedigree Galloway and South Devon bulls to produce purebred replacements. Crossbred cows go to a polled Simmental terminal sire, with the South Devon and crossbred females calving outdoors from mid-April, and pure Galloways in the autumn. “We calve the pure South Devons at two years old, the crossbreds at two and a half, and the Galloways at three – it just goes on size,” says Mat. “We use a Shorthorn or Galloway bull on the South Devon heifers and aim for good early growth rates so they’re a good size before bulling.”
Any pure South Devon or Simmental-sired bull calves are kept entire and fattened indoors at 14-15 months old on a hay, straw and bull beef ration. “We don’t creep feed the calves at grass – instead, when the calves are weaned in December we give them 3kg a day of a cereal nut until the end of April, when they go onto the bull beef ration, fed ad-lib,” he adds. “We struggle to fatten pure South Devons off grass here, as they just keep growing, which is why we use them for bull beef.” The Simmental crosses average 330kg deadweight, with two-thirds at U grades and the rest at R grades. “The purebred South Devon bulls are heavier, at 340kg, but don’t grade quite so well – they are mostly Rs.” Pure Galloway and Galloway x South Devon bull calves are castrated and fattened at two to two-and-a-half years old on grass and concentrates, averaging 300kg deadweight. Any crossbred heifers that don’t go for breeding are either sold as stores or finished at two years old at 290kg deadweight, off a cereal-based ration after a summer at grass. Both are then sold through the Dartmoor Farmers co-operative, supplying local butchers, restaurants and pubs.
“We’re trying to make the link between native beef and sheep delivering the landscape, environmental benefits, and sustainable farming businesses,” says Mat. “The coop is in its fifth trading year now, and is averaging five or six head of beef cattle a week.” Having only registered the herd as pedigree eight years ago, Mat and Neil have been grading up their cows, and are now getting several full pedigree heifers coming through. “We haven’t yet got into selling pedigree breeding stock, but it is another option for the future.” And finding the right system to suit the conditions is certainly paying dividends. “Our South Devon x Galloways are like the Mule sheep of the beef world – you’ve got the large-framed South Devon with lots of milk, and the hardiness and mothering ability of the Galloway,” says Neil. “Being a first cross, you get lots of hybrid vigour, giving ease of management and longevity. The Simmental-sired calves have the benefits of fast growth and good conformation, but still retain the hardiness and ease of finishing on any type of system. It’s really working well.”
South Devons | 3
“The one native breed that can do everything the continentals can without getting over-fat” John East - commercial beef producer using South Devons since the 1970s
“We wanted a breed
that’s a bit more
people-friendly than the continentals, but would stand up to them in terms of quality. We also didn’t want to have to change the feeding regime – the South Devons can be in with the continentals and crossbreds on the same ration, and perform just
”
as well.
A keen interest in converting good quality beef cattle into top notch carcasses triggered John East’s interest in the South Devon breed in the late 1970s. “My father was interested in fatstock showing at the Christmas shows, and we kept a few continentals to sell each year,” he says. “At the time, the native classes were dwindling, so we started buying in a South Devon animal to exhibit and sell each year, to support the local markets.” John and his father opted for South Devons because they had the shape to compete against continental cattle, and sold well to local butchers. “They killed out well, and we would go along to the butchers to see them on the hook.” In 2000, John was made redundant from his shepherding job, and decided to concentrate on growing the home business at Corner Farm, Kirtlington, Oxfordshire. “We now fatten 350-400 head of cattle and have 90 suckler cows, which are a mix of South Devons, continentals and crossbreds.” John uses a South Devon bull over the continental cows, both as a terminal sire and to produce suckler replacements. He currently uses a Blonde on South Devon cows as a terminal sire. “The Blonde x South Devon is a very nice cross – the Blonde is finer boned and leaner, so you get a well-shaped animal with a good killing out percentage and better meat covering,” he says. “We’ve always aimed for the better quality end of the carcass market – it costs as much to feed poor cattle as good ones. And using the South Devons has certainly not lowered the carcass grades.” The farm is a mix of owned and tenanted land spread across eight parishes, and with a number of footpaths crossing it.
www.sdhbs.org.uk 4 | South Devons
“We therefore wanted a breed that’s a bit more peoplefriendly than the continentals, but would stand up to them in terms of quality. We also didn’t want to have to change the feeding regime – the South Devons can be in with the continentals and crossbreds on the same ration, and perform just as well.” John’s first batch of home-bred heifers sired by Grove Wellington 55 are due to calve this spring. “I move all the stock single-handed so I’m hoping they will be a bit quieter than the continentals, and have a bit more milk,” he says. Most finished animals go to ABP or Woodheads, but John also supplies his local butcher with 300kg heifers. “He always bought our stock at market, and after Foot and Mouth asked us to continue supplying him direct.” Two-thirds of the suckler cows calve inside in the spring, with the remainder outside in the autumn. “That fits in well with our buildings and grazing blocks,” says John. Heifers calve at two-and-a-half to three years old, and John selects the best 10-12 to keep as replacements. “We like big strong cows, as they’re worth so much more at the end of their life,” he says. “Last year we got £1500 for a cow that had produced 11 calves.”
So what about the showing? John still exhibits at local primestock shows, and tries to take at least one South Devon to Smithfield each year. “As I’m not breeding pedigree South Devons I have to buy one in each year at 12-18 months old,” he says. “But I’ve got some very nice crossbreds, that I may start to show, too. The target is to win at Smithfield – I’ve had lots of second places, and plenty of local successes, but never a Smithfield first.”
In the past, primestock showing was a paying hobby – and it still has a beneficial impact on the farm, he adds. “If you make the effort to see the carcasses with the butchers, it does feed through into better quality stock. The more you see animals alive and then dead, the more you can see what you’re doing right or wrong.”
Autumn-born calves get creep feed, and most stock are housed over the winter on straw. “The autumn calvers get ad-lib baled silage, while the spring calvers are on hay at the moment. None of the cows get any concentrates – they just get some liquid molasses and minerals before calving.” All male calves are castrated, with spring calves finished indoors after their second summer at grass, says John. “However, we might start to finish some of the strongest ones early for our butcher.” Autumn calves are finished indoors in early summer, fed on ad-lib wholecrop and grass silage with concentrates. John buys most of his stores privately in March and April, when they are about a year old. “We get mostly continentals with some South Devons and just run them all together. South Devons are the one native breed that can do everything the continentals can without getting over-fat. It’s also good to work with such a forward-thinking breed society, in terms of muscle scoring and using the latest technology to improve the breed.” South Devons | 5
“South Devons through a South West finishing unit destined for Waitrose’s Dovecote Park West Country Beef premium scheme” Andrew Johns - store finisher Devon
“They are slower
growing than the
continentals, which is all part of the premium brand
”
“But we’re getting a
premium price to cover that, and managing the cattle is just so easy. They are very docile – we put them through the race quite frequently to weigh them, so it’s important that they’re safe to handle.
”
www.sdhbs.org.uk 6 | South Devons
Andrew Johns is a recent convert to the South Devon breed, having signed up to Waitrose’s Dovecote Park scheme just two years ago. The scheme, which supplies Waitrose’s West Country beef brand, requires all stock to be sired by a registered pedigree South Devon bull, and finished on a mainly forage-based diet by 30 months of age. Having previously bought continental stores to finish, as well as running a small continental cross suckler herd, Andrew has adjusted to the native cattle extremely rapidly. “They are slower growing than the continentals, which is all part of the premium brand,” he says. “But we’re getting a premium price to cover that, and managing the cattle is just so easy. They are very docile – we put them through the race quite frequently to weigh them, so it’s important that they’re safe to handle.” Andrew buys stores privately from about 15 South Devon breeders across the region, and aims to bring them onto his Dunterton Farm, Newton Abbot, Devon, at about 450kg liveweight. “We’ll get top performing animals at 10 months old, but most average 18 months old when we get them,” he says. “I have a very good relationship with my suppliers, and always like to go and select stock before buying. I’ll look at age, size, weight, conformation and condition; that will all affect the price agreed per kilo, but I try not to be too picky.” The cattle are weighed at a public weighbridge, to ensure transparency, and are checked on arrival, when their backs are clipped and vaccination records taken. “We keep a close eye on their general health; we’re asking them to perform at the highest level possible, so you have to look after them,” says Andrew.
He finishes around 400 cattle a year; half of which are South Devons for the Dovecote Park scheme, and the remainder continental crosses. “We also have 60 Friesian x Limousin or Friesian x British Blue suckler cows, which we put to a top Charolais bull.” The resulting bull calves are kept entire and finished, for St Merryn, while the heifers graze for their first year before finishing at 16 months old for Waitrose’s British Beef range, along with the continental crosses bought as stores. “We only buy in steers and heifers, as Waitrose don’t want bull beef,” he adds. “I would dearly love to breed South Devons, but because of acreage restrictions, we can’t go into a second year of grazing.” Stores remain on the farm for at least 90 days, with most finished within 120 days of arrival. They are all loose housed on straw throughout the year, and fed a total mixed ration comprising 3kg of grass silage, 20kg of maize silage, 6kg of rolled barley, 1kg of straw and 1kg of molasses. “We feed once a day and push it up again in the afternoon,” says Andrew. “The continentals average 1.7kg of liveweight gain a day, while the South Devons average 1.3kg.”
The most recent batch of South Devons slaughtered at an average of 390kg, with most grading at U- and R4L. “We buy a mix of steers and heifers, although there are usually more steers and breeders retain heifers as replacements,” says Andrew. “We get the usual premium for better grades – so U- grades are worth 5p/ kg more to us, on top of the Dovecote Park premium for South Devon beef.” Being located in the South West, TB is an ever-present threat, so Andrew has set up an approved finishing unit, meaning he can buy from clean herds without premovement testing, as well as from TB-restricted herds. “Cutting out the TB testing means less stress for the stock – and we can provide an outlet for TB-restricted farms.”
Despite having adapted rapidly to the breed, Andrew has further plans to improve his system in the future. “We’re going to try switching some of the maize silage to high sugar ryegrass silage; I feel we may get more from the South Devons by increasing the grass silage element of the ration,” he says. “Nutrition is a real passion – I love the concept of maximising liveweight gain through feed. I work closely with my nutritionist, Lachie Maclachlan, and test my forage all the time,” he adds. “I think it’s essential to know your costs, whatever business you’re in, so we analyse, weigh, and cost everything. When you’re feeding 50t of feed a week at a cost of many £1000s, you need to be sure you’re producing meat, or it’s an expensive game. The farm is a business like any other, and has to be run as such.”
SouthDevons Devons| |7 7 South
“Proven system producing an easy fleshed cow with good milking ability and a docile nature” Brian MacTaggart - Castle Douglas
“They’re still big, heavy
cows, despite the Angus blood, so they really come into their own in terms of cast cow
”
prices
“They also do well over
the winter so don’t need a massive amount of
”
feeding.
www.sdhbs.org.uk 8 | South Devons
Having previously bought in South Devon heifers, Brian has now set up a nucleus herd of 40 purebred South Devon cows, as he was finding it increasingly difficult to source from TB-4 areas only. “We bought a Brafferton bull at the Society’s Sale at Skipton – we’re not interested in the pedigree side, but wanted good growth and milk EBVs, and decent bloodlines. The Angus and South Devon parent stock traits are very important as they’re going to be passed on throughout the herd.”
Brian then puts a light-framed Limousin bull onto the maiden heifers, followed by a Charolais terminal sire each year after that. “We calve the heifers at two and a half years old – the Limousin ensures easy calving, and the Charolais then complements the crossbred cow, combining good growth rates, easy fleshing, milking ability and docility.”
The 1500-acre estate now includes around 160 Angus x South Devon cows, as well as almost 1000 ewes comprising Texels, North Country Cheviots, Herdwicks and Mules. Despite being close to sea level, the farm has a real mix of good silage leys and rocky permanent pasture, with 60 acres of barley. “We try to reseed the silage leys every four to five years, with a mix of ryegrass, Timothy and clover,” says Brian.
Any Angus x South Devon calves that aren’t kept as replacements are sold as forward stores at about 12-15 months old, weighing around 440kg. Limousin crosses are sold at 380-400kg at 12 months old, with Charolais crosses making 450-480kg at the same age. “We sell privately to finishers within an 18-mile radius,” says Brian. “We don’t finish anything ourselves – it’s all about producing stores.”
He uses either a red or black Angus bull on the South Devons, to produce an easy fleshed cow with good milking ability and a docile nature. “They’re still big, heavy cows, despite the Angus blood, so they really come into their own in terms of cast cow prices,” he adds. “They also do well over the winter so don’t need a massive amount of feeding.”
He calves 130-140 cows outside over 10 weeks from mid-March, with the remainder calving over the same period outside from mid-August, to split the workload. “We creep feed the spring calves from midsummer, so that they’re used to hard food before being weaned at housing time,” he says.
Brian MacTaggart has managed Douganhill Farms near Castle Douglas for 36 years – and there have been South Devons there for as long as he can remember. The team initially used South Devon bulls on dairy x Limousin suckler cows, but later decided to opt for something a bit hardier, so for the past 20 years have been using South Devon x Aberdeen Angus suckler cows instead. “The system works – we’ve been selling stores to the same finishers for 14 years, so we’ve got no plans to change,” he says.
All the cows are loose housed on straw from around the end of November until April, with autumn calves kept on their mothers until early July – albeit with creep feed on offer. “We have a big problem with flies, so they’re a bit healthier and stronger by weaning later,” says Brian. “It also keeps the unborn calves from getting too big if the calf is still suckling.” The cows are fed straw and grass silage over the winter, with autumn calvers also getting 1kg of barley and minerals. “The spring calves are kept on slats for their first winter and get a 16% protein growing nut, plus barley in their last two months,” says Brian. “Any replacements then spend their second winter outside, after they’ve been to the bull. It’s a well-proven system for us, and we’re extremely happy with it.”
South Devons | 7 9
“Suckler-bred bull beef – the same commercial capabilities as the continentals, but much quieter!” Richard Newbould is specialising in producing South Devon bull beef
“We had been using
Limousins and
Simmentals, and then kept our own heifers – but you couldn’t get anywhere near them when they calved,” he says. “They were just so wild, and I wanted something a bit quieter but with the same commercial capabilities.
”
Bull beef finishing systems often consist of barns full of dairy Friesian crossbreds, not suckler-bred South Devon cattle. But Scotland-based Richard Newbould is specialising in producing South Devon bull beef, and making a tremendous success of it, too. Richard’s family moved to Meikle Cloak Farm, Dalbeattie, Kircudbrightshire, 26 years ago, and have been finishing bull beef there since 1995. Having relocated from Lancashire, the former dairy farmers used continental crossbreds for a long time. But Richard introduced South Devon breeding in 2002, when he bought his first South Devon bull. “We had been using Limousins and Simmentals, and then kept our own heifers – but you couldn’t get anywhere near them when they calved,” he says. “They were just so wild, and I wanted something a bit quieter but with the same commercial capabilities.” Having visited Douglas Scott’s Grove herd in Gloucestershire, Richard headed off to Perth sales, but missed out on the Grove bull. Instead, he ended up at David Irving’s farm near Lockerbie that same evening. “As soon as I saw the bull – Enterprise Americano – in the field, I liked him,” he says. “David went out and haltered him, and we loaded him up there and then – I’ve never seen anything like it.” This bull proved to be a real turning point for the herd. “He left a really good stamp on his daughters – they are all good and fleshy and are now the best in the herd,” says Richard. “We thought the bulls would be quite plain, but they’ve got so much shape and growth; we had the best growth rates we’ve ever had from his first crop.”
www.sdhbs.org.uk 10 | South Devons
That first group of South Devon-sired bulls, finished in 2004, slaughtered nine days earlier than their Limousin x counterparts, with a 35kg heavier carcass weight on average. “That equated to £50 a head at the time – now it would be more like £100 a head; it was amazing.”
Since then, the South Devon crossbreds have either matched or exceeded the continentals on almost every occasion. “You can’t separate them on carcass grades – they’re almost all Us, with a few Es and Rs thrown in.” Richard uses his South Devon bulls on Limousin x Friesian or Angus x Friesian suckler cows, and is increasingly moving towards a 75% South Devon cross with the resulting heifers. This year he will be calving 90 females, 75 of which are South Devon crosses. “By the end of next year they will all be South Devon crosses,” he says. “Our first South Devon cows are now 11 years old, and I would hope they’ll go for another three years yet. We’ve got one Limousin bull and when he goes, I don’t know whether we’ll replace him with another Lim or a South Devon.” When choosing a bull, Richard opts for growth and natural fleshing, using a combination of estimated breeding values and looks. “In 2009 I bought Arncliffe Fothergill, who had very high EBVs, and one of his bull calves was exceptional. It finished at 438 days at 452.2kg deadweight, and graded U4L. The mother went to Agri-Expo for the South Devon stand and had a heifer calf by the same bull this year.”
In 2012, eight bull calves sired by Fothergill averaged 0.91kg deadweight gain a day, compared to a herd average of 0.87kg. The whole herd averaged 425 days to slaughter at an impressive 371kg. “It was one of the best years we’ve ever had.” Richard calves the heifers at two years old from late February until May, with about three-quarters calving indoors before turnout. “When I’m choosing heifer replacements I look at the mother first – you want a cow that grows fast but carries its flesh really well,” he says. “They also need to be milky mothers, and have good feet.” The farm is only between 150ft and 300ft above sea level, but the grazing is very rocky, with plenty of harsh weather. “We had 60 inches of rain last year, which is a lot less than we had the year before. But the South Devons cope very well – it doesn’t seem to affect them at all.”
From August onwards, Richard offers creep feed to all the calves at up to 3kg a head, and then weans them at the end of October when they are loose housed on straw with ad-lib grass silage. The 10-12 heifer replacements are given 2kg of cake over the winter, and grazed over the summer, having gone to the bull from 1 July. Bull calves are kept entire, and fed 5kg of creep feed a day from weaning until January, increasing to 10kg before finishing indoors at 13-14 months old. Richard sells any surplus heifers as yearlings, as he doesn’t have enough space to finish them all, and sells all the bulls deadweight to ABP at Perth. “They’re very quiet – we have to clip some of the bulls that go in April, and they just amble down the race,” he says. “The growth rates and carcasses are very comparable to the continentals, but they are much quieter, so you can breed your own heifers and get daughters from the best cows in your herd. It’s been a real success.”
South Devons | 11
“The docility of the South Devon, its growth rates and maternal characteristics, are the lynchpin of the whole system” Mike Powley - Yorkshire Tremendous attention to detail earned Mike Powley the title of Beef Farmer of the Year in Farmers Weekly’s inaugural national awards – and it’s not hard to see why.
“It’s not just about
top quality grazing, it’s about having cows with the genetic ability to
”
make the most of it.
“We sell to Asda via ABP, so aim for a
premium grade – we get a 25p/kg bonus for E grades, which on a 417kg carcass is £104,” says Mike. “Last year, 74% were E grades, with 18%
”
U+ and the rest U-.
www.sdhbs.org.uk 12 | South Devons
Managing his grassland intensively like many dairy farmers, he seeks to maximise growth from forage, and uses cutting edge genetics and technology to ensure optimum efficiency. “We want high performance cattle from a low input system,” he says. “It’s not just about top quality grazing, it is about having cows with the genetic ability to make the most of it.” Mike buys in the best quality South Devon heifers he can find, to keep a nucleus purebred herd of about 22 females at Elm House Farm, Green Hammerton, Yorkshire. He then inseminates them with elite sexed Limousin semen, to produce what he calls his red suckler cows. “We choose genetics based on Estimated Breeding Values, and select for maternal traits like easy calving, good growth and milk figures – we’re looking for the top 5-10% of the breed at any time,” he says. Hybrid vigour from the first cross boosts performance by 12-13%, and the resulting cows are slightly smaller and better shaped than the parent stock. However, the docility of the South Devon breed, its growth rates and maternal characteristics, are the lynchpin of the whole system. “The farm could not operate as it does without South Devons – they really do tick all the boxes for us,” says Mike. “They are so good-natured; you can pick up their feet in the field, check them when they’re calving – it makes our management a lot easier and safer. They milk well, are long-lived, and produce strong calves every year. We want a herd of ‘ghost cows’ that you only see when you serve and calve them.” Mike uses Angus semen on the heifers, which calve at two years old, and sexed British Blue semen on the cows, to produce fast- growing bull beef with excellent carcass weights and grades.
“We’re aiming to average 1.5kg daily liveweight gain throughout their lives – in 2012 we averaged over 1kg daily deadweight gain and the top animals net 10-15% more than that. In the future, we want to find out why that is, and mimic it across the group.” The 100 cows start calving inside on 10 March, and are grazed on a rotational system to maximise grass palatability and growth. “We turn them out when there’s 2800-3000kg dry matter per hectare, and fertilise the pasture after they’ve grazed it down,” says Mike. “We shut up any paddocks that start to get away from us, to cut for silage, and also have red clover silage to provide a high protein feed.” About half of the 300-acre farm is down to arable crops to produce feed and straw, with the rest a mix of permanent and temporary leys. “It’s a very traditional system – we maximise milk from grass in the spring, to get the cows as fat as possible by the autumn so we can reduce feed costs over the winter.” Mike starts creep feeding the calves from mid-July and changes to the finishing ration before housing in early November. “We also separate the calves and cows before housing, so that they don’t get the stress of too many changes at once. Often, calves take 15 days to start growing again after weaning and housing; we’re getting 18kg of growth over that period, which at £2/kg equates to £36 a head or £3600 overall.”
Bull calves are weaned at 400kg onto a barley-based diet with soya, urea, straw, and red clover silage. Heifers are weaned at six to seven months old onto the best quality red clover silage, with 1kg of the barley mix. “We aim for 1kg daily LWG over the winter, graze them over the summer and finish them around Christmas time,” says Mike. “We sell some heifers for breeding, and others we slaughter locally and butcher for our own beef boxes – at the moment we’re doing three or four animals a year, but consumers are quite sensitive to price at the moment.” The bull calves finish at 400 days old with an average carcass weight of 417kg. “We sell to Asda via ABP, so aim for a premium grade – we get a 25p/kg bonus for E grades, which on a 417kg carcass is £104,” says Mike. “Last year, 74% were E grades, with 18% U+ and the rest U-.”
However, next on the list will be improving the housing to boost light and ventilation. “We strongly believe that prevention is better than cure – we foot trim regularly, balance our feeding, and put the bulls in the airiest, driest shed as they are under the most pressure,” says Mike. “The cows are happy in the general purpose shed, but it is next on our to-do list.”
Using a British Blue terminal sire has also improved the killing out percentage. “Our bulls average 62%, compared to the national average of 55%, which is a gain worth having. It’s simple little things like that which really drive the business – it costs us no more to add that kind of value.” Keen to foster relationships throughout the supply chain, Mike works closely with Asda, Genus and other organisations to develop trial work and genetics. He has also sat on the EBLEX board for a number of years, encouraging the development of new export markets and the Better Returns Programme. “I’ll talk to anyone and everyone throughout the supply chain – we’re always trying to improve what we’re doing and, in turn, help others in the industry.” Current trials on the farm include heat time collars and rumen temperature boluses to aid heat detection and predict calving. “All the cows are very closely related genetically, so we can help to assess bulls for Genus,” he adds.
South Devons | 13
“How a science-based approach to genetic improvement, and attention to detail improves profitability in the Oxey commercial herd of pedigree South Devons” W J Wright & Son - Leicestershire
“We keep feeding costs
as low as possible, and
this year the spring ‘12 and spring ‘13 batches will be overwintered purely on silage and straw,” says Richard. “The average deadweight of those finished in 2013 was 380kg and we sell most to a local butcher as the beef quality is excellent.
”
Breeding pedigree beef cattle is a serious commercial venture for WJ Wright & Son at Oxey Farm, Tilton on the Hill, Leicestershire. Richard and Geoff Wright use Estimated Breed Values to continually improve the herd, aiming for maximum growth rates, grass conversion, and, ultimately, productivity. “We sell pedigree breeding animals and stores for finishing, and finish a proportion of stock ourselves,” says Richard. “We think that taking a science-based approach to genetic improvement is the most economic way to improve profitability.” The Oxey herd now has 230 breeding cows plus followers and Richard keeps 10-12 stock bulls. One of the first homebred bulls was Oxey Reddish 1, whose progeny formed the basis of the herd. Other prominent bulls include his sire, South Crosland Prince Regent 12, as well as Juniper Victor, Brafferton Starbuster and more recently the polled bull Polkinghorne Nimrod. Richard either buys in replacement bulls or selects them from his youngstock, basing his choice on growth rates, calving ease, fertility and longevity. “We are currently focussing on breeding polled stock; in 2013 Oxey Nimrod 6 won the society’s Best Bull and Best Polled Animal,” he says. The female lines originate from a number of families bought when the herd was established in the late 1980s, including Patience, Gossip, Fiona, Ruth, Countess and Katie. Richard usually calves heifers at three years old, although this year he is experimenting with calving 20 of the heifers at two years old. “The calving rate is key, and was 96% in spring 2013,” he says. Most females calve inside from late February to mid-June. Calves get creep feed at grass from August onwards, and are weaned and weighed on housing
www.sdhbs.org.uk 14 | South Devons
in mid-November, averaging 345kg last year. “The cows are fed straw, silage and mineral supplements, and with a D Value of almost 70 and ME of 11MJ, the silage is of sufficient quality to avoid the need for concentrates.” Richard keeps bulls over the winter on a mix of home grown barley, bought in concentrates and silage. “They graduate from a weaner ration to an intermediate mix, and finally to a finisher ration with a crude protein of 14%.” This year he will castrate about a third of the bull calves, to either finish or sell as stores. His 2012-born bull calves finished at 420 days old with average carcass weights of 345kg and grades of U3. “The daily deadweight gain was 0.82kg, and the bulls were sold to ABP for 386p/kg.” The heifers are either kept as replacements, sold for breeding or finished on grass in their second summer. “We keep feeding costs as low as possible, and this year the spring ‘12 and spring ‘13 batches will be overwintered purely on silage and straw,” says Richard. “The average deadweight of those finished in 2013 was 380kg and we sell most to a local butcher as the beef quality is excellent.”
Until recently the unit has been run as one enterprise from a financial aspect. But Geoff is now improving the accuracy of costings and has split the breeding unit from the fattening unit to identify where profits are being created. “This is quite challenging as there are typically three seasons of heifers, bulls and steers, so allocating costs can be difficult. But last year the livestock business made a positive contribution to profit, before the single farm payment, and the objective is to ensure that this remains the case.” The family set out to have a commercial pedigree herd of South Devons, and are very happy with the results, he adds. “We like the breed as they are very quiet with good carcass grades and weights. We are continually looking at how to improve; it is all about attention to detail and making small incremental gains in all areas of the business.”
The mix of in-hand and rented pasture means that Richard currently set-stocks the grazing. “But we are looking to improve pasture by reseeding and are considering some form of paddock grazing,” he says. “We also monitor all grass for nutrient status and treat it when necessary.” Over the years the business has invested in a number of sizeable sheds that allow the use of machinery to help with feeding and bedding. “This helps keep labour costs down by making feeding and bedding as efficient as possible,” says Geoff. “The limiting factor at present is shed space and the expansion of this will be our next objective. We will focus on well thought-out shed design to allow for good animal welfare, ease of management and feeding.”
South Devons | 15
BREEDPLAN PERFORMANCE RECORDING ESTIMATED BREEDING VALUES (EBVs) The EBV is the best estimate of an animal’s genetic merit for that trait. Each breed’s EBVs are calculated specifically for that breed, for comparisons within the breed, and there can be no cross comparison between breeds. Accuracy: An accuracy value is presented with every EBV and gives an indication of the amount of information that has been used in the calculation of that EBV. The higher the accuracy the lower the likelihood of change in the animal’s EBV as more information is analysed for that animal or its relatives. Low accuracies should be treated with caution. Calving Ease: Calving Ease EBVs are based on calving difficulty scores, birth weights and gestation length information. Negative EBVs mean more difficult calving whilst positive EBVs mean easier calving. Direct: Direct calving ease indicates how this bull influences the birth of its progeny. High negatives are bad whilst high positives are good. Daughters: Daughter’s calving ease indicates how well the animal produces daughters that have easier calving. This is an important trait if you are breeding your own replacements. Again, high negatives are bad whilst high positives are good. BIRTH AND FERTILITY Gestation Length: Gestation Length EBVs (days) are based on AI records and observed natural service. Lower (negative) Gestation Length EBVs indicate shorter gestation lengths which generally relate to easier calving and increased growth after birth. Birthweight: Birth Weight EBV (kg) is based on the measured birth weight of animals, adjusted for dam age. The lower the value the lighter the calf at birth and the lower the likelihood of a difficult birth. This is particularly important when selecting sires for use over heifers.
400: 400-Day Weight EBV (kg) is calculated from the weight of progeny taken between 301 and 500 days of age, adjusted to 400 days and for dam age. This EBV is the best single estimate of an animal’s genetic merit for yearling weight. Higher 400 day EBVs indicate earlier maturing progeny with a greater weight at an earlier age. 600: 600-Day Weight EBV (kg) is calculated from the weight of progeny taken between 501 and 900 days of age, adjusted to 600 days and for dam age. This EBV is the best single estimate of an animal’s genetic merit for growth beyond yearling age. Mature Cow Weight: Mature Cow Weight EBV (kg) is an estimate of the genetic difference in cow weight at 5 years of age. Moderate or larger EBVs are generally more favourable. CARCASE Carcase Weight: Carcase Weight EBV (kg) estimates the genetic difference in carcase weight at a standard age of 650 days. An important trait for finished cattle production. Eye Muscle Area: Eye Muscle Area EBV (cm2) estimates genetic differences in eye muscle area of a 300 kg dressed carcase. More positive EBVs indicate better muscling on animals. Fat: Rib Fat EBV (mm) estimates the genetic differences in fat depth at the rib in a 300 kg dressed carcase. More positive EBVs indicate more subcutaneous fat and earlier maturity, leading to a higher fat classification in slaughtered progeny. Retail Beef Yield %: Retail Beef Yield Percent EBV (%) represents total (boned out) meat yield as a percentage of a 300 kg dressed carcase. A more positive EBV indicates higher percentage yield for the 300 kg carcase size. This is an important trait in finished steers and heifers. QUALITY BEEF INDEX
Scrotal Size: Scrotal Size EBV (cm) is an indicator of male fertility in regards to semen quality and quantity. Higher (positive) EBVs indicate higher fertility. There is also a small negative correlation with age of puberty in female progeny ie, the daughters of bulls with larger testicles may come into season at an earlier age.
The South Devon Quality Beef Index is a combination of all traits into a single figure and is a measure of a terminal sire’s ability to produce prime steers and heifers for the finished market whilst maintaining calving ease at a reasonable level.
GROWTH
The Suckler Replacement Index ranks bulls by their genetic potential for the production of female replacements while producing prime steers and excess heifers for beef production, with emphasis on calving ease and maternal traits.
Milk: 200-Day Milk EBV (kg) is an estimate of an animal’s milking ability. For sires, this EBV is indicative of their daughter’s milking ability as it affects the 200-day weight of their calves. Bulls with high 200 day milk EBVs have more milky daughters. 200: 200-Day Growth EBV (kg) is calculated from the weight of the animals taken between 80 and 300 days of age. Values are adjusted to 200 days and for dam age. This EBV is the best single estimate of an animal’s genetic merit for growth to early ages. The higher the 200 day EBV then the higher the suckled calf or weaning weight.
SUCKLER REPLACEMENT INDEX
VIEWING EBVs AND PEDIGREES ON LINE Visit www.sdhbs.org.uk and click on the ‘On-Line Database’ button. From the menu at the top of the page select ‘EBV Enquiry’ and enter your search criteria. Alternatively to look up a particular animal select ‘Animal Enquiry’ and enter the name or ID of the animal, then click the Search button.
CONTACTS
BREED SALES
SOUTH DEVON HERD BOOK SOCIETY
Pedigree sales are usually held as follows:
Westpoint, Clyst St Mary, Exeter, Devon, EX5 1DJ
Spring Show & Sale
EXETER, end of March
Midland Club Sale
STRATFORD UPON AVON, 1st Saturday May
Autumn Show & Sale
BRISTOL, early October
Skipton Show & Sale
SKIPTON, early November
BREED SECRETARY: CAROLINE POULTNEY 01392 447494 www.sdhbs.org.uk | info@sdhbs.org.uk FINDING SOUTH DEVON BREEDERS ON LINE Visit www.sdhbs.org.uk and click on the ‘On-Line Database’ button. From the menu at the top of the page select ‘Member Enquiry’ and enter your search criteria to find breeders in your area. A current list is also published in our Breed Journal. Please contact the SDHBS office to request a copy.
REGIONAL COMMITTEES Region
Chairman
Secretary
Cornwall
Stewart Ward 01726 882947
Stacy Thomas 01872 520305
Devon
Richard Burrough 01404 881479
Ann Camp 01364 653460
Wessex
Robert Dimond 01749 812373
Mark Stanley-Smith 01934 750856
South & South East
Mike Kettlewell 01608 644693
Chris Page 01295 740237
East Midlands & Eastern Counties
Kevin Finch 01788 823502
Jo Rodger 01780 480978
Wales & West Midlands
Bob Bostelmann 01785 850575
Richard Hartshorn 01952 770887
North, Scotland & Ireland
Paul Harrison 01347 838725
Alex Welch 01347 838628
If you would like to receive printed sale catalogues for any forthcoming South Devon sales please contact the SDHBS office, 01392 447494 or Kivells auctioneers who conduct most South Devon breed sales, 01409 253275. A list of South Devons currently for sale is published on the SDHBS website –
www.sdhbs.org.uk
SOUTH DEVONS - THE BREED THAT’S QUIETLY GOING PLACES! Very quiet temperament - easy and safe to handle Fast growth rate and early maturity Good beef conformation producing high grade carcases with marbled, well-grained meat Long-lived milky dams with excellent mothering abilities Low cost efficient forage converters – grass-fed beef = Omega 3 Hardy and adaptable
SOUTH DEVON BEEF SCHEMES As a native beef breed the SOUTH DEVON qualifies for a number of retail beef schemes, including Woodheads (Morrisons). It also supplies Dovecote Park for Waitrose’s West Country Beef Scheme, by registered South Devon sires.