SKYE LINE FARMS

Belted Galloways - Tara, ON

It began with a bull. A seven month old bull calf to be exact. He was well developed for his age, with a solid frame, great stance and a perfect shape. It was love at first sight and whilst not many cattlemen starting a herd would begin with a bull - that’s how our story began. His name was Laurel Spring Rupert and, as a complete outcross bull, his breeder recommended they would have started with him too. It was excellent advice that was listened to! Rupert was bought on the spot - and so our Belted Galloway journey began….

Early on in our quest to build a herd, we realized it was not easy to find registered female Belted Galloways (Belties). We searched far and wide and asked many questions to snag that elusive first cow. Whilst there were lots of commercial Belties available, we recognized that there were few registered cows being sold at that time. We were lucky to land our first, Windchime Destiny, after a twelve hour round trip to Ottawa valley. We were also delighted to have help from some of the more established breeders to give us guidance about the breed along the way. Windchime Farm and Big Curve Acres Farm were particularly helpful, and we appreciated the guidance.

We were drawn to the breed primarily because they were reminiscent of my former Scottish home, but also because of the niche they could fill on some difficult and largely unworkable terrain on the periphery of the farm. The steepness of which could only really be mastered by a breed that was well adapted to the mountainous Southern Uplands of southwestern Dumfries and Galloway. Over many centuries, the breed had developed their low set centre of gravity, surefootedness and fantastic conversion and forage ability in truly harsh conditions. This, together with their well developed two layered hair coats for extreme conditions, set them apart in terms of durability and the ability to withstand whatever inclement weather conditions were thrown at them here in Ontario.

Other sterling attributes include their calving ease, sound mothering instincts, calm nature, great udders and reliable milking ability. To that end, in Scotland, they were historically used as a dual-purpose breed (both beef and dairy). Indeed, some of our herd pedigrees go back to ownership by the Edinburgh Milk Marketing Board, where they were used as milking cattle in their dairy herds.

The experience garnered during establishment of the Skye Line herd set our course and our outlook on the breed here in Canada. It was quickly recognised that a relatively small breeding population is evident, and outcross bull genetics are difficult to find generally. When we began our herd, the breed was classified as Endangered. We decided a two-tiered effort would be required to address these concerns. To that end we primarily focussed on adding to the gene pool in Canada to provide a greater diversity and build on the already excellent genetics in existence. Secondly, we wanted to encourage and enable new breeders to become part of the effort towards increasing the population size in Canada, whilst retaining great quality animals in the gene pool.

Our farm grew organically, and whilst we didn’t have any sophisticated marketing models to fall back on, we ticked along selling mostly heifer calves and improved our herd with larger framed broody female seed stock that could produce great bulls. The impetus was to raise grass fed, grass finished, lean beef that was great tasting “like beef used to taste years ago” as some of our customers reported.

We also imported a Scottish Beltie line, to increase the availability of outcross genetics, with the Scottish Champion Clifton Hercules from Anne Bell at the Clifton herd, Dumfries and Galloway. Through working with the breeder directly, we were able to cut out the “middle-man” and their associated handling costs. We went back to basics and bought our own semen tank for shipping - this soon realized a return with other breed importers using some tank space to assist with import costs. The opportunity was also embraced to assist a 4H breeder in the west with provision of a handful of straws.

The advent of COVID-19 also saw an increase in demand in the grass-fed market as more of the general public began to sit back and question what they were eating, and more importantly – what their beef was eating! At that time, almost all of our commercial Belties were sold to breeders for finishing and raising their own beef too. By having a specialist market and appealing to other quality beef breeders and customers, we avoided the food chain of supply through mass production to supermarkets. Most importantly - customers were happy to be provided with complete transparency of their food source. As small farmers, the ability to achieve this has given us much hope for the survival of traditional family farms.

We have also been extremely happy to assist another traditional family farm getting into the breed in Ontario. Our bull and majority of cows were leased for two years to Harmony Hill Farm. They recently returned in better shape than they left! We are indebted for all the mutual support whilst we were relocating to a larger farm this past year.

Currently we continue to raise great quality Clifton Hercules bull calves that have been picked up from as far afield as Ottawa Valley (huge thanks Arch Lee Farms). We are also sharing from the lessons learnt from our first import with another breeder, who is importing another Scottish Beltie bull line - soon to hit Canadian soil (way to go 2Bridges!).

Very much looking forward to working with the Galloway Committee under the newly elected CGA President, Brian Robertson, and new and pre-existing Directors alike. One of my personal key interests is to try and establish accurate numbers of live head of cattle in the Beltie herd book, largely through identification and removal of inactive animals. This shall involve a “tidy-up” as it were, of animals shipped or passed, and shall require a collective effort to be as accurate and honest as possible. Hopefully, this shall assist in identification of the true status of the breed so measures in line with population size can be developed accordingly. If, for example, there are fewer Belties than originally believed, and the herd is still at Endangered status – it would allow timely intervention to be made to assist, as need be, in removal of barriers to success for the future of the Belted Galloway breed here in Canada.

We are truly indebted to all the breeders who have helped Skye Line Farms during this ongoing, exciting journey and are humbled how supportive and open minded our fellow breeders continue to be.

Farmers helping farmers!

Slainte-va! (to your good health).

Jules, Darren & Harrison

Skye Line Farms, Tara, ON.

022 has seen a slow return to public activities, with Australian Galloway Association members resuming participation in agricultural shows and field days.

Royal Canberra Show was the first large show for the year, with several entrants across the Galloway family presenting their cattle in the ring. This was followed by the Sydney Royal Easter Show, the Royal Toowoomba Show, the Royal Bathurst Show, and the Royal Brisbane Show. It was great to see Galloway cattle represented at each of theses shows and the cattle gaining attention from onlookers.

Tocal Field Days, in New South Wales, the Seymour Alternative Farming Expo and the East Gippsland Field Days, both held in Victoria, attract a diverse range of people, and members of the Galloway family were on display at all three. The Windaroo Stud of Josh Keech, and the Romani Stud of Shane Smeathers and Will Brigham dealt with crowds of just over 23,500 over the three days of the Tocal Field Days. The cattle on display attracted a lot of interest and a bottle fed calf became the main attraction at the display appealing to many admirers and receiving lots of pats and cuddles from children. Alison Hilli, Jalaway Belted Galloway Beef spent two days at the Seymour Alternative Farming Expo, catching up with past contacts and purchasers of her cattle, as well as meeting many people interested in Belted Galloways. The Pageoway stud of junior member Chelsea Filmer displayed a couple of Belted Galloway females, as well as some Belted Galloway hides, which were admired by many.

The Committee has held four information webinars throughout the year, with topics such as pastures and soils, a cattle Q & A forum, bull breeding and management, and cow breeding and management. These webinars have been well supported by members and it is anticipated they will continue to be held next year.

Two Member’s forums have also been held, via Zoom, and these have proved to be a great way of connecting members and having some meaningful discussions about areas of interest to the members.

The threat of Foot and Mouth Disease entering Australia following an outbreak in the country’s closest neighbour, Indonesia, has created a good reason for members to update their biosecurity plans and become more vigilant about the health of their cattle. It has also provided impetus for a national gene bank, and the Association is proud that Malcolm Cock, the current Association president, is part of a committee looking into the establishment of such a national gene bank.

The Association continues to increase in member numbers, fuelled by the strong interest in all types of the Galloway Family. It is great to see so much support for our diverse range of cattle –Galloway – the breed of choice!