Breeding the best at Balgay

While the duo have some experience of pedigree cattle, having worked with Limousins from Doug Mash's Brockhurst herd in the early 1990s, most of Mike's working life has revolved around breeding and finishing commercial cattle in Worcestershire. That was up until December 2012, when they were asked by Iain Graham to come and manage the 1200-acre farming unit at Balgay Farm, just outside Perth.

"The challenge was to turn the farm around and to get the full potential out of the pedigree cattle herds," said Mike, adding that the wet summer of 2012, heavy machinery and decades of lack of investment in drainage had caused serious compaction problems to the heavy clay soils at Balgay, resulting in crop yields from the farm's 900 acres of arable ground being half their potential.

Conception rates were a problem in the Aberdeen Angus herd too, with more than 50% of the cows barren when the couple arrived, which, added to a poor mineral deficiency, meant the Angus and the pedigree Beef Shorthorns were seriously underperforming.

Three years on and the picture is a lot rosier. While more than half the original Angus cows have been culled, Angus numbers have increased back up to 60 breeding cows, with 50% of these cows now boasting the Balgay prefix.

Shorthorn numbers are up slightly at 55 and more importantly, yeld rates overall are down to a very impressive 4.6% this year.

Since the purchase of the farm in 2009, huge investment has been made in drainage, resulting in all the pows (drainage ditches) on the farm being re-instated back to their original condition. More than 200 acres of renewed draining along with subsoiling, a three-year red clover rotation and the introduction of organic matter has also greatly improved worm populations.

And, with lighter machinery now being used and reducing tillage costs, this year's winter wheat yield was a healthy 4+t/acre with second wheats at an average of 3.4t/acre.

A large crop rotation combined with the introduction of cattle and subsoiling on a yearly basis, has also helped to dramatically improve soil structure.

The cattle are nevertheless still given an annual selenium, copper and iodine bolus to get round any mineral deficiencies there may be in the soils.

Just as importantly, the Grahams, who also own the Killochries Highland cattle fold, just outside Glasgow, are now seeing a return from their Balgay pedigree cattle herds, with Mike and Jackie - who both work full time on the farm - having produced the farm's best ever sales at Stirling in February 2015.

That day, the couple not only brought out the lead priced Beef Shorthorn bull at 13,000gns but also sold four Shorthorn bulls to average an impressive £7823.

Dearest was the first prizewinner, Balgay Gorgoroth, while their third prize bull, Balgay Gorbadoc made 8000gns and their reserve senior that day, Balgay Gypsy King, was knocked down for 6000gns. Notably, all were sons of Chapelton Braveheart.

Adding to their 2015 success, Balgay topped the Beef Shorthorn section at the multi-breed bull sale at Stirling in May, with Balgay Guarded City, which made 4200gns, while their best Angus sold at the breed sale at Carlisle, the same month, Balgay Equador, was reserve senior and sold for 3200gns.

They were also reasonably pleased with their first Angus females sold at United Auctions, Stirling, last month, when five heifers were cashed to a top of 1900gns to average £1680.

Balgay has also been exhibiting at both local and national shows this year and with notable success having secured numerous prize rosettes and even the junior female championship and reserve overall Beef Shorthorn female honours at the Highland Show.

"Both Shorthorn and Aberdeen Angus breeders and the societies have been fantastic in showing us the ropes at society sales and in assisting us in the show ring. We have met so many good friends who have been there from day one to help us out," said Mike.

But what has Mike changed at Balgay?

He added: "There is no difference between working with pedigree cattle and commercial cattle. We just culled out the worst performing cattle, regardless of their pedigrees.

"All young stock are assessed on a regular basis, with attention paid to breed characteristics, locomotion, top line and looks. Any substandard youngsters are regularly checked to make sure that they are not late developers and any cattle with faults are placed in the fattening pen.

"Our aim is to breed cattle which have the breed characteristics they are supposed to have but most of all we want to breed good healthy Aberdeen Angus and Beef Shorthorns and cattle which last.

"Far too many pedigree bulls don't last any older than four or five years these days which is just not acceptable, especially when you have to pay so much for bulls now."

Mike also believes, many cattle breeds, to include the natives, have become too big to be economical let alone profitable, and as a result, can stand to be downsized somewhat.

"Some of the Aberdeen Angus cattle you see now blow the continental breeds out of the water they are so big, but you don't need a big cow to breed big calves.

"The clay ground here at Balgay doesn't cope with big, 900kg cows, so we're quite happy to downscale cow size slightly, rely on basic home-grown feeds and produce bulls that last, rather than bulls that are pushed from day one.

"We would far rather take less for our cattle in the market place and build up a good customer relationship with breeders who know they can trust our cattle to breed healthy cattle and cattle that last," added Mike.

In saying that, while potential sale bulls are never pushed, the couple do like to look after their young females better to ensure they calve at two and are able to calve regularly every year after.

Mike added: "A lot of cattle breeding is common sense. You can't expect a calved heifer to calve the following year if she is being bullied by older cows in the herd. That is the hardest year of her life as she's not only suckling her first calf, she's also still growing, and has to hold to the bull for the next year. Therefore, to support this we keep all females in their herd groups all year round and the first and second time calvers separate from the main herd, and look after them with just a wee bit of feeding."

In contrast, the only preferential treatment sale bulls get, apart from their basic twice daily home-grown feed ration, is a daily walk - two miles up the drive to be precise on hard concrete which helps to keep their feet and legs right and it teaches them how to walk with a length of stride for the show ring.

While both herds are treated in exactly the same way when it comes to feeding and management, Mike and Jackie were quick to point out, the two breeds are completely different in character.

"Beef Shorthorn are the quietest and probably the easiest to work with, but they require a high level of attention and stockmanship after calving to make sure that the calves have suckled properly. There are probably a lot more individual characters in the Beef Shorthorn breed compared to Angus too," said Mike.

"Aberdeen Angus are slightly more difficult to work with because their maternal instinct is greater at calving time but they are very good mothers and you never need to touch the calves as they have great vigour."

Backing up these statements, Jackie who is more involved with the cattle, while Mike's life revolves around the entire business: "We're definitely warming to the Angus now, and they appear to be warming to us. You have to work with them on a regular basis for them to like you and you them."

Feed rations for the two breeds are exactly the same, although on the run up to the sale pre-sale bulls receive a TMR based on silage, red clover, home-grown barley and oats and mineral with a barley and draff ration.

Calved in March, inside, cows are fed a silage/straw/mineral mix, with the calves having access to a basic creep feed mix from an early age to help develop rumen function.

Admittedly, huge investment has been made not only in the cattle at Balgay, but also the arable side of the business. Now all cropping work, with the exception of straw baling and muck spreading is being done on farm either by, highly skilled, tractorman Tom Bannon or enthusiastic, new apprentice, Craig Caird.

Meanwhile, the cattle, which initially saw Iain Graham, with help from neighbour Ian Hope, purchase the Auldhouseburn herd privately as a foundation stock for the Angus herd, along with Beef Shorthorn females from Chapelton and Fearn for the Shorthorn herd, has bought some of the best and most expensive bulls in the two breeds. The team at Balgay are producing their own replacements, reducing the requirement for future livestock purchases over the next fewyears.

And, having turned the cattle around to be a hi-health herd with a continuing level 1 for Johnes, they are looking to rely more on the home-bred genetics to bolster numbers.

Using Canadian embryos which are already in the tank, and the current stockbulls, Netherton Mr Motivator, Balgay Elevation, Balgay Gentleman Gigha and semen from the former stockbulls, Glenisla Zetor, Chapelton Braveheart and Idvies Eric, they have produced calves with some of the highest index figures this year too.

But while Balgay may not be investing as much over the next few years, you can be rest assured the farm has much to bring to the two breeds, with no fewer than five Beef Shorthorn heifer entries for the sale at Stirling. And what more could you ask for than good, sound healthy cattle bred from the best of genetics at Balgay…