A TOTAL of 87 Galloways and Belted Galloways have been exported in one of the biggest ever deals to Spain.
It follows a visit to Scotland and the North of England, by Mike Harding and his Spanish wife who are setting up a herd of Galloways.
In all the couple purchased 12 Belted Galloways and 73 black Galloways, with 36 of the Galloway heifers aged between 17 and 23 months. They were shipped out from the Klondyke herd at Shancastle, Moniaive, last week. 
Two black bulls, including one bred by John and Ann Finlay, Blackcraig, Corsock, were also in the consignment.
“It’s great for the Galloway breed and for us. We’re delighted to be involved in this export deal,” said Scott McKinnon, farm manager at Shancastle.
“The couple were over here and visited various herds before making their purchases. Half of them were sent by lorry from here, with the other half from herds on the east of the country.”
The couple have two farms, or dehesas as they are called in Spain, which use the old ecosystem farming method traditionally employed in two regions of Spain, Extremadura and Salamanca.
Mike Harding said: “We are in Salamaca, not far from the Portuguese border, where there are hot summers and cold (-8°C) winters.
“We have one farm of around 280ha with 200-plus head of breeding females of Spanish Avileñas – a traditional Spanish pedigree breed, half of which we are crossing with Japanese Wagyu.
“Our plan is to phase out of Avileña in the coming years and hopefully switch to the Galloway completely. The Avileña produces good beef but it’s a more difficult animal to manage and handle.”
He added that the main farm at Dehesa de Olmillos, is 275ha with 3km of river frontage, where a rotational grazing system is going to be put in place to complement the traditional dehesa system.
“Our intention is to establish Black and Belted Galloway herds on both farms and to establish a market for the beef. In addition, we want to integrate other local farms by selling them females.
“It’s a long term plan but we are committed to the breed and its characteristics. We think it will adapt well to the conditions here and we are confident the meat quality will set it apart in this country. The rest of the Galloways will be crossed with Wagyu,” said Mr Harding.