WITH wetter winters and typically wetter summers in recent years, more and more producers are looking to Britain’s native breeds to help cope with an ever changing climate. 
For some, that may mean going back to traditional hill breeds but for the Dowling family at Kinnell Estate, using a Whitebred Shorthorn bull over Welsh Black cows produces not only an ideal breeding female for hill ground but also a commercially viable calf that does well for the finishing man and fits well within abattoir specifications. 
Cattle certainly need to make the most of it at Kinnell as the 350 acres that lie on the outskirts of the village of Killin and Loch Tay includes 100 acres of land which is often covered by the loch and a further 100 acres of marshland that is pretty much inaccessible to the cattle during wetter spells.
Here, the Dowlings – Anthony and Kay together with son Oliver – run 200 Blackface ewes as well as 40 Welsh Black cows to produce a calf similar to the Blue Grey cross obtained when using a Galloway dam. 
Speaking at a Whitebred Shorthorn open day hosted by the Dowlings, Anthony explained the importance of a hardy but lightweight cow that is suited to the harsh conditions at Kinnell: “With the current climate we’re working in, we’ve got to think of the impact the cows will have on the ground. 
“We had numbers up to 60 cows that were fully out-wintered, but the last two winters were very wet and they made a fair old mess of the ground so we are reluctantly cutting back to around 40 as severe poaching during the winter months resulted in much poorer grazing the following spring and summer.”
But that’s what the family like about both the pure Welsh Blacks and the Blue Grey breeding females – they’re hardy and capable of putting up with some wild weather and utilising what can often be poor grazing on the hill. 
There’s plenty longevity about them too and in the age-old debate of whether to calve down at two or three years of age, Anthony pointed out that for the tough ground at Kinnell he opts to calve his females at three years. 
“I think calving down at two is just too small for the ground we have here,” explained Anthony.
“If I could depend on getting the weight and growth on young heifers I’d be happy to calve them at 24 months – we have had a couple this year that accidentally got in calf and calved at 24 months no bother at all, they just spat them out. 
“But I do worry about getting them back in calf,” he added, before members of the open day highlighted their own 18 and 20-year-old cows that have just calved despite having their first at 24 months. 
But it’s the hardiness and self-sufficiency of the Whitebred Shorthorn-sired Blue Grey calves that really impresses the team at Kinnell as they average 35kg at birth and are up on their feet extremely quick, much faster than pure Welsh Black or continental cross calves, according to Anthony.
Having run with their mothers until October, these calves are then speaned and brought inside for their first winter. They’re offered ad lib silage and 1kg a day of 18% protein cake which, until recent years, has served them well but the changing summer weather has impacted silage quality and so they may be offered extra to keep them going. 
They are then kept in until early summer or ‘until the grass grows on Lawers’ before heading to graze on the lower slopes of Ben Lawers. 
The steers are then sold in one batch to a regular buyer at roughly 18 months, straight off the field with an average weight of above 400kg although Anthony admits that last year’s group took a check thanks to the weather and weighed in around the 375kg mark. During the last three years, these have averaged roughly £2 per kg.
From here, they’re fattened and sold through Scotbeef in one batch at mostly R grades with weights ranging from 250kg to 330kg deadweight, well within the current abattoir specification for lighter cattle. 
“This year, we sent three different groups to three different locations for their summer grazing, from Crieff to Lawers, so it will be interesting to see the difference when they head away in a few months,” commented Anthony, adding that the breed’s ability to utilise poor forage is one of the main reasons for selecting a native breed. 
While the Blue Grey bullocks bring in their own share of capital, aided further by their eligibility for the MorrisonsTraditional Beef Scheme, it’s the Blue Gray females that are really starting to sell well for Anthony. 
“We’ve got a very high health status, Elite in fact, and this is part of the reason we opted for the Whitebred Shorthorn bull as we may as well use our health status and sell breeding heifers as people are looking at health status a lot more these days,” he said of the Blue Grey heifers. 
These heifers are also sold on once they’ve returned from summer grazing and fetch £900 to £1200 per head, selling to the same buyers ranging from Islay to Sutherland as well as locally. 
While there may be plenty of the traditional Blue Grey females grazing on Scotland’s hills, it’s the cross to the Welsh Black that really clicks for Anthony, despite the trouble he faces trying to get a hold of new bloodlines due to the lack of herds in Scotland and TB issues in Wales.
“The Welsh Black brought hardiness to Kinnell – they’re a tough type of cow that wouldn’t look misplaced in a commercial herd. 
“I have tried continental bulls but I like a peaceful life,” he joked. 
Adding to the peaceful life is the fact that the Kinnell females are all naturally polled, and while the Whitebred Shorthorn will occasionally throw a calf with horns it’s a massive labour saver to only have to dehorn a small portion of the herd. 
Anthony added: “I also think that polled Welsh Black bulls have a much better natural shape and have less bone than non-polled. After all, you can’t eat horns or bone so what’s the point in growing them?”
Adapting to changing environmental conditions is key for farmers going forward, and for the Dowlings there’s no doubting that the Welsh Black and Whitebred Shorthorn breeds offer a sustainable future.