LEYS Castle Highland cattle may have been absent from the sales’ circuit for a good number of years, but with a new stockman at the helm and a successful show season under their belt, the fold is all geared up for a comeback.
As the second oldest Highland cattle fold in the world and renowned for being one of the main exporters to the continent in the 1970s and 1980s – Leys Castle Highlanders can still be found near the appropriately Highland capital – Inverness. Now owned by Dougie McGilvray and his family, who purchased the 3500-acre estate in 2010, it’s estate manager, Hugh Saggers – who began his career at Leys Castle 25 years ago – and stockman, Dale Scott, who attend to the native cattle enterprise, with Dale, in particular, eager to get the fold back on the map.
As well as the Highlanders, head stockman, Graeme Sutherland, with Dale’s assistance, runs a herd of 230 Simmental cross sucklers and a small pedigree Charolais herd. The commercial cattle are initially put to the Limousin and then onto the Charolais, with their calves sold through the store ring at Thainstone. It’s hoped that by next year they will be able to use all home-bred replacements, maintaining another closed herd.
Previously running a commercial ewe flock, 400 Blackface hoggs are wintered on the estate every year to aid with grazing and to bring in some extra income.
A selection of Leys cows looking fit before calving
“Highland cattle are great for their ability to utilise the poorer grazing ground on the 1200-acre hill and it seems to be where they are happiest. Previously, we had the Highlanders on good quality grassland, which we found altered their temperament, as they were more difficult to work with,” commented Hugh.
He added that they are now so much easier handled since Dale joined the team: “Dale knows exactly how to work them which has made a huge difference."
Both Hugh and Dale are 100% committed to the easy maintenance of the breed.
“Feed costs for all the Highland cattle are minimal, regardless of their age. Having such a large area of ground that can hold the breed means they are more viable, as it can take three times as long to realise the price of a Charolais calf, therefore the margin can be better,” said Hugh. “Our calves are naturally reared on their mothers until weaning late November and the only feeding the cows get is silage in the winter months when they are grazing a 30-acre hill park.
“The heifers retained for breeding are kept on a separate hill block in the summer and then are brought down to the lowland ground in the winter too. The easy-calving characteristics of the Highland and their good quality milk, means we rarely have to assist at calving time,” he argued.
An autumn-born bull calf, pictured with his mother, is a hopeful for the future
As a result, he believed demand for the Highland will improve: “I think we will see more of a switch back to hardy native breeds, like the Highland, because they can be outwintered. It’s so expensive to keep cattle indoors during the winter and calving some of the continental breeds is becoming more difficult.”
While the Leys Castle fold is 100% pure-bred, the aim is to boost numbers to 50 head to produce top end pedigree cattle for the breed sales at Oban, including females, while also producing progeny that finish in a quicker period of time to bring in some income over the winter months.
But it seems Hugh and Dale have different ideas on what sire is best to use on the bottom end of the fold for crossing once the herd gets to the size they want. Dale is keen to introduce the traditional Shorthorn, which would produce efficient milky commercial females, with better fertility, or in the case of a male, faster maturing and more consistent carcases.
Hugh, on the other hand, wants to experiment with the Italian breed, Piedmontese – a breed which carries a unique gene that causes hypertrophic muscle growth, or double muscling, meaning the calf is born lean and has a growth spurt at around three-months-old.
The current finishing process for the Highlanders at Leys Castle sees stot calves finish at three years of age on a barley creep and concentrate diet outside, at around 500kg. These animals are finished for the McGilvray family’s hotel – Borve Country House Hotel, which they run on the Western Isle of Lewis, where they also own the 12,000-acre famous sporting business at Garynahine Estate.
This year, however, the business is going down a completely different route and will finish the stots in November, at 30-36 months of age but through a Dovecote Park/Waitrose contract, where they will receive a ‘native’ premium in the hope of making more pennies.
One of the Oban entries, Coinneach Rhiabhach of Leys
The team also has high hopes for the top end of the fold, having forked out 5000gns at Oban, last February, for a new herd sire, Cathag Dhu of Craigowmill.
“Last year, for the first time, we purchased a black bull, which will hopefully leave darker, red coloured calves and thereby release some of the yellow colour from the fold which has built up over the years. The traditional red colour in both males and females looks far better, especially when you are trying to sell Highlanders,” pointed out Dale, who joined the team three years ago.
Hugh added: “We always buy for length and horns, rather than concentrating on the back end. But, our new stock bull looks to be easy fleshing too, so we hope that his progeny will fatten well.”
As far as the Oban show and sale is concerned, next week will be the first time Leys Castle have sold bulls in nearly two decades. Forward for sale are two February, 2015-born bulls – Duke 10 of Leys, sired by Jock of Lyntoun, and Coinneach Rhiabach of Leys, which stood reserve male at Grantown Show, last year.
Another heading to Oban is Duke 10 of Leys
Outwith Grantown, there were plenty of other show successes in 2016, with Dosan 28 of Leys, a two-year-old heifer, picking up the inter-breed championship at Lochaber but also the breed title at Fettercairn, Nairn and Grantown, and the reserve honours at the Black Isle and Tarland.
Having stood champion 19 times and reserve champion 14 times at the Winter Fair some years ago, the team will be venturing to the Royal Highland Show this year for the first time in a long time with last year’s show-winning heifers.
“Let’s face it, not only are Highland cattle great animals to work with, the social side of the breed is good too!” pointed out Hugh.
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