Billy Milne's Glenernan Charolais gear up for bull sales

Devoted to the breed from an early age, Billy was brought up with the Charolais when his parents, William and Nettie Milne, were one of the first in Donside to experiment with the big French sire, Apollon, by AI’ing the ‘house cow’ to a muscly all white.

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Nine months later, and after much excitement, the first Charolais cross calf, a heifer, was born and young Billy was smitten by the animal’s sheer size and power which continues to amaze him.

“We all had our chores when we were younger and in way of payment we would get a calf at the end of the year. I asked if I could keep the Charolais cross Friesian calf for a cow. I’ll always remember winning the calf championship at the old Alford Fat Stock Christmas show and sale with her first calf,” said Billy who has been an avid fan ever since and continued in his father’s footsteps at Milton of Edinglassie relying on the Charolais as the main terminal sire.

The Milnes have beem breeding Charolais cattle since 1997, being good mothers and plenty of milk they fit the system at Glenernan Ref:RH240921094 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

In those days the family had the tenancy at the Milton of Edinglassie, Strathdon, and the Charolais was used as the terminal sire over mainly Simmental cross cows, to breed the golden Charolais cross calf. It was a policy practised for decades on the farm until 2016 when Billy and his wife Moira moved out of the tenanted unit to their neighbouring 140-acre farm at Meikle Tolly – purchased in 1980 and where the Charolais herd is run today.

Giving up the tenancy however meant that commercial herd – again based on Simmental cross cows bulled to a Charolais – had to reduced to allow Billy more time to concentrate his pedigree Charolais cattle, established in 1996.

But while Billy has always been a staunch enthusiast of the big white French breed, his his first pedigree Charolais was acquired more by chance than ambition!

All set to purchase a commercial cow and calf at Thainstone, he ended up buying a pedigree Charolais cow and calf instead.

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“It started as a hobby and got oot o’ hand,” joked Billy, who now runs 40 pedigree Charolais cows plus followers in the Glenernan herd – a prefix originating from where his father started his farming career, ‘herding Blackface sheep. The Milne family ancestors farmed in Glenernan from early 1700s so it seemed an appropriate name

That enjoyable pastime has been extended, but it’s also proving to be a nice little earner, having sold numerous bulls privately over the years at £4000-£5000 and a few others at bigger four-figure prices, to regular customers breeding sale topping suckled calves at the local Thainstone and Shetland markets, for which he is extremely grateful to the help received in the early years from former Delfur Farms’ farm manager, Gibby Scott.

“There is just nothing to beat the Charolais for weight for age and especially if you use them on Simmental cross cows.

William Milne from Glenernan Charolais Ref:RH240921088 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

"And, they can still be finished to meet the lighter 350/400kg carcase weights now demanded by the processors – they just do it quicker and cheaper than any other breed or cross,” said Billy.

“Charolais cattle are just so much easier to work with because they don’t have the same temperament issues of other breeds, and they are really good mothers. We’ve got cows that can rear twins, having had five sets born one year, four of which were reared as twins.”

While Billy does most of the work himself, free-lance stockman and lifelong friend, Sandy Davidson is on hand to help out at busy times and when taking bulls to Stirling, which on their first venture, in October 2019, saw a top price of 5800gns.

Read more: Charolais top Stirling Bull Sales' averages league – Ballinlare Phantom leads at 16,000gns

They almost doubled that – twice – last year too, selling four bulls for more than 8000gns, two of which hit the magical 10,000gns bracket. The bulls are not just selling into commercial herds either as the first bull, Glenernan Northstar, sold at Stirling in October 2019 was purchased by Thrunton and Crookdake and Glenernan Ohboy was knocked down to Kerseknowe at 10,000gns

2020 batch of Glenernan bulls for sale (L-R) RUNAROUND, ROMAN, ROMEO, ROLO, RAMBO, ROD and ROCKET. Rocket is for sale privately and the rest are bound for Stirling Ref:RH240921083 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

In October 2020, their three bulls averaged just shy of £6000.

Impressively, all bulls sold in Stirling have been sons of the 17,000gns Elgin Jagger, a Blelack Blackberet son bought from the Milne family, Kennieshillock, at Stirling in February 2016, at just 16-months of age. Notably, he’s is still going strong too having just past his seventh birthday.

“He was so correct with a great shape and he had such a classy head. He looked the type of bull that would breed good females and that’s what I want. I look to breed good milky cows. There is no point in having cows if they can’t make a job of their calves” said Billy.

While milk and calving ease are important, Billy and Sandy are the first to admit that they select potential stock bulls visually.

“We were just fortunate Jagger had good milk and calving ease figures,” Billy joked.

By looking after the maternal traits since day one, Glenernan has maintained those milky characteristics throughout.

Glenernan cows are heifer out at the grass at Meikle Tolly Ref:RH240921109 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

As it is, Glenernan won the Ben Harman Award in the spring of 2019, with the first heifer calves born from Elgin Jagger, securing the trophy for the highest herd replacement index.

The herd was founded with the purchase of the cow and calf, Asloun Iona, at the Fordies of Torphins dispersal – when Billy had originally gone looking to buy a commercial cow and calf. Impressively, she produced four successive heifer calves – all of which were retained.

While most of the herd stems back to that one cow, Blelack Harriet and her calf were also purchased for 8600gns at the Massie’s second Charolais dispersal and Bevingford Patricia was acquired for her tremendous bull calf at foot, Bevingford Uranus, at the Ploughfield/Bevingford dispersal. Uranus was retained and was used as a stock bull for three years, and then sold privately for 4500gns.

The bull that took the herd up a step further was Mistral Ben, an eight-month-old calf bought privately from former, ex-policeman, Paul Crane.

January born bull calves Sprinter and Samson looking good out at grass Ref:RH240921090 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

“He made the herd,” said Billy. “He was by Moncur General and produced cows that were great mothers with plenty of milk. All his sons were sold to local commercial producers who regularly topped the calf sales with their progeny. His last son is still going at over 10-years-old.”

Dunesk General, a bull bought at the May sale, from Jimmy McMillan, also produced a string of good bulls and females.

Glenernan cattle are easy kept too. Billy added: “Our cows are wintered on silage and straw with barley and mineral supplements and calves are introduced to creep feed from two months of age in the spring, but they are never hopper fed and we don’t feed our sale bulls ad-lib."

It’s a policy which Billy has adhered to since the very start and it is one which is obviously working with none of his previous bull sales ever having had issues with fertility.

So, if you’re looking for a bull that’s fit and able to work, you know where to look as Billy has six crackers entered for the forth coming sales – five of which are by Elgin Jagger and the other is bred from his first daughter and is also worth a look!

He also has high hopes for bulls by his latest acquisition, Thrunton Platinum, a son of Thrunton Gladiator out of the milky Thrunton Hoopla, but they’ll be a good year yet before they come to the market.

Home to the Milne family and Glenernan Charolais herd Ref:RH240921116 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

FARM facts:

Family business: Owned by Billy and Moira Milne

Herd numbers: 40 cows plus followers

Acreage: 140acres at Meikle Tolly purchased in 1980 and a further 21 acres at Bridge of Alford, where home-grown winter keep to include feed barley and silage is grown.

Sales: Charolais bulls sold privately and through Aberdeen and Northern Marts’ Thainstone Centre and United Auctions’ Stirling Bull sales. Pedigree females sold privately and through Huntly.

ONTHE spot

Best investment: Purchase of Meikle Tolly Farm (1980) and Waterside land (2012)

Biggest achievement: Finding a good wife that's stayed with me for 36 years !

What would you do differently if you had the chance: Been a professional footballer if I'd been good enough

Future of the Charolais breed in Scotland: Hopefully if the cow numbers stabilise there will be a future for all breeds

Favourite time of year and why: Spring because the grass starts to grow, the days get longer and the birds are singing in the morning