Enterprising young couple, Ross and Elaine Pattinson, have packed a lot into the last decade – establishing their successful pedigree Top Side British Blue herd, setting up a commercial dairy herd – and, most recently, diversifying into direct sales of milk to customers.

In their first farming business together, the couple took on the tenancy of Temon Farm, near Brampton, right on the Cumbria-Northumberland border, in 2011.

The Cumbrian-born pair first set up their small herd of Blues which, within a short space of time, was winning accolades in the show ring and achieving leading prices at pedigree sales – as well as breaking new ground in British Blue polled cattle breeding.

While Elaine’s farming background was with breeding and showing pedigree Blue and commercial beef cattle, Ross, a recent past chairman of the Border British Blue Club, had worked with dairy cattle as well as the family’s pedigree Simmental cattle – providing a good spread of experience for the farming partnership.

Milk production was a natural progression for the Pattinsons, who are helped on the 560-acre farm by their children Lexi (8), Phoebe (7), and Seth (5). The children have a small flock of sheep alongside their parents' 65-ewe mixed commercial flock and 180 Cheviot hoggs, which they run on to sell as gimmers.

some of the Temon cows tucking into the home grown silage Ref:RH140121108 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

some of the Temon cows tucking into the home grown silage Ref:RH140121108 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

Seeing the potential to diversify and future-proof their business through milk production the Pattinsons invested in New Zealand type Jersey-Friesian autumn calving dairy cattle in the summer of 2018 and they are now milking 130-140 cows. A further development to add more value to the dairy venture has been setting up a retail outlet.

Temon Farm Milk Barn was opened a month before Christmas 2020, capitalising on the farm’s location on the busy A69 trunk road between Carlisle and the North-east.

The Pattinsons, with a 20% investment from their landlord, used their own capital to renovate a traditional stone barn on the farm to house a milk vending machine and a 120-litre milk pasteuriser and washing facilities.

As well as selling milk direct to the consumer in glass bottles, a range of local produce including other dairy products, free-range eggs, bacon and fresh vegetables are sold. There is also a coffee machine and visitors can make up their own milk shakes from a dozen flavours which are proving popular with children.

The milk vending machine in the Milk Barn at Temon Ref:RH140121094 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

The milk vending machine in the Milk Barn at Temon Ref:RH140121094 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

Not only has it enabled the Pattinsons to market the creamy and non-homogenised milk from their herd direct to customers but it has enabled Elaine, who previously worked off the farm as a hairdresser, to do more work at home.

“We have looked at milk vending set-ups when we have been on holiday and after 18 months of milking the cows we decided to give it a go,” said Ross. “In the first month we were open we have had a lot of customers and at the current rate of sales is adding 2p per litre to our total daily milk sales.”

Elaine, helped by the children, continues to come up with fresh ideas to help improve the new outlet and increase the footfall, although covid restrictions have been hampering this. This has included inviting a pizza van and a burger van on the site.

 all you need for a yummy breakfast, bacon sausage and eggs are also for sale Ref:RH140121096 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

all you need for a yummy breakfast, bacon sausage and eggs are also for sale Ref:RH140121096 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

To set up the dairy system in 2018, they bought a second-hand 16 x 16 parlour which Ross had converted to a single-sided herringbone to fit into an existing stone barn. “The type of cow we wanted needed to suit the marginal farm and a grazed grass based system. They also needed to fit the existing cubicles built for suckler cows,” said Ross, who has previously worked with high production pedigree Holsteins.

“We were able to buy the cattle at several hundred pounds a head cheaper, which all adds up when you are setting up a herd,” added Ross. “We bought mostly autumn calving cows, which also helped with the price and we felt we wanted to concentrate on the milking in the dark, winter months, although the herd is likely now to move towards all year round calving.”

Between 130 and 140 cows are now in milk at Temon, which is the optimum with the housing and time available in the parlour. Half the herd calves from August to October, while the original Jersey cross Friesians have been added to with other bought-in Friesian and Ayrshire crosses.

The herd is at the optimum number of milkers and the breeding programme is using three different AI sire types – Irish Holstein, Swedish Viking Red and Viking Jersey. Most cows are being served with sexed semen once and across the herd around 60% is holding to first service. After first service, they are run or AI'd with a Blue bull.

The bulls are matched to the small, medium and large cows, respectively, which Ross selects by eye, with the aim of eventually having a closed herd of medium-sized black, hard-footed, fertile cows producing quality milk.

At the turn of the year the herd was averaging 24 litres of milk a day at 4.6% butterfat and 3.6% protein. Cell counts were running at 150. Milk is sold to Woodcocks’ Yew Tree Dairy, in Chorley, on a milk solids contract.

The second-hand parlour is working well, with Ross being helped with 12 milking a week by Hannah Kennedy, plus another relief milker doing four milkings. “We didn’t want to invest a lot in the parlour to see if the dairy enterprise was going to work – and it is,” said Ross. “The one-sided parlour is working well as, between sides, other jobs such as feeding calves and scraping beds can be done.”

To set up the dairy system in 2018, they bought a second hand 16x16 parlour which Ross had converted to a single sided herringbone to fit into an existing stone barn Ref:RH140121104 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

To set up the dairy system in 2018, they bought a second hand 16x16 parlour which Ross had converted to a single sided herringbone to fit into an existing stone barn Ref:RH140121104 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

To get the most out of the farm’s grassland and the cross-bred cows, Ross has joined the North-east LIC grazing group. As a result of adopting a different silaging policy and taking three cuts instead of two, the improved quality of the crop has enabled concentrates to be reduced by 2kg a cow to an average 8kg per head per day. The cows are also averaging 2 litres a day more milk than 12 months ago.

The aim to run a closed herd is to maintain the high health status, particularly for Johnes, required for the pedigree Blue herd which also includes tag testing all calves for BVD.

As well as providing an extra income stream, the dairy herd dovetails for the Pattinsons’ breeding advancements with Top Side Blues. “We are using dairy heifers as recipients for the Blue embryos and we’re getting about 80% success rate with the heifers holding the embryos,” said Ross.

Top Side Isla by Strathearn Carvalho, has excelled in the show ring, winning the breed championship and the premier exhibitor awards over the years Ref:RH140121113 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

Top Side Isla by Strathearn Carvalho, has excelled in the show ring, winning the breed championship and the premier exhibitor awards over the years Ref:RH140121113 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

The heifer calves from the dairy herd by the Blue bull are in demand as suckler cows because of their rich and plentiful milk as well as their good fertility and high health. Top Side Blues continues to go from strength to strength, partly as a result of the discovery of a polled gene in the herd’s breeding.

Elaine’s late father David Gill had a herd of Blues, at Ireby and used the Blue bull to breed commercial show calves. After David’s passing, the couple got their first pedigree Blue cattle from Elaine’s grandparents and uncle – Lowthwaite Cuddles, a baby calf suckling her dam, Wendy Woo.

Cuddles is still in the herd and has the heterozygous polled gene – until recently a rare gene in the breed. The emphasis in establishing the herd has been on muscle, height and mobility – what the Pattinsons see as the breed’s important traits – in breeding up the herd from a select few foundation females using mainly AI and ET to produce a type in between British and Belgian cattle.

With the use of homozygous polled semen from Belgium, the Pattinsons are flushing the heterozygous positive-tested breeding females in the herd with the aim of progressing the polled gene to homozygous which they believe will become an important trait in the future.

“I think it will only be a matter of time with animal welfare that UK breeders will be selecting for the polled gene – as they are doing already in some European countries,” said Ross.

“Already milk buyers are asking their producers if they use polled genetics, so it is becoming increasingly important for the British Blue where the majority of bulls at stud are being used on the dairy herd,” he added.

The demand for polled genetics is evident as three, 14-month-old heterozygous polled Top Side bulls recently have been sold to stud – one in Belgium, another in the UK and one to Ireland – and two breeding females carrying the line have been sold to Belgium. The bull sold to Belgium has classified as the highest scoring polled bull in the stud in a system similar to Holstein classification.

“The more muscled they are the better for using on rangy Holstein cows,” said Ross. “With dairy breeding in mind, we are also trying to breed a white bull which produces a blue roan calf out of a black and white cow which makes the calf easier to identify as having a Blue sire.”

Top Side British Blues’ most influential foundation female so far has been Rathlyon Dinah, by Heros du Peroy and a daughter of Bringlee Baroness, which has bred the herd’s top priced bulls so far. The Pattinsons say the 3500gns they paid for Dinah, the champion at Carlisle, in 2011, was the best money they have spent and they are also concentrating on breeding from her line. She is still in the herd today.

Dinah’s daughter Top Side Isla, by Strathearn Carvalho, has excelled in the show ring, winning the breed championship and the premier exhibitor awards at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show.

Isla provided the Pattinsons’ first breed championship win at the Great Yorkshire Show 2019. She was shown with her third calf Top Side Our Boy, a bull, at foot. Isla’s sire was by Gitan a renowned breeder of show calves.

She is half sister to Top Side Jake and Joey and among her many show accolades was the female champion at the Royal Highland Show in 2014.

“Top Side Isla has raised the herd profile. She has been shown since she was 12 months old and she is now seven years old past June. She was Dinah’s first natural calf. She just calved her fourth natural calf on New Year’s Day 2021.”

Leaving his mark on the herd has been the bull Naby Golddust, bred by the Dents, of Lartington, Barnard Castle. Now nine years old, he is producing Belgian type modern, tall calves which are correct on their legs. The Pattinsons have collected semen from him.

Isla son the 18-month-old Topside Our Boy, by Naby Golddust, was sold recently to the Lees, of Agars Hill, Whitfield, and the Pattinsons believe he is one of the best bulls they have bred bred to date.

They have been successfully advancing their breeding pro-gramme through IVF working with Paragon at Newbiggin, near Penrith and their own vet, Kevin Beattie, at Capontree, Brampton, who is on call to implant the embryos working with natural heats, which is proving 80% successful first time.

The Pattinsons are also working closely with AI companies and their future requirements for bulls with polled genetics. “The aim is to breed a homozygous bull – and a white one to breed blue roan calves for the dairy market,” said Ross. “The colour could prove to be the most difficult bit."