Luing Journal 2011 - Part 1

“The Premier Market for the Premier Breed”

Wallets Marts are delighted to host the 46th Annual Show and Sale of Registered Luing Cattle. Once again we will have forward consignments from all the leading herds from within this popular breed. Purebred Luings and Luing crosses are recognised as one of the most versatile and prolific suckler cows available in todays market. Therefore a visit to Castle Douglas on 11th February is essential to anyone looking to source top quality suckler replacement stock.

2010 saw bulls sell to a top of 13,000gns averaging £4,136 with bulling heifers selling to 3,000gns and averaging £1,631 and in-calf heifers topping at 2,500gns and averaging £2,018.

We also have a strong demand for Luing Store Cattle at our fortnightly Store Sales as well as our Annual Suckled Calf Sale in October.

WALLETS MARTSCASTLE DOUGLAS LTD

New Market Street, Castle Douglas DG7 1HY

Tel: 01556 502381 Fax: 01556 504414

e-mail: [email protected] our website on www.walletsmarts.co.uk

FRIDAY 11TH FEBRUARY 2011

Forty Sixth Annual Show and Sale of Registered Luing Cattle

(held under the auspices of the Luing Cattle Society)

www.luingcattlesociety.co.uk

The Luing CattleSociety Limited

Wester Drumlochy, Lornty, Blairgowrie, Perthshire, PH10 6TD

CONTENTS

Office Bearers and Members of the Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Diary Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4From the Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Promotional Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6The Secretary Writes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Society News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Around the Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9West Preston Open Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Out and About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Luing Shorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Royal Highland Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Ballyoan Heifer Raffle Prize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Royal Ulster Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Canadian Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Charlie Bell Interview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38AGM Dinner and Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Premier Bull Sale Line-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Cattle Breeding in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Promoting Luing Cattle in Northern England . . . . . . . . . . 48Photographic Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50The Price of Pride – Dr Norman Weatherup . . . . . . . . . . . 52Directors’ Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Extracts from Rules, Regulations and Bye-Laws . . . . . . . 56List of Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

ADVERTISERS

Bank of Scotland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back CoverBarr, Milkieston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Cadzow Brothers Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31Caledonian Marts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Cameron, Monzie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Clement & Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Fawcett, Merkland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Fox, College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Galloway & Macleod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Girvan, Buckholm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Henry & Co, Ettrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Hi Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Hugh O’Neil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6John Watson Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Outside Back CoverMacArthur & Co, Nunnerie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51McCorkindale, Scammadale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41McGowan, Dirnanean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15McNee, Benhar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Merial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Moffat, Wooplaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Murray, Rockcliffe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Penny, Harehead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Park, Drinkstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Portequip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33SAC Veterinary Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Symons, Attonburn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Towns & Carnie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6United Auctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Upper Chatto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Wallets Marts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Front CoverWelbeck Scottish Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Printed by Shore Print & Design LtdOffice 4 Clinton’s Yard, Rigs Road,Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS1 2RF

t: 01851 702993 e: [email protected]

FRONT COVER PHOTOGRAPH: STEPHEN LITTLE

Heifer in the snow January 2010

THE LUING JOURNAL – JANUARY 2010

2 THE LUING JOURNAL – JANUARY 2011e: [email protected] t: 01250-873882

R. A. Clement & CoChartered Accountants

Accounts Preparation, • Book Keeping, VAT, PAYEIncome Tax – all aspects • Business Plan and Forecasts.

Specialising inAll aspects of Farming including

Entitlements/Single Farm Payments/Herd Basis etc

Main Contacts

William Wyllie Vivian Clement

1 Seaford Street Kilmarnock KA1 2BZTel: 01563 522783/528486

Email: [email protected]: www.ClementAndSon.co.uk

Perth Bull Sales 2011 7th - 9th February

Aberdeen Angus, Shorthorn, Hereford, Luing Limousin, British Blue and Blonde21st – 22nd February

Simmental and Charolais

Monday 2nd MaySpecial Sale of Pedigree and Commercial Luing and Luing Cross Females

Multi breed Show and Sale of Pedigree Bulls and FemalesEntries close Monday 21st March

Saturday 22nd October Annual special sale of Pedigree and Commercial Luing Cattle

STIRLING AGRICULTURAL CENTRE, STIRLING FK9 4RNTEL: 01786 473055

EMAIL: [email protected]

THE LUING JOURNAL – JANUARY 2011 3www.luingcattlesociety.co.uk

LUING CATTLE SOCIETY LIMITEDWester Drumlochy, Lornty, Blairgowrie,

Perthshire, PH10 6TDTel:01250-873882 E-mail: [email protected]

www.luingcattlesociety.co.uk

HONORARY PRESIDENTR.A. Cadzow, Rannoch, 2 Home Bank, East Ord, Berwick on Tweed. Tel: 01289 331996

Office Bearers and Members of the Board 2010

CHAIRMANM. Mauchlen, Woodburn, Crieff, Perthshire, PH7 3RG

Tel: 01764 654364

VICE CHAIRMANS. Murray, West Preston, Kirkbean, Dumfries, DG2 8AU

Tel: 01387 880630

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMANC.J. Symons, Attonburn, Yetholm, Kelso, Roxburghshire, TD5 8PX

Tel: 01573 420242

Board Members

TO RETIRE 2011D. Barr, Milkieston, Peebles Tel: 01721 730213

W.R. Girvan, Buckholm Farm, Galashiels Tel: 01896 752185J. Newell, 6 Park Lane, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim Tel: 02827 665695

TO RETIRE 2012D.G. Henry, Oakwood Mill, Selkirk Tel: 01750 23202

J. Colston, Arisaig Farms, Glen House, Arisaig Tel: 01687 450609L. Robson, Kilchatton, Toberonochy, Isle of Luing, by Oban, Argyll Tel: 01852 314210

TO RETIRE 2013T. Fox, Elsdonburn, Kirknewton, Wooler, Northumberland Tel: 01668 216341

W. Miller, Welbeck Scottish Farms, Ousdale Farm, Berriedale, Caithness Tel: 01431 821243A. Smith, Low Moor Howe Farm Ltd., High House Farm, Winster, Windermere Tel: 01539 444060

FIELDSMANF.J.A. McGowan, Incheoch Farms, Alyth, Blairgowrie, Perthshire, PH11 8HJ

Tel: 01575 560236 Fax: 01575 560771

BREED DEVELOPMENT OFFICERSN.F. McGowan, Shealwalls, Alyth, Blairgowrie Tel: 01828 633652R.H. McNee, Dumbuils, Forgandenny, Perth Tel: 01501 731980

BREED SECRETARYJ.C. Mackey, Wester Drumlochy, Lornty, Blairgowrie, Perthshire, PH10 6TD

Tel: 01250 873882 E-mail: [email protected]


DIARY DATES 2011

17th December 2010

Closing date for Premier Luing Sale Entries

31st January 2011

Last day for 2010 born calf registrations

(All registrations received after this date will be

charged double registration fees).

Thursday 10th February 2011

The Urr Valley Hotel, Castle Douglas

5.30pm 45th Luing Cattle Society AGM

7.30pm Annual Dinner

Guest Speaker: Mr Ernie Coe

Entries are invited for the Photographic competition held annually at this time.

Classes included are: Stock; Society Event; Humorous – this may involve a

photograph, cartoon, anecdote, poem or anything related to Luing cattle or people!

Friday 11th February 2011

Wallets Marts, Castle Douglas

46th ANNUAL LUING SOCIETY PEDIGREE SALE

of Luing In-Calf and Bulling Heifers followed by Pedigree Luing bulls

9.30am: Judging of heifers in pens by Mike Halligan, Nether Stewarton, Peebles.

10.30am: Parade of Bulls 12 noon: Sale commences

Wednesday 18th May 2011

3rd Spring Luing Sale at Dingwall Mart

Tuesday 16th August 2011

Joint Open Day at Aikerness Farm and Garson, Orkney (home to Silwick & Garson

Luings respectively) by kind permission of the Ridland and Wood families

Saturday 22nd October 2011

Autumn Sale at United Auctions, Stirling Agricultural Centre


From the Chair...It is not possible to report on the past year without reference to what, once again, has been the main factor affecting farming – the weather. The bottom line of every farm business is greatly affected by it. Believe it or not – 2010 is set to be the hottest year on record! For the vast majority of farmers in the northern parts of the UK, 2010 will join the other memorable years -1947, 1963 and 1981-82 for

the amount of time the ground has been covered with a thick blanket of snow. For a great many farmers with out wintered stock the memory of the extra work and extra expense, surviving last winter will still be very fresh. This was followed by a late cold spring and early summer drought which resulted in silage and hay crops producing less than required for this coming winter. Which in turn increased competition for, what in many areas were light crops of straw, pushing prices to ever higher levels. And here we are in the last week of November with the land covered once again in deep snow – more extra work and extra feed. Let’s hope the rest of this coming winter is not a repeat of last year (how often can you rebuild sheds?)

Fortunately for most businesses, they do not have all their eggs in one basket, and often need the help of other enterprises to support those which are not per-forming as well. This is certainly the case for the beef sector at the moment. In which despite the recent seasonal lift in prices, it has suffered a period of downward drift in returns, over the past year, due to adequate supplies of dairy beef. There is growing evidence to suggest that we may be about to turn the corner with global supplies of beef becoming tighter and demand increasing as economies recover.

Once again the recently published report from QMS on enterprise profi tability highlights the true cost of keeping cattle. It clearly

illustrates the need for improved farm gate prices for beef cattle to deliver positive returns. It is very interesting to see highlighted the main factors which helped the LFA suckler herd achieve improved returns related to better physical performance through:

• Higher calf rearing rates

• Higher sale weights

• Lower replacement rates

• Lower concentrate feed use

These are all attributes that are strongly associated with the Luing breed and this message must be getting through. Once again despite the relatively negative theme covered, the Luing breed has enjoyed another successful year. With substantially more Luing females available at sales this past year, including the reduction sale from Luing, the trade for all stock forward held up very well and again was supported by many new

buyers, from both north and south. The ready availability of quality cattle of a high health status has helped make the Luing an easy fi rst choice, when looking for a new direction for a suckler herd. The society continued to promote the breed throughout the year. The open day, very successfully hosted by Steven and Elaine Murray, at West Preston, Dumfries in August showed once again that when you have a good story to tell, you will get people to turnout. Good weather, good cattle combined with the RSPB conservation work made for a very interesting day. At the end of October we attended the Borderway Agri-expo for the fi rst time. This event is now a major calf show, attracting many beef farmers from across the country and will become a regular date in the Luing Society calendar.

Many thanks to all who have provided stock and help for the various events this past year. The quality of stock we have been able to put on show makes the task of promoting the breed easy and enjoyable. I would like to conclude by thanking council members, both past and present for their contributions over the last two years. Particular thanks to Johnny, whose feet are now fi rmly estab-lished under the Luing Society desk, and who continues to fi nd ever more infl uential circles in which to promote the breed! May I wish everybody a prosperous and possibly snow free – 2011.

Matthew MauchlenChairman 2010

The year letter for

calves born in

2011 is N


HUGH O’NEIL & SONSAyr

Tel: (01292) 263374Fax: (01292) 611186

Gates: Huge range of field/yard and internal gates,5' high holding gates (any style/any size).

Fencing: Large stocks of British timber square and round stobs (1st and 2nd class), straining posts, stays, paling rails & crash barriers. Quality British made Tornado and Sentinel wire netting, barb, plain, rabbit netting and fencing ironmongery.

Feeding Equipment: Calf and cattle troughs, calf pens, cattle and sheep feed rings, cattle feed barriers, calf and lamb creep feeders, silage feed trailers, barley beef feeders.Handling Equipment: Cattle crushes to suit any breed, headstock gates, portable cattle hurdles, cow cubicles (all types), portable/fixed sheep penning, lamb weighers, sheep rollover crates, foot baths, calf dehorners.

We specialise in made to measure cattle and sheep housing and handling layouts.

Regular deliveries throughout Scotland.

Call anytime and let us quote you a keen price.

Storestock Sales – Every MondayPrime & Cast Sheep Sales – Every Tuesday

Prime Cattle Sales – Every ThursdaySpecial Sales of Breeding Cattle & Suckled Calves

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ALL KINDS OF VALUATION WORKLAND AND CROP MEASUREMENTS

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LUING SOCIETY

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Ties (green, blue or wine) ..........................£10.00Sweater – 100% Lambswool (V-neck or round neck – Sizes 36” – 52” ) .....................£33.00 Sweatshirt – heavy drop shoulder (Small – Ex.Ex.large) ....................................£20.00Fleece Jacket – full zip (Small – Ex.Ex.large) ..................................£28.00Polo shirts (Small – Ex.Ex.large) ..................£17.50

Prices for T-shirts, rugby shirts, baseball caps

and childrens wear on application.

All of these items are available in various colours.Above prices include postage, packing and VAT.

Herd names can be added to most items at an additional cost of £1.50.

Please state size and preferred colour when ordering from:

J.C. Mackey, Wester Drumlochy, Lornty, Blairgowrie, Perthshire,

PH10 6TD


Johnny C. Mackey

The Secretary writes…This report is always the last one I write for the journal which comes with a huge sense of relief that one of the biggest jobs of the year is completed. It also allows me to point you in the direction of some very good articles in this year’s journal. However, I suspect I’m too late as I seriously doubt if anyone reads this report before the rest of the journal!

We are in the midst of a fairly nasty start to the winter which makes the front cover I have recently signed off all the more appropriate – a superb picture I’m sure you will agree from Stephen Little of the Upper Chatto herd at Jedburgh. Regarding the content of this year’s journal, there are some excellent guest articles from Claire Powell on one of our former Directors Charlie Bell, a very thought-provoking piece from Dr. Norman Weatherup from Northern Ireland on beef production and two articles from Iain Aitken in Canada and Neil McGowan who visited Germany – both giving us an insight into cattle breeding in those countries.

An Englishman, a Scotsman and the Welshman walk into a pub, the barman (me) asks them what they would like to drink but before handing over the poison asks them all to write an ‘Out and About’ article for the next Luing journal. Admittedly that joke still needs quite a bit of work however I’m sure you will enjoy reading the articles from Richard Manley, Shane Cadzow and Gareth Lawton in the Out and About section. Members and commercial companies have once again shown great support to the Society this year by taking out advertising and I’m sure you will enjoy reading the publication whilst taking in some of the superb pictures and adverts inside.

Promotional activity at various events this year has been very rewarding. Two events in particular stand out – the annual Beef Expo at Hexham and the annual Agri-Expo at Carlisle. Both proved to

be excellent venues for getting our message across to commercial beef producers. We were also regularly visited at both events by new members who have joined the Society within the past year – a lot of them from the north of England. One aspect of these events that becomes very noticeable is the dedication of the local members to keeping the Luing stand in tip-top shape all day. Whenever we set up our stand in advance of a promotional event and pen the cattle up, that is just the start of the process. Local members can usually be found fl uffi ng up straw, combing cattle or moving in and out of pens to walk stock around to allow visiting farmers a better look. I usually try to get a look around the other breed society stands at these events, inevitably towards the end of the day, and I’m always surprised to fi nd cattle in pens with straw pushed back against the sides leaving the stock standing lower down and certainly not looking as good as they did a few hours earlier.

Luing breeders are very conscious of the main purpose of these events which is to promote and ultimately sell our cattle to potential new breeders. So I’m hugely grateful for the help I’ve had over the past year at these events and in particular for the dedication to the job in hand shown by the members attending.

Fielding fresh enquiries from farmers wishing to buy Luing cattle or even join the Society is a regular occurrence here at Luing HQ. This activity has resulted in membership being signifi cantly up this year with 28 new members having joined, and 24 of those having set up new herds.

As well as a signifi cant increase in membership this year, there has also been quite a jump in the number of registered cattle active on the pedigree database. The number of herds registering calves hasn’t changed signifi cantly on the year due to the recent infl ux of new herds not yet registering their own calves, however, we are seeing a signifi cant increase in the number of herds using the on-line registration service via Grassroots. For 2009 registrations, 71% of herds registered on-line accounting for 83% of the cows (an increase on the year of 52% and 60% respectively). Not only is this cheaper and easier for breeders, it also allows us to collect a lot more information on each calf as explained in the short article on page 53.

As always I am very grateful to everyone who has helped me and the Society out over the past year. Whether supplying stock for an event, helping out on various stands, hosting a very successful event such as the West Preston Open day, writing articles for this journal or, in the case of the board and offi ce bearers, generally running the show and keeping me right, it is all much appreciated. I look forward to meeting up with many of you over the coming year – hopefully in Orkney at next summer’s Open Day (week).


44th Annual General Meeting

The 44th Annual General Meeting was held in the Urr Valley Hotel, Castle Douglas on Thursday 4th February 2010 when a high turnout of around 80 members and guests attended.The Chairman commented on a very positive year for the Society. Sales involving Luing cattle had gone well starting in Castle Douglas the previous February and culminating in a very strong trade for Luing and Sim-Luing heifer calves in Oban at the end of October. Luing bulling heifers had averaged £1,350 over the various sales throughout 2009. The Chairman made particular mention of the fi rst offi cial Society sale at Dingwall which had gone extremely well – largely due to the very high standard of stock consigned. Promotional activity had also gone well with particular mention made of the Society’s fi rst attendance at the Royal Ulster Show and also the successful open day at Charles & Mary Symons Attonburn herd near Kelso.Accounts for the year ended 31st October 2009 were presented showing a profi t for the year of £2,238 and General Reserves at that date of £53,302.Charlie Bell, Bruce Gilchrist and Andrew McNee stood down from the board having served their term of offi ce and being ineli-gible for re-election. They were warmly thanked for their support and contribution and Ted Fox, Bill Miller and Alec Smith were appointed to serve for a three year term.

2010 Dinner

Held in the Urr Valley Hotel on the evening prior to the Premier Sale, over 100 members and friends enjoyed a fabulous occasion amongst old and new friends. Jim Brown from Fettercairn, Kincardineshire, who made a living as a grain trader, gave a very entertaining after-dinner speech in which he talked about his home county and the infl uence of the renowned Scottish author, Lewis Grassic Gibbon.Raffl e proceeds of just over £1,000 were presented jointly to Chest Heart Stroke Scotland and the Grassic Gibbon Centre. Another very good entry in the annual photographic competition, kindly sponsored by WCF Country Centres, was judged by Wilbert Girvan and Molly Hodges who awarded prizes to Steven Little, Marie MacKenzie and Neil McGowan in the Stock section, Sarah Little, Neil McGowan and Steven Little in the Society event section and Steven Little, Tooti Cadzow and Wendy Mackey in the Humorous section.

Premier Sale 2011

The 46th Premier Sale will take place in Wallets Mart, Castle Douglas on Friday 11th February 2011. You are reminded that:• All bulls must be in the market by Wednesday night and heifers

must be penned by 12 noon on Thursday 10th February.• The minimum age for bulls sold at Society Sales is 18 months

on the day of the sale and each bull must be in possession of a certifi cate indicating that it has been approved for pedigree use by the Society. In addition, bulls will be weighed at the sale and must meet the minimum height measurement of 52” at the shoulder. Bulls will be sold in age order with oldest bulls sold fi rst.

• Minimum scrotal circumference measurement for bulls is 38cms. Measurements will be taken in the market and displayed on the pen card along with the weight and height.

• All bulls presented at the Premier Sale must have been vaccinated against BVD. Any bull testing virus positive runs the risk of a very large claim for consequential loss.

• The minimum age for pedigree Luing females presented for sale in February is 18 months on the day of sale. Prizes will

SOCIETY NEWSbe awarded to the best pair of in-calf heifers and best pair of bulling heifers – to be judged in the pens on the morning of the Sale. Any animal with a black nose will be rejected by the inspection panel.

• Vendors are totally responsible for ensuring that all animals forward are correctly double tagged.

• All cattle will be sold under the terms and conditions of the National Beef Association Warranties.

• There will be an upset price for bulls of 1,500gns.A two year rolling commitment has been given to Wallets Marts to stage the Premier Sale, to be confi rmed yearly at the fi rst board meeting after the sale.

Bull Inspection – The board would like to encourage breeders to have bulls inspected for Society Approval prior to private sale – to avoid the potential problem of a bull being turned down after being sold. Only bulls with dam scores for feet, locomotion, udder and teats all of 5 or above (out of 10) will be approved for use.

Breed Development – The Society will bear 50% of the cost of DNA testing tail hairs from any bull; kits and further information available from the offi ce. Cost to the breeder is £13/sample.

Registrations – All calves born in 2010 must be registered with the Society before 31st January 2011. Late registrations will be charged double fees and will only be allowed if the animal is under two years of age. The Society recommends members use the on-line registration process via the website (www.luingcattlesociety.co.uk - as well as to advise of deaths and transfers). Those who have not yet done so, please contact the offi ce for further information and to obtain passwords. Note the increased charges which apply to 2010-born registration fees of an extra 50p/cow for those registrations received on paper.

Transfer Fees In order that registered pedigree Luing cattle born after 1st January 2002 can be transferred into new ownership, pedigree certifi cates must be returned to the offi ce for updating. Any female sold privately incurs a transfer fee of £10 per head plus VAT, payable by the new owner. For bulls the transfer fee has two tiers with a cut-off at 30 breeding cows (as listed on each herd’s most recent annual return): herds from 1-30 cows will pay a per cow transfer fee of £2/cow with a minimum fee payable of £25. Those herds of 31+ cows will pay £100 + VAT. Bulls and females sold at offi cial Society sales (Premier Sale in Castle Douglas, Spring Sale in Dingwall, Autumn Sale in Stirling) are transferred free of charge.

Luing Website (www.luingcattlesociety.co.uk) The Society website continues to prove a useful source of information on the breed from commercial beef producers wanting to fi nd out more about Luing cattle and for breeders needing to download sales entry forms, application forms or catalogues. Another very useful feature is the ‘stock for sale’ pages which have seen dozens of cattle advertised on behalf of breeders and are usually sold very quickly on the back of contacts made from those pages.

Cattle health policy From 2011, all offi cial Society sales (Castle Douglas, Dingwall and Stirling) will have the same entry conditions in terms of cattle health; i.e. cattle will only be accepted for entry if they come from herds which are members of a CHeCS (Cattle Health Certifi cation Standards) accredited health scheme such as HI Health herdcare or the Premium Cattle Health Scheme. In addition to being a member of such a scheme, herds must be dealing with the threat of BVD in their herds by testing and vaccinating against the disease.

AROUND THE SALES

45th Premier

Pedigree SaleFriday 5th February 2010

Wallets Marts, Castle Douglas

A very strong line up of both breeding females and bulls bore fruit at the 45th Premier Luing Sale which took place on Friday 5th February at Wallets Mart, Castle Douglas. Once again there was a total clearance of the 148 females forward.

In-calf heifers

In-calf heifers were the real highlight of the sale in setting a new breed record average price of £2,018 for 36 sold. The previous record average of £1,962 was set in 2007. It was clear from the moment these heifers, all from the Benhar and Rockcliffe herds, came into the mart that they would command a special trade. Robert McNee Ltd. from Armadale achieved an excellent average of £2,373 for ten in-calf heifers forward. This included a top of 2,500gns for a pair of Luing Eclipse sired daughters, sold to Paddy Crerar of Stenton, East Lothian. A pair of Benhar in-calf heifers had taken the prize for best in-calf heifers as judged by Messrs Cosgrave and sold for 2,200gns to Rob Storey of Netherwood Farm, Bathgate. Steven Murray of Rockcliffe Luings also had a very strong trade with 26 in-calf heifers selling to average £1,882 including a top price of 2,100gns achieved twice – fi rst for a pair sold to Stewart Wood in Orkney and secondly to Malcolm McCall of Inverbrora, Sutherland. The record average of £2,018 for 36 was £567 up on the year for 14 more sold.

Bulling heifers

Pedigree Luing bulling heifers were bid to 3,000gns with 112 sold averaging £1,631 – up £240 on the year with three more sold. This average was nearly, but not quite, at the record average of £1,683 also from the 2007 sale. The top price was paid by Messrs Burke of Stewarton Farm, Peebles for a pair of heifers from W.Graham & Son, Craigdarroch, both sired by Clunie Figo and out of a home-bred cow and a Wooplaw cow respectively; this pair of heifers had been placed second in the annual Bank of Scotland sponsored heifer competition as judged by Messrs Cosgrave of Castle Luings, Co. Meath. The same consignors, selling at the

Premier Sale for the fi rst time, had the highest average at the sale of £2,572 for four heifers sold. Earlier on in the sale, strong competition for Milkieston heifers from D&A Barr led to a very impressive average of £2,191 for 15 sold; this average included a top of 2,500gns for a pair of Harehead Chieften sired daughters bought by David McRae of Coulshill, Aucterarder as well as 2,100gns paid by Paddy Crerar of Stenton, East Lothian for the fi rst prize winning pair of heifers. A very strong line-up of bulling heifers also saw good averages for Cadzow Brothers Ltd. who sold 27 to average £1,998; Galawater who averaged £1,680 for four; Merkland averaged £1,584 for 11; Arbigland averaged £1,533 for fi ve; Upper Chatto averaged £1,470 for nine and Nunnerie who averaged £1,443 for eight sold.

Bulls

The bull trade was strong with 19 of the 24 forward selling to average £4,136 – up £167 on the year with four more sold. The top price of 13,000gns was paid by EJ & AM Fox of College Luings, Wooler for Benhar

Kansas from Robert McNee Ltd. at Armadale. Kansas was the second youngest bull in the sale, weighing in at 840kg and measuring 56” at the shoulder with a good scrotal circumference of 42cm, this June 2008-born son of Dirnanean Geldof (current joint-top price record holder for the breed at 14,000gns from 2007) and out of a home-bred Luing Soldier sired dam had come from a very strong line up of Benhar bulls. The Benhar herd were also successful with their sale of Benhar Kyle to Steven Murray for 6,000gns. A memorable day was completed for the McNees with the sale of Benhar Kite at 5,000gns to new Luing breeder Tom Wilson of Brampton, Cumbria. They went on to reinvest some of their hard-earned cash with the purchase of College Kracker for 6,500gns from EJ & AM Fox.

Haltree Farm at Heriot paid 6,000gns for Harehead Kojak from Professor Penny of Harehead Farms in the Lammamuirs. D&A Barr of Milkieston, Peebles went to 5,000gns to get Harehead Kirk

Benhar Kansas sold for 13,000gns.

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College Kracker sold for 6,500gns.

from the same stable. This price was matched by Luss Estates who paid 5,000gns for Welbeck Kracker from Welbeck Scottish Farms. Other top prices included 3,400gns paid by Alan Crockett of Claremore Luings, Castlederg, N.Ireland for Dirnanean Kenmore; 3,200gns by John Higgs Farms for Attonburn Krakatoa and 3,000gns was laid out by Ben Challum Ltd. for Attonburn Kings Ransom.

2nd Spring SaleWednesday 19th May

Dingwall Auction Mart

The second sale for the Luing breed at Dingwall produced a healthy trade for the 78-head of cattle forward. A very impressive average of £1,474 was achieved for 42 pedigree Luing bulling heifers sold. Pedigree Luing bulling heifers were bid to 2,200gns with 42 sold averaging £1,474 – down a mere £68 on the year with 7 more sold. The Monzie herd of J.J. & R. Cameron from Blair Atholl achieved the top average of £1,821 for 14 sold – with 12 of these heifers going to Mark Kemp from Hampshire who was setting up a new herd in the New Forest. The outstanding Monzie consignment contained a pair of heifers sired by Wooplaw Glen Affric

that were awarded the inaugural Lady Anne memorial cup for the best pair of bulling heifers as provided by Welbeck Scottish Farms. The top price in the sale of 2,200gns was paid by Sheila Campbell-Lloyd of the Lealty Luing herd at Boath, Ross-shire for a pair of heifers from Cadzow Brothers Ltd. sired by the home-bred bulls Luing Crusader and Luing Dirk. Cadzow Brothers Ltd. went on to have a very strong trade for their split consignment of two-year old and yearling pedigree heifers with their 11 two-year olds averaging £1,785 and

the 14 yearlings all selling to average £1,025.A very strong line-up of bulling heifers also saw good averages for Culmaily who sold two to average £1,759; Lochbroom averaged £1,137 for four and Deveron averaged £1,084 for 8. The Deveron herd from Turriff also did well with their eight Luing cross Beef Shorthorn and Luing cross Aberdeen Angus bulling heifers selling to average £899.The demand for bulls was limited with four of the six forward selling to average £1,609 – a top of

Premier Sale Summary and Top Herd Averages

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In-Calf Heifers36 sold to average £2,018 (up £567 on the year for 14 more sold)Robert McNee Ltd, Benhar sold 10 to average £2,363S. Murray, Rockcliffe sold 26 to average £1,882

Bulling Heifers112 sold to average £1,631 (up £240 on the year for three more sold)W. Graham & Son, Craigdarroch sold 4 to average £2,572D. Barr, Milkieston sold 15 to average £2,191Cadzow Bros., Luing sold 27 to average £1,998J. Wilson, Galawater sold 4 to average £1,680J. Fawcett & Co., Merkland sold 7 to average £1,612 Major J.W.B. Blackett, Arbigland sold 5 to average £1,533Hon. R.B. Loder’s Children’s Settlement, sold 9 to average £1,470Upper Chatto, Kelso C.C. MacArthur & Co., Nunnerie sold 8 to average £1,443 Bulls19 sold to average £4,136 (up £167 on the year for four more sold)

Benhar sold at 13,000gns to CollegeCollege sold at 6,500gns to Benhar Benhar sold at 6,000gns to Rockcliffe Harehead sold at 6,000gns to Haltree Farm

Benhar sold at 5,000gns to GeltsdaleHarehead sold at 5,000gns to MilkiestonWelbeck sold at 5,000gns to Luss

Premier Sale Summary and Breed Record Prices

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3,000gns was paid by the Crofters Commission for Nunnerie Kahn from C.C. MacArthur & Co.; a two-year old son by Harehead Davy-Dee and out of a home-bred cow. This bull had stood out in the pre-sale bull parade standing 56” at the shoulder, weighing 915kg with a scrotal circumference measurement of 39cm; combined with a set of very good scores from the Society’s Dam Classifi cation scheme for his dam, Nunnerie Kahn should go on to breed some good females via the Crofters bull stud.

37th Autumn SaleSaturday 23rd October 2010

United Auctions, Stirling

Agricultural CentreThe breed held their ground and experienced a good trade at the Society’s 37th Autumn Sale held on Saturday 23rd October at United Auctions’ Stirling Agricultural Centre. Prices held up well given the much higher number forward of 177 (up 55 on the year). Pedigree Luing bulling heifers were sold to a top price of £2,050 with an average of £916 – down £261 on the year for 20 more sold; in-calf Luing heifers were bid to £1,950 (with an average of £1,491 – down £189 for seven more sold); in-calf Sim-Luings were bid to £1,800 (£1,418 – down £569 for 16 more sold) and Sim-Luing bulling heifers sold to £1,350 (£982 – down £89 for 15 more sold).

A total of 85 pedigree bulling heifers sold with the top price of £2,050 paid by Hanbury & Porritt of Gilsland, Brampton who are starting a new Luing herd, for a pair of 17-month

old heifers from William Graham & Son of Craigdarroch, Sanquhar. They were polled red heifers, one by the homebred bull Craigdarroch Hakka and out of a Luing Ballycastle cow with the other by Merkland Barkis and out of a homebred cow. The Graham’s retained the honour of going home with the highest average in their category, selling 14 pedigree bulling heifers for an average of £1,270. Other highlights in averages for pedigree bulling heifers were the Upper Chatto pen brought out by Stephen Little of the Honourable R.B. Loder Children’s Settlement who sold seven to average £1,192; Messrs Finlay McGowan who preceded the strong Craigdarroch trade to sell their consignment of six for an average of £1,116. R.H. Bell & Co. of Plenderleith Luings, Kelso sold six to average £933 and Cadzow Brothers, Luing, maintained the good trade to average £906 for 15.

The sale got off to a great start with the fi rst pair in the ring fetching the top price for in-calf pedigree Luing heifers at £1,950 each. These once again came from R.J. Wotherspoon of Glen Lyon and were brought out by Farm Manager John Buglass, this time purchased by Floors Farming from Kelso. The two heifers were by Luing Laggan and out of Upper Chatto and Buckholm cows respectively and due to calve to Wooplaw Knoydart next spring. The Glen Lyon herd sold eight such in-calf heifers to average £1,575. These in-calf heifers were followed by a batch from Ian Moncrieff of Grange of Berryhill, Invergowrie, who had a strong sale with four averaging £1,325. The Autumn Sale once again proved the place to buy Sim-Luings with some outstanding cattle forward commanding a very good trade. The Benhar herd of Robert McNee Ltd. led the trade in the bulling heifer

Harehead Kojak sold for 6,000gns.


Buyers9 buyers from Northern England bought 29 cattle16 buyers from Southern Scotland bought 42 cattle9 buyers from Central Scotland bought 46 cattle5 buyers from West Scotland bought 22 cattle4 buyers from Northern Scotland bought 25 cattle2 buyers from Northern Ireland bought 3 cattle

Current breed records Top Price AverageIn-Calf Heifers 3,400 gns (2004) £2,018 (2010)Bulling Heifers 3,400 gns (2007) £1,683 (2007)Bulls 14,000 gns (2007/8) £7,917 (2007)

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Prize winning pair of in-calf heifers from Benhar sold for 2,200gns.

section selling four to average £1,225, including the top price of £1,350 paid by Mrs. J. Morrison of Eliogarry, Isle of Barra for a pair of 18-month old heifers. The Benhar herd had earlier sold four in-calf Sim-Luings to average £1,750, including the top price pair selling for £1,800 per head to Mr. Webster of Woodsley, Yorkshire. G.D. Proudley, a relatively new breeder from Whitby and selling for the fi rst time, did extremely well selling two bulling heifers to average £1,250. This followed on from a very strong demand earlier in the sale for his in-calf heifers when eight were sold to average £1,425; these 2 ½ year old heifers had already reared Charolais cross calves and were back in calf to the same Charolais bull. Colin Little of East Bracklinn, Callander, once again had a very good sale with his Sim-Luing heifers in calf to a Limousin bull all selling to average £1,304 for 12. D&A Barr of Milkieston Luings, Peebles, achieved an impressive average of £1,030 for eight Sim-Luing bulling heifers; John Fawcett from Merkland, Dumfries-shire also sold eight to average £975 and Torwoodlee & Buckholm Estates sold ten to average £945.

JOHN SCOTT

(22nd Dec 1975 - 19th Oct 2010)The sudden and untimely death of John Scott age 34yrs. He was born and brought up in the Lammerview hills, where his father worked at Bothwell Farm, Cranshaws. He started his education at Cranshaws Primary then Berwickshire High School, later he went on to further his education at the Border Agricultural College Duns, where he came out top student. He started work at Burnhouses for Walter Murray and then went to Harehead Farms as cattleman under Neil Anderson, working with Luing Cattle, he will be remembered when he lead the Luing Bull Harehead Davy-Dee round the ring at Castle Douglas, the then record priced Bull. He moved to Ferniehurst, Stow, then latterly at Ormiston Mains for David McTaggart, where he started married life with Lyn MacVicar. Our thoughts are with his wife Lyn and son Logan, father and mother Wullie and Margaret and sisters Barbara and Karen. He will be sadly missed by all.

One of the prize winning pair of bulling heifers from Milkieston sold for

2,100gns.


Benhar Kyle sold for 6,000gns.

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Our cattle are bred to promote stature, conformation and

functional correctness

Benhar Logan by Benhar Jaguar Benhar Lennox by Dirnanean Geldof

Luing Heifers and Bulls for sale at Castle Douglas

Sim-Luing Heifers for sale at Stirling

Visitors Always Welcome

Robert McNee Ltd, Woodend Farm, Armadale, West Lothian, EH48 3AP

Telephone: Andrew - 01501 731980, Roy – 01324 861230, Robert – 07900 221641


D G Henry & CoOakwood Mill

Selkirk

Home to Ettrick Herd of Luings

A Selection of Heifers that will be forward at Castle Douglas

BVDJOHNES

IBRLEPTO

Accredited

VISITORSWELCOME

01750 23202

[email protected]

Full Organic Status

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Steven Murray aboard his Land Rover on the Farm Tour route.

Steven & Elaine Murray in front of their new farm banner supplied by

Biobest Herdcare.

By Elaine Murray

and Johnny C. Mackey

Around 300 visitors basked in some glorious sunshine on the Solway coast on 14th August 2010 during Steven & Elaine Murray’s open day at West Preston. It is worth mentioning the weather right from the outset, as like the 2009 event at Attonburn, the lead up to the day saw some appalling wet weather and therefore some very nervous hosts and Society offi cials.

The good weather, whilst of course very welcome, unfortunately meant some local farmers were too busy baling straw or harvesting second-cut silage to attend. However the 300 or so that did enjoyed an excellent opening address from local farmer and QMS Chairman, Donald Biggar.

Rockcliffe Luings fi rst stop

on the Tour

The fi rst stop on the farm tour was host farmer and Society Vice-Chairman Steven Murray in a fi eld with heifers running with the bull Rockcliffe Hero. Steven described the farm as being bought in 2003 when 420 acres were split with the RSPB. Steven and Elaine bought the better land and RSPB got the poorer grazing which was ideal for the barnacle geese to graze over the winter. The Rockcliffe herd

WEST PRESTON OPEN DAY

was re-established after the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 which took out all the stock. Originally cows came from Luing, Springfi eld and Castlecreavie. To begin with a Simmental Bull was used to breed Sim-Luings and a Luing Bull, Behar Boxer, was purchased to breed herd replacements. Boxer is still on the farm and is used as one of the main stock bulls due to his positive infl uence on the herd.

When West Preston was purchased in 2003 the steading allowed the Murrays to fi nish steer calves. When the fi rst batch of steers went away

prime, no difference was found in weights, grades or time to fi nishing between pure Luings and cross-bred Luings, so it was decided to sell the Simmental bull. The aim was now to breed pure Luings in order to increase the herd rapidly due to the farm suiting cattle rather than sheep. The next stock bull purchased was Wooplaw Yangtze and a son of his, Buckholm Dixie. This bloodline, especially Dixie’s, has left a big mark on the herd. Almost two thirds of the cows will be daughters by Boxer or Dixie bloodlines. In recent years when cow numbers were built up

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A good crowd takes in Donald Biggar’s opening address.

to 120, bulls like Attonburn Falcon, Merkland Cracker and Dirnanean Ensign have been used. The new stock bulls are Harehead Hickory who was breeding well, and Benhar Kyle (purchased very recently at the Premier Sale in February 2010).

The aim is to breed cows not too big with a mature weight of around 650kg that out winter well and breed regularly with few problems. As the Murrays were re-stocking from a lot of different sources, it has taken a while to get the cows to the type desired. The bulls purchased are doing the job as bull calves are fi nishing heaver and quicker each year enabling any cows not rearing a good enough calf to be identifi ed and moved into the cull group.

Managing the grazing on the farm can be a bit tricky as most of the grazing land is owned by RSPB and their priorities are for managing the land for bird life and not cattle; although Steven made the point strongly of the cattle being needed to manage the grassland for the birds! A lot of the grazing land is only available for 4-5 months after the ground nesting birds have fl edged and the geese return in late September by which time the ground has to be vacated.

The remainder of the farm tour saw talks from the local RSPB manager David Fairlamb who covered how the management works at West Preston for grazing the RSPB land; this included the benefi ts of cattle grazing on these habitats, informa-tion on bird surveys carried out

in the area and tips for farmers to manage cattle whilst benefi ting biodiversity. David’s talk proved to be incredibly popular with several visitors commenting on how much they had enjoyed it upon returning to the steading. Rhidian Jones of SAC also gave a very informative talk on the Murray’s outwintering system using strip-grazed kale and the cattle health policy for Rockcliffe Luings was expertly covered by Susan Duthie & Kate Mellanby from Biobest Herdcare together with Hugh Dickson of the Bard Vet Group.

Back at the Steading

There was plenty for visitors to see and do once back at the very clean and tidy steading (thanks to the efforts of the entire Murray clan and in particular Steven & Elaine’s daughters Heather and Hazel). Society Breed Development Offi cer Robert McNee once again ran a very popular demonstration on the Society’s Dam Classifi cation Scheme. Having fi nished at Robert’s demo, activities such as stockjudg-ing and ‘guess the weight of the bull’ competitions got underway. Some fantastic prizes were on offer from event sponsors such as Solway Recycling and local artist Josephine McSkimming. The social side of proceedings took off with some delicious roast beef rolls provided by Hog2roast as well as the increas-ingly popular fresh fruit once again supplied by Blairgowrie Farm Shop.

Sponsorship and bar profi ts

We were very grateful to the

eighteen companies who were generous in their sponsorship of the event, namely Wallets Mart, RSPB, Biobest, Wicks, Tarff Valley, Tithebarn, Gordons Machinery, SAC, NFU Mutual, Pzifer, Murray Farmcare, AK Farm Services, Bard Vet Group, Tough Trailers, Solway Recycling, Roshglen Farm Services, RH Davidsons & Sons Transport and Galloway Primestock. Steven and Elaine had arranged for profi ts from the bar to go to the local First Responders group to help with the purchase of a defi brillator for use in emergency situations in the area. The impressive sum of £313.68 was raised for this very worthy cause.

Open Day 2011

Less of an Open Day and more of an Open Week this one. The board has decided to go for a slightly smaller scale more focused event for 2011 and the Orcadian breeders have put their hand up and volunteered! The open day itself will take place on Tuesday 16th August based around two herds (Brian Ridland’s Silwick Luings and Stewart Wood’s Garson Luings) with a few more events planned either side such as various tourist attractions, cattle sales at Orkney mart and visits to other Luing herds and commercial herds. Besides the open day however, members may wish to coincide their visit to Orkney with the island’s biggest agricultural event, the County Show, on Saturday 13th August. More information to follow in the spring and summer newsletters as well as the website.

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Wooplaw Luings

Members of SAC Premium Health SchemeJohnes & BVD accredited

Bulling heifers, and bulls for sale

Monzie Finlay Maol – homozygous polled 6 year old shared bull (with Cameron, Monzie)

sire: Wooplaw Captain Corelli, dam: Monzie C27 Maol

Bob & Janene Moffat

Wooplaw Farm, Galashiels

Tel: 01896 860262 / 07746550531


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out and about...

………….with Gareth Lawton of Brookstone Farm, a small hill farm In North Wales with land ranging from 650ft – 1200 ft which is the home to Brookstone Luings.

A total of 128 acres is owned, and a further 36 is rented. 84 acres is grassland that is used for silage production and summer grazing, the remaining 44 is the rough mountain ground where the cows are out wintered and remain until the summer grazing is dry enough for them to go on. The rented 36 acres is 12 acres of grazing ground and 24 acres fi rst cut silage then grazing for young stock.

Up until 2006 Brookstone Farm had run Salers cows, originally all bred pedigree and had enjoyed some success in show rings up and down the country, but when the decision was made to stop showing, the cows were crossed to a Charolais bull. The calving season in 2006 was another diffi cult one, and with some of the weaned calves from the previous year displaying higher than average temperament problems, the late

Bill Brook decided it was time for a change, and he wasn’t the type of man to do things by halves. He had been reading about the Luing cattle sales in the farming press and after a trip to the Beef Expo in Carlisle in 2006 with a view to looking at various breeds, the Luing stand was the fi rst stop, and that was where the search ended. After talking to some society members his mind was made up. He went to the Westwater dispersal sale and purchased fi ve cows and thirteen bulling heifers and whilst up in Scotland he purchased our fi rst Luing bull, Harehead Disco. He came back and it was a case of out with the old and in with the new. The two Charolais Bulls went to new homes, and every Saler cow was sold, either in calf or with a calf at foot. From then on it was only going to be Luing cattle on the farm. We returned to Stirling that same year and bought fi ve more heifers, and then further purchases in Stirling and Oban in 2007 and Castle Douglas in 2008 when six heifers and the second Luing bull, Welbeck Hildago, was purchased. Dirnanean Foreman was purchased

privately in 2008.

The plan was to keep everything pure Luing, but after the calving in 2009 when 19 of the 24 calves born were male, and considering the local market is very much driven by continental crosses, a decision was made to buy a Simmental bull. The thinking behind the idea was simple; if we have another run of predominantly male calves we should be able to produce a steer more suitable to the local market, whilst heifer calves, if good enough will be sold at the society sale in Stirling or else through the store ring at the local market. The aim now is to keep forty pedigree females, twenty of which will go to the Simmental, ten to Dirnanean Foreman and ten to Welbeck Hildago. Keeping three bulls for forty cows may seem extravagant to some, but when your biggest fi eld is only 12 acres, it is impossible to run one herd of forty or even two herds of twenty.

The system is very simple with the Luing cows, they live out all year round, and are fed only grass silage on a hard standing in the winter.

Brookstone cows on their winter grazing.


The only time they spend inside is approx three weeks when they calve. A cow is brought in ten days before she is due and remains inside for ten days with her calf; they are then turned back out onto the winter grazing. Calves are weaned at eight months old, some heifers are kept as replacements or to build the herd numbers up and they are calved at two years old. Surplus heifers will be sold at society sales if they are good enough, everything else will go through the store ring at the local market at 18 – 20 months old. The cattle we aim to present at society sales are housed for the fi rst winter after weaning, and then out wintered for the second winter until just before Christmas when they come in so they get used to being handled and get cleaned up ready for the Castle Douglas sale ring.

We have found Luing cows suit our farming system very well, their temperament is excellent, they require very little input, they out winter on grass silage with no additional feed etc., produce a healthy calf on time every year and mainly with no assistance and then go on to rear a good calf through the summer off grass alone. Whatever route we go down in the future, the females of Brookstone Farm will always be pure Luings. The decision to make the change was probably the best farming

decision Bill made, and although he didn’t live long enough to see his plan come to fruition, I don’t think he would have regretted it for a moment.

…………..with Shane Cadzow, a partner in Cadzow Brothers Ltd., a business that has undergone some signifi cant changes over the past year.

I am pleased to have been invited by Johnny to write a short article for the magazine explaining the recent changes that have taken place on Luing and with Cadzow Brothers. Many people have been asking the “what’s what” question; therefore this is a good opportunity for me to describe the new set up.

The Cadzow history on Luing is probably well enough known to most readers but, briefl y to recap, my father, Shane and his two brothers, Denis and Ralph, purchased the Holdings of North and South Luing after the Second World War. They developed the new Luing breed, which we have continued to nurture and further develop here ever since. Ralph retired from the business in 1983 and Denis passed his share to his son-in-law Bruce Young. My father passed his share to me. For many years, Bruce and I have farmed the land together and have been the partners of Cadzow Brothers.

In 2008 the land and properties

were divided between the Youngs and myself. Luing and some properties, including Ardlarach, came to me, and Clachan and other properties went to the Youngs. The business of Cadzow Brothers continued with Bruce Young as my long-standing partner and Rory, his son, standing in for him latterly due to his ill health. We knew that at some stage it would be logical to split the business too and this has now been done.

The division fi nally took place on 31st July 2010. No one could pretend that this was an easy matter to accomplish and the period up to the fi nal division was pretty fraught, whilst everything was sorted out, agreed and divided between us. It may not have been easy but it was done and the new Cadzow Brothers has emerged like the Phoenix from the ashes.

My wife Tooti and I are now operating as a new partnership, still trading under the name Cadzow Brothers. Les Robson, our Manager, and his staff have done and continue to do a sterling job with the cattle and sheep. We have downsized to 300 cows and are farming only on Luing. This fi rst year will be diffi cult whilst we fi nd our new feet and let everything settle down. Although we have had to give up the ground we rented from Martin Robb for the heifers at Comrie, they are now going to be brought up in Leccamore, on

Cows and calves being loaded onto the barge at Cuan ferry,

on the fi rst stage of their journey to Castle Douglas for the

sale of 4th June 2010.


Luing. We have kept 1,500 ewes, running a mixture of Tups from Blackface to Lleyn to Texels.

The hardest part of the division was to witness the sale of half the herd, which we knew so well. It was not a great moment in our lives. Many thanks to so many of you for your support on the day of the sale; it was greatly appreciated by both my wife Tooti and myself. However, now we turn a new page and, trading as usual, we start to rebuild the business. We hope to catch up with everyone at sale time and are confi dent that, given a fair wind and full sail, we will continue to enjoy our lives and our farming enterprise on Luing.

…………..with Richard Manley who, together with Colin Moore, has established a Luing herd in the New Forest in Hampshire over the last couple of years.

Not long after the end of the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001 I took the fi rst of many visits to farms in the Borders area. I was looking for supplementary stock for my Galloway herd and researching a suitable breed to run alongside them accessing my common grazing on the New Forest.

I talked to different farmers in the Borders about the conditions on the Forest - namely access to about 20,000 hectares of mainly heathland and acid grassland and relatively poor grazing – so it is nigh on impossible to fi nish stock within 30 months purely using the Forest. However all New Forest commoners have traditionally turned out various types and crosses to suit their own commoning practices and over the years have developed some good animals. Most are Galloway crosses but you fi nd Whitebred Shorthorn, Hereford, Angus and continental breeds as well.

The Forest is owned by the state and managed by the Forestry Commission. There are about 450 practising commoners and most of them keep ponies. The grazing is managed by the Court of Verderers of whom there are 10, overseen by the Offi cial Verderer who is appointed by the Crown. Half the Verderers are elected

by the commoners who hold the rights over the Forest and the Verderers employ four Agisters who ensure that the required standards of husbandry and welfare are maintained. The Forest is interlinked across two main roads and one railway line. The open roads of the Forest have a blanket 40mph speed restriction and animals have absolute right of way over all types of vehicles.

I have turned out predominantly Galloway cattle on the Forest for about 20 years – there are about 1,500 cattle turned out on the Forest as well as about 3,500 ponies. Many people have wanted to breed a recognisable ‘New Forest’ cattle using the best of what had been bred to date and establishing traits that would be good for the area - hardiness, easy calving , good doers, outwinterable and preferably with a white, roan or brindle colour coat so as to be seen at night on the roads. I was considering a Beef Shorthorn but during one my trips to the Borders came across a bunch of Luings at Castle Douglas mart. A quick chat with the vendor made it plain that we had found what we were looking for.

With my fellow New Forest commoner Colin Moore, I started to pull the pieces together. We did think it was going to be prohibitively expensive to establish

a herd but were very lucky to gain the support of our local National Trust Estate at Mottisfont, especially as we would be able to provide a source of locally produced high quality beef for their outlets. After much research, negotiation and advice from breeders and others we brought down an initial consignment of Premium Cattle Health Scheme stock from the Wooplaw herd to the estate and also started a breeding programme using bulls that would be available for local commoners to use to run over their established herds. We now have calves from both of these initiatives and have also bought young steers to kick-start the project.

The results have been very pleasing. Already a near neighbour to Mottisfont, Mark Kemp, has bought a signifi cant number of heifers at the 2010 Dingwall sale to run himself after seeing the results that we have achieved. We have a very nice roan bull now who we will see calves from in the spring of 2011 and will increase numbers as fi nance allows. The help and assistance we have received from many in the Luing cattle community has been invaluable and we would like to thank all of them for their help in setting up what is no doubt just the small beginnings of Luings heading south.

One of the New Forest foundation females with an Ettrick Jasper calf.

Please Note

Please Note

To continued enjoying this year's Luing Journal please download parts 2 and 3.

Luing Journal 2011 - Part 1

Documents

Transcript of Luing Journal 2011 - Part 1