| Livestock
Improvement in herd genetics across the UK are recognised by the Harman awards
The Harman awards were Presented by Society Vice-chairman and award founder Ben Harman at the Stirling sale on Tuesday 20th February , who commented “ The Self Replacing Index ( SRI ) is one of the key measures of genetic progress in British Charolais Cattle , and the Harman awards recognise those herds with the greatest % age improvement in SRI over the previous 12-month period . I am delighted that such well-established herds have won the awards in each region this year , between them , the four herds boast 131 years of experience breeding British Charolais . This demonstrates that the inclusion of performance data can enhance even the most experienced breeders ’ businesses .”
T he requirement for accurately recorded performance data is driven by our customers , the commercial beef producers , who recognise the extra value of Charolais sired cattle in the store markets and abattoirs the length and breadth of the UK . Breedplan performance data helps our customers identify the type of Charolais which best suit their needs , this data combined with visual assessment of potential bulls ensures that the crossing men can choose bulls which will give them the maximum return for their enterprises . This in turn ensures that those customers will return time and again to buy Charolais which have been proven in study after study to outperform all other breeds as a terminal sire .”
The overall and Scottish regional winner was the 20-cow-strong , Stirling based Falleninch herd of Andrew Hornall , which showed an improvement of + 9.8 on SRI in the past 12 months , ending the year on an average of + 41 .
The Falleninch herd , which was established in 1973 , joined the Breedplan scheme when it was adopted by the society in 2007 , recognising the importance recording would have to the improvement of the herd .
Andrew , a 3rd generation Charolais breeder who farms 300 acres of permanent grass across two holdings , grazes 250 commercial cattle per year on a New Zealand-style grass grazing system and the high-quality beef produced supplies his Falleninch Farm butchery business . His main focus is on strong maternal traits which ensures that his Falleninch Herd is a regular and successful exhibitor at shows and sales .
Andrew said “ I am really pleased to be awarded the top spot in this great competition , which through its selection process helps to enhance the integrity of the Charolais breed . Our purchase of Fairway Jefferson has helped us achieve our improvement this year and our customers seem to think so to , as his first son sold for 12,000gns at Stirling last week .”
Runners-up were the English regional winners Jeremy , Ala Price , Mia and Ryan Price with a yearly SRI Improvement of + 9.3 and a total average of + 59 for their Herefordshire herd . The Price ’ s Oakchurch herd is comprised of 20 cows with females kept as replacements and bulls sold for breeding .
In order to monitor performance , Jeremy started recording as soon as he set up the herd . He says “ I find if you enter accurate data , you get useful information back . People always want an idea of what they are buying , and performance recording really helps with that .”
Mr Price focuses on growth rates and says that calving ease is essential with the commercial producer in mind . He says “ We aim for cows that give birth unassisted , have a short gestation period , do not suffer losses and produce calves with good growth rates and conformation . At the same time , we are also aiming for a bit more fat depth .”
Heading up the Northern Ireland pack was the Coolnaslee herd of Jonathan Crawford , whose father the late Gilbert Crawford established the Charolais herd in 1993 . Managed by Stuart Wilson the Maghera-based unit has shown a twelve-month improvement of + 8.2 and their total average is + 39.7 .
Also joining Breedplan in 2007 Gilbert , who was always keeping an eye out for new opportunities to develop his herd , knew how to push the boundaries , with others benefiting from his experience and also working to keep pace and move with the times .
Jonathan is keen to keep moving with the herds progress and commented “ I am very proud to accept this award on behalf of our herd . Breedplan is a great system and it shows our buyers just what their getting when the purchase a Coolnaslee bull . The purchase of the Stirling reserve champion Balthayock Justice has really made a difference to our calving ease figures . He now has 50 progeny on the ground and a calving ease score of + 23.4 which puts him in the top 1 % for the breed .”
A SRI Improvement of + 7.1 and a total average of + 39.9 saw Esmor Evans ’ Flintshirebased Maerdy herd awarded winners of the Welsh region . The 1973 established herd who recently announced the £ 25,000 sale of the 18- month-old Maerdy Morwr , also joined Breedplan early on and has moved from strength to strength with their 140-cow pedigree herd based on a 1000ft hill farm .
Esmor said “ We have been striving for an improvement in the calving figures which are important to us as breeders and also to our customers , both pedigree and commercial . The influence of Blelack Fabulous , whose four son ’ s averaged just over £ 11,000 at Stirling , has help us achieve this improvement in calving ease and his progeny are also scanning well with good muscle area . Our other stock bull , the French-bred Maerdy Gouverneur has also proved to be a very good calver and six of the eight bulls we sold last week were by these two influential sires ”.
26 | Farming Monthly | March 2018 www . farmingmonthly . co . uk