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BREAKING RECORDS AND winning titles with calves at livestock markets, Christmas shows and sales has become a source of pleasure and real pride for Shaun Sowray and his brothers, Paul and Peter of Bowes Green Farm in Bishop Thornton near Ripon. There they own 300 acres and overall farm 400 acres with a flying herd of 435 dairy cows. The calf business has now developed into a strong addition to their milking operation and has seen them grow a formidable reputation at Skipton and Leyburn livestock marts.

“ We broke our own sale record price of £ 700 with a Belgian Blue bull calf that made £ 800 at Leyburn’ s Christmas Show last year and broke the record at Skipton Christmas

Show with one going at £ 790. We’ ve won at Skipton’ s last three Christmas shows and two out of the last three at Leyburn,” Shaun said.“ All our calves are fed with our own milk and we sell them all, apart from anything I buy in-calf to a black and white. If they throw heifers I keep them for replacements and I need bulling heifer replacements as well. Overall through some calves kept and bought-in heifers and cows we’ re looking at 60-70 replacements a year.

“ We specialise in selling calves at between a month to six weeks of age but I might keep bull calves longer because there are some good buyers such as Richard Turnbull, who are after those that are a bit better

developed,” say Shaun.“ Our cows are mostly Holstein Friesian X with a few Montbeliardes and Swedish Reds. We had 500 cows at one time but with over-production in the dairy sector we cut back and started our flying herd in 2001.

“ In order to produce quality calves we use the best semen straws from breeding specialists Genus, Norbreck and Cogent, plus we also have two Limousin bulls and a Beef Shorthorn for ease of calving. We still provide some of our own replacements for the dairy herd but I find that if you are buying-in you can choose from the best production cows.

“ I buy heifers at livestock markets such as Leyburn, where I’ m a director, and

cows when dispersal sales are held. I’ m a great believer in the livestock market system and we all know only too well what happened during foot and mouth disease year so if we can all use them as much as we can it will help maintain them.

“ Dispersal sales have kept some marts’ dairy cow sales going in the recent past. At Leyburn there’ s a dairy sale every month and at Skipton once a fortnight. You can’ t run them any more than that as