August 2004

Galloways suit the Kilnstown system

Family concern: Frank and Anne Waugh, front, with from left, Andrew, Melanie and Richard.

Six generations of the Waugh family have bred Galloway cattle at Bewcastle - and they have no plans to change.

Galloway cows suit Kilnstown Farm in the north of Cumbria - and they have done since the 1880s!

The cows produce a good calf and are fed only on silage and the Waugh family, now in its sixth generation to farm the holding at Bewcastle, north of Carlisle, are more than happy with the results.

Brothers Richard and Andrew and their parents Frank and Anne and Andrew's wife Melanie now farm a total of 950 acres which includes a neighbouring farm, The Park, bought five years ago, plus a further 70 acres of rented ground on an annual let.

The family runs 900 Swaledale ewes and 250 hoggs alongside a small 10-ewe flock of Bluefaced Leicesters of the crossing type.

The two units also carry a herd of 120 cows, 60 of which are pure Galloways and the remainder are cross-bred, either half or quarter Galloway with Meuse Rhine Issel (MRI), Friesian or Saler blood.

The cross-bred cattle are then put to the Limousin bull and the females are retained to produce three-quarter or seven eighths calves.

The foundation of the Galloway herd, which is now closed to females, goes back to the 1880s but the crossing policy produces sought-after modern cattle with show ring potential.

Twenty years ago all the Galloway females were bred pure but the then decline in interest in native breeds, including the Galloway, led the Waughs to start using a Romagnola bull.

They bred their best Galloways pure for milk and growth with results like that of sons of Peter of Kilnstown - Trueman of Kilnstown which sold for 4,500gns and Warrior of Kilnstown which made 3,000gns alongside numerous others which commanded high prices for the herd.

Sweeney of Kilnstown, a son of Peter, sired the world record priced Trademark of the Reddings which made 22,000gns for George Wilson, of Reddings, Moffat.

Current stock bull JohnJo of Kilnstown goes back to the bull on his dam's line.

Bulls used are the Saler Poldean Ohio bought in 2000, the Limousin Saunders Maverick and the bull currently running with the Limousin cross females Burndale Stewart.

Recent Galloway bulls have been Kirkstead Forest Gump and JohnJo of Kilnstown, bought at Messrs Buchanan-Jardine's Castlemilk herd dispersal as a calf as a potential stock bull. Now two and a half years old, he has been used since he was just over a year old.

Bulls sold this year reached 3,000gns for the two year old Judo of Kilnstown.

Bulling heifers sold through Carlisle made 850gns for two with another two at 690gns this spring.

In the 1980s Friesian cows were multi-suckled with bought in cross-bred calves before the Romagnola bull was introduced. The BSE problems post 1996 stopped them buying in calves and heifer calves were kept as suckler replacements.

Cross-bred: Galloway cross sucklers are retained and put to the Limousin bull.

However, these Friesian-Limousin cross-bred cows did not prove as hardy for the hill and the extra cost of the supplementary feed they required meant that they could not compete with the Galloways even when the extra payment for the calves was taken into account.

Andrew Waugh said: "Our current cross-breds are competing well with the Galloways. We are keeping the growthier Galloway heifers and the stature of the females is getting bigger.

" Buyers of our suckled calves want a bigger animal - when you are competing with continental breeds it is a different ball-game."

The Waughs continue to be happy with the Galloway as it suits their farming conditions in the Bewcastle area with an abundance of rainfall and heavy land which even the lighter-weight Galloways can poach in a bad summer.

" The cows produce a good calf and the cows are only fed good silage with the calves receiving some concentrate," said Andrew Waugh.

" Our intention is to run a compact cow which is easier to maintain and if you use the right bull to cross with her you get a good growthy calf with good shapey hindquarters. We want to produce a big, long stretchy type of calf.

The Galloway's attributes for the Waugh family are in its ease of calving, its milkiness - and its ability to produce a good tasty piece of beef.

" In other countries beef is bred for taste and in a country like Australia where taste is important the housewife buys four times as much beef as she does in this country.

“ Now people are discovering that the traditional breeds and hybrids of them produce the tastiest beef," said Andrew Waugh.

Saler cross Galloway heifers are kept as replacements with a few being sold as breeding heifers. Most of the cross or three quarter bred calves are sold as suckled calves at between 10 and 12 months old either through Longtown or Carlisle marts with the top priced heifer so far making £1,600 in Carlisle in 2002. The Galloway crosses are averaging similar prices to the three quarter Limousins.

Compact cow: The Galloways at Kilnstown, fed on silage alone,produce a good calf.

Another bullock calf Black Mack which sold for £1,050 went on to take the reserve senior championship a the Scottish Winter Fair shown by Marian Paul, of Lockerbie, as well as a special one-off prize for the best bred animal, as well as shows in south west Scotland.

Showier type calves are finished on the farm and since 1994 the Waughs are regular local Christmas primestock show winners, with both cross-bred and pure-bred Galloways.

And in 2003 their traditional champion with a pure-bred Galloway weighing 560kg live and selling for 160p per kg to butcher William Kirkup, of Longtown.

Their second prize bullock weighed in at 690kg and sold for 110p per kg.

The bullocks are sold at 22 to 26 months old weighing up to 690kg - they are easily finished within 30 months.

The Waughs, along with most other Galloway breeders in the county, are members of the Cumbria Galloway Group which has been running for a couple of years supplying restaurants with Galloway beef through butcher Paul Heavy.

Mule ewe lambs sold mostly in Carlisle are usually in the top third for price with Bluefaced Leicester prices for shearling rams at £2,200 and averaging a very respectable £1,200 last year also in Carlisle.

The Swaledale gimmers are bred pure, a policy adopted since foot and mouth with the bigger percentage of flock replacements being home-bred. All are wintered on the farm.

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