For the past 25 years, the first Wednesday in May has seen the onfarm sale of yearling store cattle from the suckler herd at Warter Priory Farms on the Yorkshire Wolds.

Jonathon Shepherd, head stockman at Warter Priory Farms

From the herd of 600 cows some 520 stores will be sold this year, with the remaining 80 retained as replacement heifers. The level of twinning within the herd means that a calving rate of 100% is just one of the stretching targets regularly achieved on this tightly managed farm.

Estate manager, Tony Biggin, has added to his bull stud this spring by purchasing three Simmental bulls at the Perth February sale. With all three changing hands at 5,000 gns each it is a reflection of the quality of stock being bred in the herd. After using the Signet Performance Records to shortlist a selection, it was then down to the type of bull that Tony Biggin expects to breed fast growing, tight bellied store cattle.

In total there are now four Simmental bulls, and the recent purchases reflects demand from buyers at the store sale. “ For us these Simmentals have been bought as a terminal sire,” explains Tony Biggin.
“ We will have approaching 100 purchasers on the day, and lot sizes will vary from singles up to pens of 15. The Simmental is one of five breeds being used in the herd, and we aim to provide the quality and breed selection of cattle that our customers will continue to pay a premium for. Our buyers range from large commercial finishers to smallholders.”

Original Simmental cross Friesians on the Yorkshire Wolds. The oldest is now 13 years old

The cow herd was based on Simmental cross Friesians bought-in from dairy herds, but with the increasing Holstein influence, coupled with a greater awareness of herd health issues, Warter Priory Farms started to breed their own replacements in 1998.

The base Simmental cows have been crossed with the Saler, Aberdeen Angus, Black Limousin and South Devon breeds. Significant use continues to be made of synchronisation and AI to take maximum advantage of top genetics, as calving is completed in only nine weeks in the spring. The farm has settled on a rotational cross between the Saler and Angus, although this has not made any noticeable difference to cow size.

Head stockman, Jonathon Shepherd, describes the management system where 1850 acres of permanent pasture is grazed by the cows and their calves. Silage is made from 625 acres of this pasture.

MINI ‘HERDS’ HELP FERTILITY LEVELS
“ At turn-out the cows are divided into herds of 45 where AI is to be used prior to a sweeper bull for the last three weeks of the service season, and 35 cows if natural service is to be employed for the whole period,” explains Jonathon. “ With a culling rate of 8 per cent, it is vitally important that cows cycle quickly after calving. The earliest calving cows, along with the best of the first and second calvers, are used for breeding replacements. Dividing the total herd into smaller groups gives us a lot better control of cow handling and bull management.

“ We place a lot of emphasis on temperament, especially as our three-man stock team is joined by a student and a member of the arable staff throughout calving. Any cows that are overprotective of their calves in the first 48 hours post calving are not bred again, but there are obviously very few where this happens. All cattle are handled regularly, and the quiet temperament of the Simmentals also rubs off onto the others. We also record our own milk assessment and calving ease in the spring,” continues Jonathon Shepherd.

EARLY HOUSING
Calves are weaned and housed at the end of September, having already had creep feed of 2kgs per day for the previous seven weeks. On average, calves are 180 days old, and the steers weigh 300kgs by weaning.

Dual purpose – the feeder wagon also chops straw for bedding the store cattle which are housed until sale day

This early weaning has virtually eliminated pneumonia as calves settle onto their winter ration at a time when day and night temperatures are more constant, the atmosphere is drier and the weather is clearer with no mist.

At the same time cows are housed for five days on straw and water alone. This dries them off without any mastitis problems before they are turned out again until well in to November or even December. By this time the cows have a condition score of three, and the winter diet sees them ease back to 2.5 by calving.

Nutritional and mineral balances within the cows are an important consideration, and a random group of 20 cows have a blood analysis carried out three times during the year. This has proved extremely worthwhile as it has overcome the tendency to address each problem in isolation, rather than ensure that the whole nutritional system of the cows is functioning efficiently.

In financial terms, this culture of prevent rather than treat has seen veterinary costs reduce from £38 to £22 per cow over the past five years.

FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS
Jonathon Shepherd views rationing as the next area to receive the same level of analysis as the other management factors in this highly successful and profitable enterprise.

In particular, the availability of home-grown wheat may be a cost-effective means of ensuring that stock perform to full potential.

While the Salers cows have less milk than the Simmentals, the option will always exist to retain a crop of Simmental sired heifers to re-introduce more milk as and when necessary.

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