Running six different sites and calving three
times a year, the choice of bull has to be perfect for suckler
producer Charlie Georgetti and that means running a Simmental
bull to breed quality, hard working replacements from.
 |
| Breeding your own replacements
reaps benefits |
The
120 sucklers at Millhouse Farm, Rolvenden, are a mixture
of Simmental crosses, Blondes, Sussex and a few Angus crosses,
put to a mixture of Simmental, Limousin or Charolais.
“The
Limousin and Charolais alternate well and produce a good
animal for the live market, but you can’t beat the
Simmental for breeding suckler replacements,” says
Charlie, who farms alongside his wife Jenny and two sons
Richard (26) and Tom (23).
Now in the third season of running
a Simmental bull bought privately from Ann and Tony Jukes’ Swallowhill
herd, Sandhurst, Kent, Charlie is more than pleased with
the females he has left.
“Temperament is the best characteristic
for us, we don’t have great handling facilities and
we’ve got cattle spread over a fair distance across
a couple of villages, so when it comes to calving we want
things to run as smoothly as possible.
“They have great
shape, particularly those bred from our three quarter bred
cows, are good mothers with plenty of milk and calve relatively
easy,” he adds. Breeding your own replacements is also
definitely the way forward, believes Charlie.
“The
cattle just aren’t about any more. Breeding your own
replacements also means you know the health status of those
mixing with the rest of the herd.” And although Charlie
admits he doesn’t pay through the nose for his bulls,
he does look for a stock bull that will last, has good legs
and is capable of working hard, as bulls are often mixed
through the herd running in various groups.
“We change
the bulls in May then the following February and March and
alternate them between groups them, this way bulls are always
occupied with cows and we don’t have to worry about
housing them through the winter in single pens.”
Trade
for Simmental crosses has also been strong for him.
“We
sell heavy stores through Ashford market and the Simmentals
trade nearly as well as the Limousins and Charolais crosses.” Coupled
with the stores, finished cattle are also sold through Chittey’s
on a Marks & Spencer contract, as well as the odd lighter
animal that goes through East Sussex abattoir Tottingworth
Farms for local butchers or wholesalers.
“Running the
mixed breeds and calving three times a year means we have
a steady flow of cattle calving through which suits our housing
capacity, as well as the bank balance,” he adds. |
