| The British Charolais Cattle Society |
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Pia Troon herd
wins ‘Most Improved’ Award for British Charolais breed
Charolais Pia
Troon Herd 2009
The Pia Troon
herd, owned by Howard Forster and assisted by his brother Edward Forster, of
Hexham, Northumberland, has been recognised by EBLEX as the Most Improved
Herd for the British Charolais breed for 2008/09.
The award is
presented by the EBLEX Beef Better Returns Programme (Beef
Fifth
generation farmers, the Forsters originally ran a 200-cow herd of Friesian
dairy cows. A Charolais beef bull was used to produce fast growing beef
calves from the cows that were not used to breed replacements. When the
dairy herd was sold in 1989, the brothers decided to establish a herd of
pedigree Charolais cattle.
The brothers
rent 204ha (500 acres) and grow wheat, oilseed rape and barley on half. The
rest is permanent pasture for the 40 breeding cows, heifers and youngstock
and 500 breeding ewes.
The cows calve
in two groups – in late autumn and in June – so that bulls are ready to sell
at the key spring and autumn sales. The aim is to sell bulls at 15-22 months
of age. The biggest demand comes at the spring sales.
The Forsters
have always weighed their cattle to monitor progress, but have been
recording more formerly for the past 11 years.
“Performance
recording is a great tool if done honestly,” explains Edward Forster. “After
first choosing a bull on type, you need to examine his figures, using tools
such as Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs).
The Forsters
use records to confirm that animals are gaining enough weight, at the right
rate, so they know they are converting feed into meat efficiently. By
weighing the calves, they can also tell how well the dam is performing in
terms of her milk production.
Until recently
the cows were served by AI, but last year a 17 month-old
performance-recorded bull was purchased, in a partnership with two other
Charolais breeders. Sharing the bull over three herds will produce a larger
number of calves, and his true potential will become apparent more quickly
than if he was only serving one herd.
So far he is
producing well-shaped animals with good growth rates which have calved
without any problems. His first progeny will be available to buy from next
October.
Stock from the
Pia Troon herd is sold mainly to commercial producers who run suckler herds.
For example Ian Bell, from
“At 1,100kg at
18 months old, this bull was a massive weight for his age,” comments Mr
Bell. “He had very impressive 200-, 400- and 600-day growth rates and is
continuing to develop. It is growth rates like these that we are looking to
improve in our own herd.
“The bulls we
buy are used on all our cattle, not just the commercial herd, so it makes
sense to buy performance-recorded stock, so we can continue progressing our
own pedigree herd,” says Mr Bell. “It is so important to match type and
figures.”
EBLEX breeding
specialist Samuel Boon agrees.
“EBVs are
measurements of genetic potential and provide a reliable insight into the
effect the bull could have on the herd,” he says. “It means producers can
make informed purchasing decisions rather than leaving it to chance and
hoping the chosen bull will deliver on the commercially important traits.
“All the
winners of the Improved Herd Awards record the performance of their herds.
All are providing valuable information that can help customers produce
animals that make them money because they meet processor/retailer and
consumer demand, and do so as efficiently as possible.
“I
congratulate the Forsters on the excellent job they are doing with the Pia
Troon herd.”
For more
information contact:
Samuel Boon,
EBLEX.
Mobile: 07887
650355, email:
samuel.boon@ahdbms.org.uk
Issued by:
Sara Gregson,
Telephone:
01799 530934 Mobile: 07768 764062, email: sara@saragregson.co.uk |
