The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Agricultural accountant
Caroline Stocks meets financial expert with passion for farming
A part-time hobby has become a fulltime passion for agricultural accountant and Perthshire beef farmer Robert Young.
While his days are spent dealing with farm finances, his mornings, evenings and weekends are spent working with his 20-head herd of pedigree Charolais cattle on the family’s 160-acre beef and arable farm near Alyth.
The Mornity Charolais herd was first established by Robert’s late grandfather, Jack Nicoll, and his father, Graham Young, almost 30 years ago. Having introduced Charolais genetics into their beef herd some years earlier, they were so impressed by the results they were achieving that they decided to convert to entirely pedigree stock.
I would rather take the animals to the sale, because that’s where we can build our herd’s reputation
“When we started the herd, as today, the Charolais breed was the best in the country,” Robert says. “If you wanted to breed cross calves and finish them as quickly as possible, they were the only breed that could convert the feeding to produce a top-quality carcase.
“The reasons we breed them now are the same as back then. Nothing beats them; they are the number one terminal breed, and the Charolais store calves demand a premium in the store ring as well.”
Jack and Graham initially bought six animals, building their herd up to 50 through breeding and retaining stock.
“We initially used AI, but then decided to keep a stock bull instead,” says Robert. “The first stock bull we purchased was Baggrave Lysander. Since then we have bought bulls, either sharing them with local breeders or buying them ourselves. Our current stock bulls are Westcarse Houdini and Carwood Lochness, shared with the Elgin and Glenericht herds.”
While using a stock bull makes managing the farm easier for Robert, who works full-time for EQ Accountants in Forfar, it also creates uniformity in the herd, which he prefers.
“If you use AI sires and different bulls then you end up with good cattle, but different types,” he says. “With a stock bull across the whole herd, you get 20 cows from the same bull, so they should all be consistent animals. Uniformity looksbetterwhenyouaresellinganimals.”
To produce animals that appeal to buyers, Robert selects for both good length and confirmation.
“For me length is one of the most important things,” he says. “That extra rib can make all the difference to the weight.
“They also need to have shape: Charolais cattle are a big breed, and while I don’t want to lose too much size, I like a shape that has good confirmation to make sure we get good grades as well as a good weight.”