Simmental success at Crudie
FAVOURED by many beef producers across the country as a maternal breed, and coupled with their ease of calving, fertility and temperament, the Simmental is the goto female for Hugh Brunton’s Crudie herd from Arbroath.
Managed by Kenny McKeague, with the help of his partner and assistant stock person, Lorna Ward and three children following their move from the Stirling-based Rednock Salers in 2020, Baldoukie Farm, which is part of the larger arable operation of Crudie Farming Company. The farm is home to a herd of 160 cattle comprising 44 pedigree Simmentals cows, 30 Blue Greys and 56 Simmental cross cattle.
With a secure place in the pedigree market against other terminal sire options, Kenny believes the Simmental really does tick all the boxes for commercial producers.
“The Simmental has the maternal instincts and milk quantity that we are looking for...and they are very prolific – with the herd producing 20 sets of twins over the past two years,” Kenny commented.
“I love that I can walk out into the field and see two calves suckling the one cow. It’s all about how you manage the cattle – if you treat the herd right, they’ll return the favour.”
The Crudie herd was founded in 2007 with a large proportion of the female bloodlines going back to Delfur, Islavale and Drumslee genetics.
As well as the main Simmental herd, Hugh has also introduced a new venture in the form of pedigree black Simmentals to the herd following the importation of three embryos from Canada.
“We are phasing the black Simmental bull into the commercial herd and are really pleased with the calves – full of vigour, size and carcass,” Kenny added.
The Crudie herd is run on an elite high health status for all four diseases, having been Johne’s Level 1 Accredited since 2008 – something which the team at Crudie are working hard to maintain, with any new stock requiring to be isolated and tested four weeks after initial purchase.
With the aim to breed fleshy females that carry plenty depth and width, one of the most important aspects for Kenny is selecting the right bull for the herd.
“A notable bull that has left his mark on our herd would be Drumlone Fabulous, which was bought at Stirling Bull Sales in 2016 for 10,000gns. His heifers have scale and power, something which we look to breed throughout the herd,” he said.
“Blackford Ioliar which was purchased for 13,000gns at the 2018 October Stirling Bull Sales has left a bit more style and colour on his progeny. He stood junior champion at the pre-sale show, as well as and junior champion at the Royal Highland Show.
“We also invested 18,000gns in a new stock bull last year, the Irish-bred Clonagh Matador. He’s not as big as the bulls over here but he has length, power, a leg in each corner and great style. I’m very lucky that Hugh backed my decision – it’s a lot of money to spend but he has got cows in calf which is what it’s all about,” Kenny explained.
The entire herd are calved indoors from January through to the end of April, with the pedigree cows coming indoors at the end of October, the commercials coming inside in November and the Blue Greys two days before Christmas. Some 40 heifers, specifically 12 Blue Greys, 15 pedigree Simmentals and 12 commercials, are calved alongside the cows, with this year being the first attempt at calving a smaller group of heifers in November.
“We will be calving 15 heifers in November as we plan on putting bulls out at the end of March the following year, so the theory is that they’ll be first ones to come into heat which will help tighten up our calving period to 10 weeks,” Kenny stated.
“We also artificially inseminated 12 pedigree Simmental heifers in June and 10 are in-calf and due to calf at the start of March. We’re not looking to calf down at two-years-old, as we want to let them mature. We have tried calving at an earlier age before with a Saler bull and they haven’t matured as well as the others, so we now calve down at 28-months,” he added.
The commercial herd are bulled by a pedigree Simmental bull, whilst the Blue Greys are put to a Saler for three weeks, with any not in-calf then bulled by a Charolais in order for late-born calves to reach a mature weight at an earlier age.
Once cattle come indoors, all cows are fed on a straw and silage diet, as well as with minerals purchased from Norvite.
“Four week’s prior to calving, we increase the silage proportion of the ration and add Soya into the mix to help with milk production. Once half of the herd has calved, we split the group into two with calved cows receiving more silage than straw to keep up with the calf’ demands,” commented Kenny.
The Blue Grey cows and calves are the first to head outside at start of April, where they head to the farm’s Arbroath grazing ground to be left on grass alone. The commercial and pedigree cattle head outside in mid-April onto grass with the addition of minerals.
“This year we have relied on more ad-lib powdered minerals compared to bucket licks, as I believe there can be too much molasses in buckets. We are also planning on using iodine down cows’ backs before they calf, as it is supposed to help produce more vigorous calves at birth,” he explained.
Weaning takes place at the start of September when calves reach eight-monthsold, with cross calves and any pedigree Simmental bull calves not meeting breeding standards placed on a bull beef system and fed a separate diet of potatoes and a bull beef blend purchased from East Coast Viners. Calves are sold before they reach 14-months-old at 750kg liveweight through ABP in Perth.
Amongst the heifer calves, all pedigree heifers are retained, with any not meeting pedigree standards then moved into the commercial herd or fattened.
“We are looking to build herd numbers to around 200 so we are keeping some Blue Grey cross Simmental heifers as commercial stock but anything that is bred from a decent cow will be kept commercially. We also keep aside eight heifers per year as recipients for the black Simmental embryos we import,” said Kenny.
On average, Hugh and Kenny are retaining 15 pedigree females as replacements per year, whilst 12 commercial heifers are kept and 12 further Blue Greys purchased for replacement purposes from John Christie, Lockhart – until herd numbers are sufficient.
Only eight bull calves are drawn out as breeding stock, which are either privately or destined for the May and October Stirling Bull Sales, with last year’s crop averaging £5500 for four sold.
In order to maintain productivity and profitability, Kenny has a strict culling policy to ensure only the best cattle are stocked at Baldoukie.
“Any cow that gives us calving trouble or won’t let us near them are gone – temperament is a big thing for us, especially with children present on the farm. Anything that requires a c-section is given another chance, however, if they have poor quality milk or are bad on their feet and legs then they are also sent away. It’s all about functionality and our cows need to be able to produce and raise a calf each year,” he stated.
The Crudie herd are also making a name for themselves in the show ring, having attended Angus, Kirriemuir, Fettercairn and the Royal Highland shows this year.
“We attended last year’s Stars of the Future calf show just to give us an idea as to where we stood in comparison to other herds and where we needed to be. We did enjoy success at Angus Show when winning the group class, as well as taking second with a bull at the Highland and then chosen to go into the interbreed pairs championship where we placed fourth,” Kenny commented.
“I think we want to try and get out there with the Crudie name in show ring. Hugh has been breeding Simmentals for 15 years now, so we want to keep pushing the herd forward and showing stock is a great window for selling later in the year. We would also like to host an open day to not only promote the Simmental but also the black Simmental too, and hopefully in the next few years, we will see more Crudie cattle in the show ring,” he added.
Commenting on the future of the breed, Kenny concluded: “Colour is becoming more important when it comes to buying a bull and we want our animals to walk correctly with a leg in each corner coupled with a lot of style. There’s nothing better than when you walk into to a field and look at that big muzzle and ears and that’s what we like to breed.
“We want that little bit of style but at the end of the day, the cattle need to be productive and functional. I have no doubt that the breed will continue to be a popular option for beef producers for they are easy fleshing and cross well with any other breed.”
■ Crudie will have two bulls forward for the Stirling Bull Sales.