Jennifer MacKenzie is an agricultural photo journalist with almost 30 year's experience. Operating from her base in Cumbria, Jennifer undertakes mainly industry-related freelance writing and photography.
Bitten by the Show Bug
A mix of Limousin and British Blue breeding is producing strong commercial
beef cattle which gives the Sowerby family from Appleby the option of finishing
or selling store - with some gaining recognition in the show ring.
In fact, Ian Sowerby, his brother Michael and Ian’s son Kevin of
Terry’s Farm, Little Ormside, have been ‘bitten’ by the
show bug and testament to their success so far is that they took on a strong
steer class of 14 at Borderway’s Agri-Expo in Carlisle at the end
of October, sponsored by The Farmers Mart – and won!
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| The Terrys Farm team - from left, Ian, Kevin and Michael Sowerby with their Agri Expo cattle, both sired by stock bull Hillside Wallace. |
Another bullock calf by Wallace, born April 2008, was the second youngest
at the Agri-Expo show and he was placed a creditable seventh in its class
and the Sowerbys have hopes for its show potential.
Convinced that this first calf by their British Blue stock bull, Hillside
Wallace, bred by Stephen Stoddart, of Wigton, was a winner, they invested £350
in a cattle hair drier as well as grooming equipment and also kitted themselves
out with stock coats and sticks.
“When we re-stocked after foot and mouth with 130 three-quarter Limousin
and British Blue cross Friesian heifers, we bought two Limousin bulls from
Brian Jones’ Bailea herd at Sennybridge, Brecon and we still have
them,” said Ian Sowerby.
“Wallace was our first British Blue bull and at first we were a little
dubious about calving which turned out to be unfounded. We bulled 12 and
11 held and the first that calved had twin steers which were both very
small – the calf which won at Agri-Expo was one of the twins. The
other sold at Wigton for £960 on October 14 at 18 months old,” he
added.
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| The 18 month old steer which won the strong steer class of 14 at Borderway's Agri-Expo in Carlisle, sponsored by The Farmers Mart. |
The Sowerbys had a good start selling prime cattle at Wigton for the first
time in early October for the Limousin cattle show when their heifer weighing
580kg was champion and sold for 212p per kg, only 2p short of the top price,
to Great Orton butcher Jimmy Mulholland.
The following week they did top the market with the overall price of their
bullock at £1,260 or 189p per kg. Both the heifer and the steer were
by the Limousin bull Knockhill Tartan, a Cannon son bred by WW Powner,
of Coldingham, Berwick, a good investment when bought for £850 as
an 11 month old calf.
The following week they did top the market with the overall price of their
bullock at £1,260 or 189p per kg. Both the heifer and the steer were
by the Limousin bull Knockhill Tartan, a Cannon son bred by WW Powner,
of Coldingham, Berwick, a good investment when bought for £850 as
an 11 month old calf.
At Wigton Christmas primestock show in November another 18 month old Tartan-sired
heifer was the first prize Limousin heifer, best home-bred animal and reserve
champion overall, selling for £3.15 a kg to Haighs butchers.
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| The Agri Expo steers, both sired by stock bull Hillside Wallace, with left, the first prize winner. |
Having won the Kirkby Stephen Christmas primestock show with regularity
in the 1990s, the Sowerbys are getting back on winning form, showing the
champion in 2007 which sold for 195p per kg, £1,118 in total, to
Kirkby Stephen butcher Ivan Brown. With finished cattle they aim for a
butcher’s beast, and regular buyers include Mr Brown, Mr Haigh, Gavin
Little in the arcade, Jimmy Mulholland, of Great Orton and Steven Wilson
of Great Corby, Carlisle.
Also at Kirkby Stephen’s September special store cattle sale the
Sowerbys won the awards for best Limousin steer and best Limousin heifer.
Two thirds of the cattle are sold store with the finished animals targeted
at special sales. Stores are sold from 12 to 18 months old and mostly go
through Kirkby Stephen while finished cattle are sold at 18 months and
sold through Wigton mart.
Farming for the Sowerbys is very much a family affair, particularly at
certain times of the year, with Ian and Michael’s parents George
and Evelyn and Ian’s wife Shirley involved on a regular basis. Ian
and Shirley’s daughter Susan, who managed Appleby Bread Shop, and
son John, a carpet fitter in the town, also lend a hand at lambing and
clipping times.
They farm a total of 400 acres at Terrys Farm and land rented at Ormside
Hall, all of which is down to grass. As well as the beef enterprise, they
buy in an average 350 Mule gimmer lambs each year selling them the following
spring with lambs at foot and there is a flock of 200 Mule ewes which are
also lambed to the Suffolk.
Prior to 2001’s foot and mouth epidemic, the Sowerbys had milked
70 cows as well as running suckler cows. However, with the need to invest
in new equipment they decided to concentrate on beef.
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| Strong store cattle at Terrys Farm, Little Ormside. |
They had previously run a herd of 24 pedigree Limousin cows and decided
against buying the two pedigree herds they looked at to re-stock and instead
bought three cows with calves and two heifers and a cow in calf for their
Terrys herd, with a view to breeding up from them. The herd now numbers
eight breeding females.
Knockhill Tartan has been used on both the pedigree and commercial cows
and Bailea Reggie Perrin is being used on the Blue females which have been
retained.
Last year three Blue heifers were bought from near neighbours Robert and
Diane Hayton at Asby as herd replacements.
“Limousin cross British Blue cattle are my preference although I’m
not biased against any breed as long as they are good cattle,” said
Ian Sowerby. “This particular cross appeals to the butchers in our
area and they are prepared to pay good prices because they like the quality.”
The herd id mainly spring calving and there are 150 including heifers to
calve in 2007 and now numbers are at their optimum, the family will concentrate
on quality.
The cows are generally housed from the end of October but this year’s
weather meant they had to be brought inside in September. The cows are
housed in cubicles and are fed silage and a small amount of concentrate.
Most of the cows calve inside.
Calves are not weaned until January to make the most of their dam’s
milk. They are not fed until housing the following August when they get
concentrate twice a day in preparation for sale from October onwards.
The ewes are lambed from March 28. The Mule hoggs with lambs at foot are
sold at Carlisle, Kirkby Stephen and Penrith where they have taken the
top prize for three years running, as well as taking prizes at the other
centres.
This year’s Penrith champions sold to the judge Ivan Wetherill, of
Skelton, for £74 a life. Some shearlings are sold in the autumn.
The Sowerbys take silage off 80 acres for first cut which is put into the
clamp with a further 60 acres of first cut baled, followed by 40 acres
of second cut which is all baled.
They also do local silage baling and wrapping on a contract basis and they
work closely with their contracting neighbour Chris Atkinson, of Birks
Farm.
