Essential foundations for successful production

摘要

Relying on suckler cows to provide home-bred herd replacements as well as top quality prime cattle capable of earning 260p a kilo is regarded as an essential foundation for successful beef production by John Hamilton who runs a 1,900-acre organic farm at Aikengall in the Lammermuir Hills near Dunbar. His herd of 230 Simmental-cross cows is the lynch-pin of a system that produces around 200 head of prime beef cattle a year for one of the UK's leading meat wholesalers. "We wanted an easy care systemand not one that depended upon propping up the cattle unnecessarily. We don't even spend money on mineral licks. "I use the organic system to widen my margins, to do the job as cheaply as I can and yet still produce top quality prime cattle," says Mr Hamilton. Not having to depend on buying-in herd replacements - both in terms of cost and animal health - saw the herd turn to the Simmental as a breed that could provide females with the primary maternal traits necessary for good herd replacements while still produce cattle able to meet top primestock specification and earn high returns, he said.