The Leachman name has always been synonymous with cattle breeding, indeed so much so that it was Lee’s father who founded the Stabiliser breed, which we now see across Ireland and the UK.
“My grandfather started with purebred Angus, then my father started crossbreeding with everything. The original mix was Simmental, Gelbvieh, Hereford and Angus, and we pushed the Hereford out and put the South Devon in. They had too much back fat and not enough marbling. We’d like to put it back in because the Hereford eat a lot less.”
Perfect cross?
When asked about the perfect Stabiliser cross, Lee said: “There’s no perfect mix. Do you really care about the breed or do you care about making money? You think the guys breeding pigs and chickens know what the ideal breed mix is, no.”
While the breed is growing in western Europe, Lee sees great hopes for them in the UK and Ireland, particularly where the €uro-Star index is concerned.
“They’re going to win on the index (€uro-Star), because the system we’re selecting and the system you’re selecting is so close. They are not the same but If we measure all the same traits, then regardless of the fact that our costs are different to your costs and our marbling premium is different to your marbling premium, the bulls that excel on our index are going to excel on your index.
Ninety-five per cent of the Stabiliser bulls that have more than 20 progeny in Ireland are five-star and they’re not the best Stabilisers
"Ninety-five per cent of the Stabiliser bulls that have more than 20 progeny in Ireland are five-star and they’re not the best Stabilisers. The best stuff is going into the UK and the stuff is trickling down. There are 10,000 Stabilisers in the UK, there’s 10,000 of them here and we’re all on the same index and we’re going as fast as we can.”
When the breed was introduced to the UK, it wasn’t set up as a breed but as a breeding programme, with all the data collected returning to the Leachman company for analysis.
“Our Stabiliser bulls have more marbling than the average Angus in the US. Because our model selects for that. Then they go over to the UK and they win all the meat-eating quality tests and everyone says 'this breed is really tender'. No – they just have more marbling. The only one that will beat them in a meat quality test is the Angus.
Angus
“The Angus breed is by far dominant on marbling and that’s the advantage the breed has. If you put any sort of a high spec on marbling in carcase then Angus wins.
“If you’re running cows and selling cows at weaning, Stabilisers are making more money easy – because the cow’s a crossbred (hybrid vigour). The cow lives longer, rebreeds easier, stays in better body condition and she has more live calves.”
While the Angus cattle are superior on marbling, with 70% to 80% reaching the prime grade, due to the increased carcase weight of the Stabiliser, Lee sees very little difference in the final cheque.
“About 30% of the Stabilisers will hit prime grade. You get a little more carcase weight or a little less marbling, or little less carcase weight and a little more marbling – it’s the same.”
Read more
Leachman herd, part I: Maintaining a 365-day calving interval with 10,000 cows
Leachman herd, part II: performance testing 3,000 bulls in three months
Leachman herd, part III: 'A smaller cow is good financially and on emissions'
What is a high-marbled carcase worth to you in the US?
The Leachman name has always been synonymous with cattle breeding, indeed so much so that it was Lee’s father who founded the Stabiliser breed, which we now see across Ireland and the UK.
“My grandfather started with purebred Angus, then my father started crossbreeding with everything. The original mix was Simmental, Gelbvieh, Hereford and Angus, and we pushed the Hereford out and put the South Devon in. They had too much back fat and not enough marbling. We’d like to put it back in because the Hereford eat a lot less.”
Perfect cross?
When asked about the perfect Stabiliser cross, Lee said: “There’s no perfect mix. Do you really care about the breed or do you care about making money? You think the guys breeding pigs and chickens know what the ideal breed mix is, no.”
While the breed is growing in western Europe, Lee sees great hopes for them in the UK and Ireland, particularly where the €uro-Star index is concerned.
“They’re going to win on the index (€uro-Star), because the system we’re selecting and the system you’re selecting is so close. They are not the same but If we measure all the same traits, then regardless of the fact that our costs are different to your costs and our marbling premium is different to your marbling premium, the bulls that excel on our index are going to excel on your index.
Ninety-five per cent of the Stabiliser bulls that have more than 20 progeny in Ireland are five-star and they’re not the best Stabilisers
"Ninety-five per cent of the Stabiliser bulls that have more than 20 progeny in Ireland are five-star and they’re not the best Stabilisers. The best stuff is going into the UK and the stuff is trickling down. There are 10,000 Stabilisers in the UK, there’s 10,000 of them here and we’re all on the same index and we’re going as fast as we can.”
When the breed was introduced to the UK, it wasn’t set up as a breed but as a breeding programme, with all the data collected returning to the Leachman company for analysis.
“Our Stabiliser bulls have more marbling than the average Angus in the US. Because our model selects for that. Then they go over to the UK and they win all the meat-eating quality tests and everyone says 'this breed is really tender'. No – they just have more marbling. The only one that will beat them in a meat quality test is the Angus.
Angus
“The Angus breed is by far dominant on marbling and that’s the advantage the breed has. If you put any sort of a high spec on marbling in carcase then Angus wins.
“If you’re running cows and selling cows at weaning, Stabilisers are making more money easy – because the cow’s a crossbred (hybrid vigour). The cow lives longer, rebreeds easier, stays in better body condition and she has more live calves.”
While the Angus cattle are superior on marbling, with 70% to 80% reaching the prime grade, due to the increased carcase weight of the Stabiliser, Lee sees very little difference in the final cheque.
“About 30% of the Stabilisers will hit prime grade. You get a little more carcase weight or a little less marbling, or little less carcase weight and a little more marbling – it’s the same.”
Read more
Leachman herd, part I: Maintaining a 365-day calving interval with 10,000 cows
Leachman herd, part II: performance testing 3,000 bulls in three months
Leachman herd, part III: 'A smaller cow is good financially and on emissions'
What is a high-marbled carcase worth to you in the US?
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: