Autumn calving is in full swing at the Duguids in Aberchirder, Aberdeenshire. Arthur, Scott and Muriel have only 19 to go from 67 which started 2 October. So far, the majority have calved unassisted with five needing an easy pull. However, frustratingly five caesarean sections have been needed too.

“Last year we didn’t have a vet once out to the autumn herd,” said Arthur.

“But this year is a different story. In most of the cases, we have had calves wrongly presented, with three hind feet first and one just a tail poking out. We also had a cow with a 360-degree twisted womb and a rotten calf. There is no pattern to the caesareans as the calves are from all the different bulls.”

The Duguid's autumn calves before housing.

Most of these cows will not be used to breed with again. So far from 48 cows, there are 44 calves with a planned end date around 20 December. The bulls were in for 11 weeks and will be going back to the cows again this year around 22 December.

As the weather is turning the cows and calves are now coming inside for winter. They will go on to a straw and silage ration with 1.5kg of barley each. Before calving cows are supplemented with 350g to 400g of a soya/rape blend.

Cutting the time to the ring

Historically, Arthur has advocated that autumn-born calves are sold the second Friday in January if they meet his weight target. However, this year there have been some bigger calves coming through from last year’s autumn-born calves.

Scott standing in their kale which is 90cm tall and will feed dry cows over winter.

As a result the family have picked out 11 yearling cattle to be sold this week at Thainstone. They were weaned in the middle of July on to grass. Once they had cut the winter barley in the middle of August, troughs were put out to the fields with 4kg a head a day of propcorned barley and the soya/rape blend. The six heifers weigh from 478kg to 498kg and the five steers weigh from 462kg to 506kg.

However, Arthur believes they could lose 20kg each in weight between the farm and the ring. They are a mix of Limousin, Charolais and Simmental crosses.

Averaged over the last few years, the family would get around £1,100 per head in January for these cattle. Not only does this bring cashflow forward, it also reduces the amount of feed eaten as the cattle are going off around 60 days sooner than usual.

The feeding and bedding for these cattle is costing £1.73/day, so the earlier sale is saving around £104/head.

Getting ready for the tup

This year, the Duguids are putting 301 ewes to the tup on 6 November. From last year’s 276 ewe lambs, 226 are being kept on with 60 ewe lambs and 25 gimmers added into the flock. Forty ewe lambs were kept back for breeding while another 20 ewe lambs were bought for £116/head and the 25 gimmers cost £180 each. The ewes which were not kept for breeding were sold. The tups will be raddled to check on progress of the tupping.

Lamb marketing

So far, the farm has sold 313 lambs off grass with 140 left in the fields. The lambs were weaned in the middle of July. Most of the lambs were sold to Woodheads in Turriff which is only seven miles away and takes Scott 15 minutes to take a load of 40.

The Duguids' silage.

There was also one load of 46 which was sold at Thainstone through the live ring. The price this year has been £92/head on average which is up from last year when prices were £80/head in July and £80/head in August.

Scott is hoping some of the lambs he has left will be able to make close to the £113/head he was paid in February this year.

Scott’s project

Alongside the farm’s existing sheep flock Scott has established a new enterprise. This year he bought in 105 older Mule ewes between four and five crops which sell with lambs at foot. This will allow for much-needed spring sales while not taking up grass next summer in the already heavily stocked farm. The Mules are already with the Suffolk tup with the marks on their fleece showing the first 35 tupped in a week.

Scott’s budget means that he needs to make a minimum of £55 per life for the ewes and lambs next April to clear all of his costs.

Tup plans

The flock is getting some new genetics as two new Hampshire Down tups have been bought for £400 each. The idea is to use the Hampshire Down to reduce the size of the lambs and make lambing easier as they push the number of ewes up.

As well as Hampshire Down, the Duguids have bought a Blueface Leicester for £450, two Texels for £750 and £800 and two Suffolk tups for £800 and £850.

Arthur is anxious that tups are pushed too hard on concentrates before sales which significantly reduces the longevity of the animals. He is even toying with the idea of buying tup lambs and keeping them for a year to ensure that the tups have longevity.