To brighten your day

I just can't help myself and once again share a link with you all. There seems to be something about the Scottish farmers, they do seem to be able to enjoy themselves and portray bull sales as no one else could. I hope this brings a smile to your faces as it did me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG2Ksi1ZgSY

Carlisle Galloway Sale. 4th Nov 2011

Shep was on wander about once again. Carlisle Auction Mart run by Harrison and Hetherington over in Cumbria was the venue. A 'hot' date, organised months ago by a farmer I work for in Cumbria.

The said farmer was selling some of his Galloway heifers. I have worked for the gentleman ever since going self employed many years ago, I knew of him through his connection with Galloways and it is this which drew us together so to speak.

Having had a penchant for the black hairy beast ever since my first full time job upon leaving school I still find I have a huge soft spot for the creature. Once prolific on our hills she has seen a decline but is hanging on in there, there are still those who find her attributes the most suitable for their farming practices and there are twice yearly annual sales for the breed held at Carlisle and Castle Douglas, just as there were in my youth.

 

The Galloway is a hardy beast, hairy with it. A beautiful animal with her anvil shaped head, proud ears and mossy browny black coat. She has a reputation of being wild but those that know them will tell you they are indeed no wilder than any other breed. Like the hill sheep they are to be treat with respect and their strong motherly instinct is probably what gives cause for some to imagine they are a wild creature to handle. Like hill sheep I believe them to be genuine and tough.

 

It has to be said that this particular herd doesn't exactly survive out on hill ground and this is ultimately going to be the downfall for this particular mans life long passion. As age creeps on and son takes the helm different farming practices are coming to hand. Ground which will carry Limousin cross cattle will find itself doing just that and the humble Galloway will find herself history on this particular farm, as has happened on so many others in my working lifetime.

The said farmer requested my company at the sale at Carlisle. A consignment of about a dozen heifers to sell and he wished to share it with someone who like himself had a soft spot for the breed. There are still a handful of cattle on his farm which are nursing galloway calves and an even smaller handful in calf to the galloway and then that is it, from here onwards all of the galloway cows remaining in the herd will be crossed with the limousin. A lifetime of breeding come to an end. No wonder the guy wanted to share the day with someone who was sympathetic to the cause.

 

An early arrival at the mart to assist with showing of cattle. The above photo shows the judges of the day perusing one of the classes, there were many classes both pedigree and none pedigree for those selling their cattle to be put forward for judging. I have to say I was disappointed in one class my farmer showed in, just shows how old fashioned my views are, he was beaten by a canadian type galloway. They appear bigger, leggier, blacker and in my mind not as pleasing to the eye - definitely uglier, lacking the sweetness of the traditional galloway which I have been so accustomed to over the years. Just as well everyone shares different views, in my mind his was the best forward for that particular class but then maybe I was biased, hoping that the elderly farmer could go out on a high, red tickets and silverware and why not? Blue and yellow tickets were the order of the day, at least he didn't go home empty handed!

 

I did think the trade on the day wasn't too bad, especially as the reports filtering back from Castle Douglas hadn't been too promising but then I don't believe there were many forward for sale that day. Bulling heifers from Solmain (above) topped at £1,050 and would average about £800. The top price that I noted was £2,000 for heifers off Peela Hill.

 

These heifers are off Hindhope, true hill cattle and ones whom the farmers son appreciates, hopefully a herd which won't be biting the dust in the near future.

I have to say on the day I was somewhat flabbergasted. I mentioned arriving early to assist with setting cattle out for the judging and that there were many classes forward for the judges to study. As with all show events there is usually one which is deemed the best of the best - the overall champion of the day and so it was at Carlisle. However, the event seemed to be overlooked when the beast entered the ring. Usually at marts I attend whatever animal has won the championship finds its owner being presented with silverware and a round of applause is given by those collected around the ringside. This appeared to be overlooked at Carlisle.

I really was flabbergasted. There were silver cups up on the rostrum not far from the auctioneer, I don't know whether they were all intended for the champion beast or whether some were designated for other prize winners, regardless, they were overlooked. The champion entered the ring and if it had not been for the farmer waving the champion rossette under the nose of the auctioneer I do believe the auctioneer would have sailed on regardless, some splutterings were offered, thanking judges etc and bidding commenced - end of story. Quite an anti climax I'm sure for the farmer who had taken the championship rossette. Not what I am accustomed to that is for sure.

 

I have said Galloways are black hairy beasties but they can come in a variety of colours, Dun, Red and White and then there are the Belties (Belted Galloways). Traditionalists like myself prefer the black, there are those who harper for Duns and then there are those who specialise in Belties which I have to say do have an appeal although many traditionalists don't have much time for them.

 

Maybe more ought to have time to appreciate the beltie as they were a strong trade. Sold at the end of the sale, many had left the ringside but those who were left bid. Collectors items maybes - who knows but I do know they were in demand. Red ones especially with one incalf heifer realising £5,000 admittedly the catalogue did read "a rare chance to buy a red heifer" she was a decent beast and someone took the opportunity of the rare chance to buy her.

 

Away day again... The Holme (Newcastleton) blue grey sale

 

Once again Shep disappeared off to a mart. Just over the border into Scotland is Newcastleton, renowned for it's two day sale of blue grey cattle. Yup! you heard right - cattle, not sheep for once. Once again the offer of a lift was made and Shep took it up, I was grinning to myself that I keep turning up at marts with different fellas - they say variety is the spice of life!

Newcastleton Mart has long been a focal point for blue grey cattle sales, a trip down memory lane as in my youth, when first working, the boss and I used to sell cattle there and low and behold, the mart and sale still exist. Other sales we attended at Haltwhistle, Rothbury and Bellingham no longer exist but Newcastleton does!

I did attend the mart half a dozen years ago but since then there have been further changes, subtle and necessary changes. The pens have been rebuilt, wooden gates have been replaced by metal ones, but other than that there is little difference since many years ago when we would be selling cattle there. The mart still retains it's character.Quite a treat nowadays!

I've written in the past that I have a soft spot for the humble Galloway cow, a black, hairy, hardy beast which used to prolific in hill areas. The blue grey is a cross bred beast out of the Galloway, sire being a White Shorthorn. The end result being a hardy beast with less hair than the mother possesses, a good carcase animal which will cross well with continental breeds. It also tends to take on a grey look, which I guess is what you get when you cross black with white! There are a variety of colourations, with 'red' ones thrown on occasion also.

 

Cattle waiting to enter the ring

 

suckler calves in the ring being sold There are a range of ages of heifers on sale on the first day of the two day sale, there are ones such as these known as sucklers, weaned straight off their mothers and taken to be sold. These were off Ottercops and realised £460 each.

 

There are then bulling heifers such as the ones above from High Thorneyburn. These are mature, a year older than the suckler calves and old enough to go to the bull, hence the reason they are known as bulling heifers. The consigment from this particular farm averaged £1,027 a head. It is also possible to buy incalf heifers at the sale. Those which have been run with a bull and served, they have usually been 'scanned' and are guaranteed in calf.

 

Cattle penned up after they have been sold, as you can see, there is an odd 'red' one. Notice the numbered labels on their rumps, these are attached to the beast prior to going into the ring, quite literally stuck on with glue which eventually weathers off and causes no discomfort to the animal at all. The numbered labels give everyone a quick and easy reference as to the animal and who bought it. These cattle are now waiting to be loaded onto a wagon and head for their new homes where they will hopefully live and breed for a few years to come.

The day didn't quite go as planned, there were issues with cars, trying to be organised Shep waited patiently outside her cottage for the arranged lift to appear, not knowing they were trying to 'phone me to inform me they had broken down. There must be something in the air.......... Eventually all was sorted and I found myself able to return favours, come to the rescue and take my own car, which still looks clean and respectable due to the fact I have only had it for a week, my passengers didn't have cause to hold their noses during the journey!

 

I'll leave you with this shot of two Highland heifers which were the last cattle through the ring, I thought they looked cute, a bit of a teddy bear look about them. The second day of the sale is for bullocks (castrated male calves) which will also range from 6 - 18 months of age. Shep wont be in attendance, breeding sales are more interesting and work needs to be done.

Tuberculosis testing in cattle

This posting has absolutely nothing to do with sheep. Tuberculosis is a notifiable disease, should any farmer suspect he has an animal suffering from TB he is bound by law to notify the necessary authorities - DEFRA. However, in this instance we are talking about cattle, as sheep, suprisingly enough (and horses), are resistant to the disease - amazing to think there is something sheep are less likely to suffer from!

So why am I writing about TB when it has absolutely nothing to do with sheep? Well due to the fact that the majority of the farms in Tarset also run cattle I thought it might be of interest to some to know about the regulations these farmers have to adhere to.

All cattle within the British Isles have to undergo regular tuberculosis testing. The parish of Tarset and Greystead is a 'clean' area and so undergoes their testing every four years - which just so happens to be this year.

So what is TB? Well it is a disease of the respiratory tract spread by a bacteria and passed from animal to animal but will also cross to different species, therefore it is possible for cattle to be infected by badgers, which is a long standing issue which preys on many farmers minds. Badgers carry the TB virus in this country but they are also a protected species. Many years of fighting beaurocracy still seems to be drawing blanks even though a promise of badger culls in the worst infected areas of the country was finally given. Badger numbers have understandably been on the increase since they received their protected species status in 1973.

Cattle can easily pick up the TB bacterium by grazing in areas where badgers frequent, even if you keep your cattle away from areas where the badger actually lives they do tend to wander around quite a lot (badgers that is) and so in a densely badger populated area it would be almost impossible to prevent cattle from having access with badgers. Even when housed for the winter cattle are still not safe from the badger as they will often enter cattle sheds and yards to forage, eating the same food as the cattle have access to.

We know that badgers carry TB and are the greatest threat to contaminating cattle, which are the most susceptible domesticated species to the bacteria, but deer, alpacas, goats even cats and dogs can be infected as can humans. It is the threat to the latter species which causes the disease to be notifiable under British law, the threat to humans.

There are a few strains of TB and in actual fact only half a percent of all people affected in this country have been infected by bovine TB - an interesting statistic! If meat is properly cooked and any milk consumed is pasteurised then the only way anyone could be infected with bovine TB is if infected cattle with full blown TB sneezed or coughed over them and they inhaled the bacteria. Which brings some to question why we still battle on with government enforced cattle testing.

For the time being at least cattle testing is still on the agenda for cattle farmers in this country and as already said this is the time for our parish to have it's cattle tests.

The vets inform the farmers that their test is due and a date is set. Winter time is preferrable for many as their cattle are mainly all housed and so easier to handle. Held together in sheds rather than running all over the farm. Cattle are not always co-operative when it comes to moving them and bringing them into the steading (farm yard), they tend to know something is up and can be wound up to high dough (over excited) before the proceedings get underway. During the winter months and housed they are already 'cornered', makes life a little bit easier!

Within this parish, due to it being a four yearly test it is only necessary to test animals over two years of age (there is an odd minor exception but I don't want to complicate things). Each animal is walked into a cattle crush for ease of working with and operator/livestock safety. A cattle crush is a device designed to hold the animal as stationary as possible and as comfortably as possible, it has an unfortunate name, it most definitely does not crush the animal, although it will often restrain them by the neck in a guillotine type fashion. This may sound inhumane but believe you me it is anything but, years of improvements have produced excellent and safe cattle handling facilities for both man and beast.

Once held secure the vet reads the ear tag number. All cattle in the UK are registered (a legal requirement) and all carry tags in their ears with the required registration data. The tag number of the beast is recorded along with it's age and sex. Access to the neck is necessary as the hair is shaved off two small areas one a distance above the other. The skin at the bare areas is then measured with calipers and the measurements recorded prior to the sites being injected with a laboratory produced TB bacteria. Avian TB as well as bovine TB is injected, the avian is injected in the top area with the bovine further below. Once all the cattle have been dealt with the vet will depart and return in 3 days.

Should an animal be carrying Bovine TB it will react to the injection it was given, the avian injection is given to enable the vet to compare the reactions to the two different forms of TB. When the vet returns to re check the herd he again measures the skin and records the measurements if necessary. It is not unusual for there to be raised areas at the injection sites, however, should the lower area be more pronounced than the higher site (the bovine react more than the avian) then the beast will be classed as being inconclusive and a further test will have to be run in 60 days time.

All in all it is a quite a stressful time for both the farmer and his cattle. The farmer has the concerns that maybe his cattle could be carrying TB, there are not bound to be any signs as it can lie dormant for the whole duration of the animals life, causing no problems to anyone, not even infectious to the other cattle, so a farmer would never know until a test proved positive.

As for the cattle? Well they find themselves being handled twice in one week which can find them getting wound up. Cattle don't always take kindly to seeing strangers, they don't always appreciate being put back through the cattle crush when their memories are still fresh from the incidences of three days ago. It can get them worked up and stressed which in some weather conditions could always lead to them going down with pneumonia, the last thing any farmer would want.

Due to the poor weather conditions at the end of last year many of the cattle tests in this area found themselves postponed until a later date. Even if the snow hadn't caused a problem the ice did. Icy concrete yards are not ideal for moving cattle on, their cloven hooves struggle to purchase in such conditions and it wouldn't have been safe for their welfare or those handling them to work under such conditions. Therefore many of the tests are now taking place which sees the better half helping out many farmers to get their cattle forward for the vets inspection.

Are the tests proving to be clear? Well most are, there has apparently been one inconclusive result which will see the vet return to that farm in March to test that one beast again. Hopefully all will be well and there will be no reaction on the second test. However, should their be a reaction again the farmer will find himself held under strict movement regulations, further tests of the whole herd and more stress. Any animal which is deemed to be a reactor is automatically sent for slaughter, the farmer receives a compensatory payment from the government (which is rarely the value of the animal).

There are many countries which have managed to eradicate bovine TB by testing and culling as our country does, however, it is highly unlikely that the problem will ever be eradicated in the UK as long as the badgers carry the disease. I was told by the vet that it would be highly unlikely TB would kill many cattle, they were more likely to die of other causes or be naturally culled out of the herd by age than end up having full blown TB and die of it. So why test then? Presumably to keep those who work with cattle safe from catching it, as to the normal person on the street who cooks their meat and drinks pasteurised milk bovine TB ought not to be a threat.

Water

One of the few formulas my memory can recall from those far distant chemistry lessons, H20, good old water. Water is a great friend and a poor enemy, as are so many of our natural resources.

One thing for sure, none of us can survive without water and that includes the livestock which we look after.

The recent cold snap caused problems for stock having access to water. Those which were outdoors may have been fortunate enough to access a natural water course, although they soon began to freeze over. Water troughs in fields soon froze and getting them running was not always possible.

As we all know snow is frozen water and when the worst comes to the worst the stock will eat snow. Have you ever melted a bucket full of snow? If you have you'll be aware that a bucket full of snow when melted will only give you an inch or two of water.

I learnt last year that for all sheep, especially, will survive by consuming snow it is actually quite hard on them due to the energy they burn digesting the frozen stuff, a fact I was unaware of but then it's quite true that you're never too old to learn. It is actually a fact which makes a lot of sense when thought about logically.

Many animals over the past weeks have had to survive by eating snow, some have carried water out to their stock but this is really impractical and never ending, there has been plenty to do without adding to the work load, after all, there has been a natural supply available as back up in the form of snow, albeit not an ideal solution.

Unfortunately those animals housed inside are dependant on a water supply. In Tarset it is mainly cattle which find themselves housed throughout the winter and cattle do drink a fair slurp of water. Some find smaller water troughs are a great help against freezing as the demand for water from the cattle sees the troughs being used more frequently therefore the water is running more regularly and so has less chance of freezing.

Body heat can also be a great help, cattle obviously generate heat and this may also help keep the supplies from freezing.

Unfortunately for many this year the low temperatures caused the troughs to freeze, plummeting night temperatures with freezing day temperatures were all too much for the cattle sheds and many hours were spent with boiled kettles and heaters trying to get the water away and running. Some failed and found their cattle in dire need of water.

Cattle drink in gallons not pints, it all depends on their size, whether they are milking (nursing a calf)or not, what they are fed on - silage does contain some moisture as does grass, hay is a dry fodder as is cattle cake, but regardless of these factors they will still be consuming gallons rather than pints, it would be an awful lot of water to carry from the house!

Other options are put into action when the water supply fails in cattle sheds, they find themselves being let out to reach a natural water course to quench their thirst.

 

Unfortunately even the natural water courses can fall foul to the weather. The Tarset Burn above is frozen from edge to edge and it is to be the only water supply to some cattle which are housed near it.

 

Men at work - nothing like a spot of good old hard labour, not smashing stones but smashing ice, trying to break through the frozen surface of the river to allow the cattle access to water.

 

Not paper thin ice at that either, pretty solid stuff it was, so solid in fact that it would take the weight of not only the men but also the cattle.

 

The cattle were only too pleased to be able to access some water, they gamboled their way out of their shed and ran down to the water side with not so much as a please or a thank you and started slurping to their hearts content.

 

The steam rising off their backs gives an indication as to how cold it was, so cold in fact that the batteries in my camera were suffering and I was struggling to take photos. The whole escapade took three quarters of an hour, from ice being broken to cattle getting their fill and being rehoused. Three quarters of an hour out of the farmers day as he had to stand guard to prevent his animals from escaping below a bridge across the frozen water. Time well spent tho' as without water animals will eventually die.

The hard frosts have abated for the time being, the burn looks more as it ought and life is a little bit easier. More frost is forecast, we'll just have to hope it isn't too hard and is slightly more sociable.

Thursday and.......... it snowed! (2/12/10)

After heading down the valley this morning to feed two lots of sheep Shep turned around, collected Moss and Kale and headed up the valley, following a gritter for a short while then meeting a tractor and plough further on before meeting the out bye shepherd who once again was cutting his road out to give me and the quad access to help him.

During the journey I passed these cattle enjoying the silage at a ring feeder, they seemed to be taking less hurt than I felt I was but then they are bred for hard weather.

The snow is now deeper than it was last year, there is a fence somewhere in this photo. As for the snow being 22 inches deep (the length of the shepherds leg to the knee) I don't know how deep it is now, he seemed shy to let me take his inside leg measurement! Definitely too much of it is bum height to me!!

I hayed some sheep at the home farm before heading further out, the shepherd had set away in front with the tractor and plough to cut the road out, a daily task and very time consuming

Moss ran away ahead of the bike, Kale had been left secure at the farm, he actually just went with me for excersice on the way there. A young, keen untrained dog is not the thing you want to be bothered by on days like this. Glen had been left at home, these days can be hard on a dog and are not the sort of days to put a ten year old fella through.

I eventually caught up with the plough which was heading back towards me, the shepherd thought I was getting stuck with the bike on the roughly ploughed road because I kept stopping, I didn't dare admit I'd been taking pretty pictures!! The plough is fitted on the back of the tractor which means the tractor has to go backwards when ploughing, which means the shepherd gets a crick in his neck. Not the easiest of jobs.

First port of call was to access the sheep we had walked away in a couple of days ago. The tractor had knocked the fence down into a planting that day. On purpose I may add. We had taken them to a spot where there was little shelter from the north or east but it was accessible with the tractor. For that reason the fence had been knocked down so the sheep could access shelter in the trees if nothing else. There was quite a mob of them in there, wild creatures, they weren't keen on showing their faces and who could blame them after the hassle they were put through the other day. They did start coming out to the bent hay as we were leaving.

A hair raising journey out to some others with the tractor sliding and almost sticking on a number of occasions had us find sheep which once again needed walking out and bunching together. Shep had got sick of carrying a bulky camera and cursed all the time as the weather was bright, the view outstanding and the photos would have been great - but there you go, it's hard enough walking through this snowy stuff without being hampered with a camera!

Our final port of call was to seek out the Monkside ewes, not seen since Monday but all held together in an inaccessible place for a bale, we would just roll the bale to them. Not the easiest as this again was a bale of bent hay (hill grasses baled up) and not a good one at that so it was quite well stuck together.

As you can see I left all the hard work to the shepherd!

Eventually they too had their fodder, hopefully they might pull themselves out of the hole they are in, even more fortunately we had a 'carpet' to walk back on as the depth of snow was ridiculous and I really didn't want to look like a floundering girlie trying to drag my carcase up hill out of deep snow. The sheep will flatten it down as they eat the fodder laid out for them, or that is what we hope!

Heading for home just on darkening it decided to snow again, I was lucky and got in behind a tractor further down the valley, I tucked in tight in the hope of getting some shelter off it as we travelled along and arrived home rather chilled but with cheeks glowing.

Tomorrow is another day, back out bye to get to yet more sheep, it is never ending as feeding them all on one day is not possible at the moment, there are still some we have not accessed but have seen from a distance and they are in no immeadiate danger.

Hopefully an argo cat fitted with tracks may be arriving in a day or two, the snow is getting too deep for a tractor and it is also getting dangerous for the tractor to travel, the shepherd out bye is a lone shepherd and needs something to make life not only easier but also safer.

On that note I had a phone call this evening from the farmer in the Rede. He is the farmer who got tracks for his quad bike last year and says it is the best £3,500 he has ever spent, to date there is absolutely nothing has stopped this bike fitted with tracks. The snow out there will be as deep as it is out bye and some of the ground as steep and apparently this contraption will travel anywhere.

 

The photo which was taken at the end of January of the tracked bike. A god send in deep snow. I will try and encourage the shepherd out bye to look into getting these, unfortunately it will be up to his employers at the end of the day but it would surely make his job easier and safer.