Efficiency is key for Harry Brown and his family from Aberdeenshire who were crowned the winners of the Scotch Beef Farm of the Year award at AgriScot in November.

Along with wife Helen, and children Abbie and Murray, Harry farms the 750-acre unit Auchmaliddie Mains, near Maud, running 200 predominantly Limousin cross suckler cows and a further 200 store cattle to finish each year.

The cows are bulled to one of four Limousin bulls or an Aberdeen-Angus, with only heifers from the best performing cow lines kept as replacements. Some are also sold with calves at foot at Thainstone, while all other cattle are finished on the farm.

As well as selling cattle deadweight, the family is also well-known in the commercial showring and took on a new venture during Covid-19, finishing around 30 home-bred heifers and selling them as direct meat sales either through farmers’ markets or as doorstep deliveries.

The beef is sold alongside Texel cross lamb and eggs from the sheep and hens owned by Abbie and Murray.

Harry said that speaking to customers has been a source of great feedback on meat quality and consistency.

“It’s good to speak to consumers to dispel any myths about how beef and lamb is produced on our farm and Scotland in general,” said Harry.

“The markets are a great way to engage with the general public and tell them our story. It’s really rewarding to have a customer buy our beef and lamb who has been put off red meat or perhaps not eaten red meat for a while.”

He added that customers value the consistent quality of Auchmaliddie Mains beef and said he always receives good feedback on the quality of the carcases.

‘Farmers’ markets are a great way to engage with the general public’

Traceability means Harry can go back to the cow and bull, and then uses that information to identify the best-performing animals and to ensure the family is consistently focusing on producing high quality, efficient cattle.

A strict health plan is in place at Auchmaliddie Mains, including yearling monitoring for Johne’s disease, with all calves ear notched for BVD at birth.

Regular foot trimming and routine nutritionist meetings are also an advantage and females are vet checked before entering the breeding herd. All heifers are pelvic measured as well.

One of the biggest gains according to Harry is the Ritchie Beef Monitor, purchased through one of the capital grant schemes.

It is placed in the shed which houses about 50 finishing steers and is used in conjunction with compatible ear tags to give EID tag reading, weighing and recording.

As cattle need to cross it in order to access the water trough, the business now has daily weights for these steers.

“Before the monitor was installed, some of the poorer performing cattle were being fed for a longer time, eating more silage and barley and not gaining much weight,” said Harry.

“Now when we monitor the weights, we can check when an animal has plateaued, identify them at an early stage and do something about it.”

Ritchie Beef Monitor introduces efficiency

Heifers are weighed once a month through the cattle handling system, but Harry would like to buy another weigh monitor for them to identify better performing cow lines by looking back through the records.

The business has also recently built a new outdoor silage pit, which has cut down on the need to wrap silage, as well as increasing the farm’s storage capacity and efficiency. It has also allowed the old indoor silage pit to be repurposed as bedded pens.

Soils are also regularly analysed and mapped for pH and trace elements, and GPS is used for sowing and fertiliser spreading.

The family has also undertaken several carbon audits, which has increased their awareness of the issue, and prompted their focus on increasing efficiency.

“We are always trying to innovate and change, and to improve our efficiency. There is only so far you can go with costs and a lot is out with our control so we are concentrating on the things we can influence, such as health and herd performance,” concluded Harry.