Almost 120 head of Luing cattle will be sold through Dingwall and Highland Marts next Wednesday at the breed’s annual spring sale.
Local breeder Graeme MacRae of the Kintail herd is heading to the event with five bulling heifers.
He runs the herd between the family’s croft at Newton of Ferintosh, Conon Bridge, and the 850-hectare hill croft on the west coast at Kintail.
Along with wife Fiona, and their family of Issy, Farquhar and Marcus, Graeme keeps a small herd of 12 pedigree Luing cows and 200 North Country Cheviot ewes.
Both Farquhar and Marcus work for United Auctions, based at Huntly Mart and the Stirling Centre.
Issy is based in Inverness as a student Surveyor and at home to help with the livestock.
For cost efficiency and shared bull management, Graeme teams up to buy a stock bull with Richard Lockett, of Knockbain Luings near Dingwall.
Most of the cows go back to a Commonside bull purchased in Castle Douglas, while other purchases include a bull bought privately from the Cadzow family on the Isle of Luing.
More recently, the duo bought an older stock bull privately from the Monzie herd at Blair Atholl, who will be introduced to the cows for the first time this summer.
Both herds run with the bull at Knockbain over the summer and are managed under a very effective mob grazing system.
At weaning the stot calves are sold through the store ring, and heifers are moved to Kintail for the winter.
The cows are fed adlib silage at Newton of Ferintosh from around Christmas time until calving commences at the end of March/early April.
After calving, they are given 18% protein rolls for six weeks until June time when they return to the bull for another summer.
Graeme said: “The heifer calves become tick acclimatised when they are in Kintail over the summer and they don’t return home to the Black Isle until 24 months of age, before being sold in May as bulling heifers.
“They receive a small amount of supplementary feed and adlib hay out on the hill over the winter and are sheltered within three areas of native woodland blocks which benefit from the low density cattle grazing.”
Stot calves are sold straight off their mothers and put through the store ring at seven/eight months of age weighing an average of 300kg.
The Kintail bulling heifers sold at the annual sale in Dingwall often command top price.
The dearest average to date is 2,580gns for six sold in 2019 with leading prices of 3,020gns and 2,750gns, along with the first bull sold at 5,500gns.