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© Copyright
2004, 2007 M. Sandison
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Even if you are a professional beef farmer it is
quite likely that you have never heard of the Shetland cow. You may also
find it unusual that we are recommending consideration of a endangered breed as the foundation for a commercial suckler herd.
One family enterprise has, however, done just this, and has built up a very
successful business as a result. Their business model is based on the
formula that high output from low input equals maximum profit. They achieve
this by utilising the Shetland cow’s ability to convert poor quality forage
efficiently into milk with which to produce a large quick growing calf.
They capitalise on this ability by crossing the majority of the herd to
Simmental bulls, and then selecting those with the highest 200 day weight
gains and muscle figures. The resulting hybrid calves are sold to finishers
in the Autumn and command a premium price. The pure bred animals are either
kept as replacements, or sold as pedigree stock to smallholders,
conservation graziers or niche market suckler beef farmers.
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Taking each element of this model in turn:
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Large, quick growing calves.
On this Scottish severely disadvantaged farm, impressive daily liveweight
gains are being recorded. Simmental X calves out of Shetland cows achieved
average gains of 1.42 kg/day for males and 1.3 kg/day for females. 200 day
weights were 324 kg for males and 290 kg for females, all from grazing rough
pasture with no creep feeding.
This demonstrates the Shetland’s outstanding foraging ability and conversion
efficiency. A typical cow, weighing only 450 kg, and therefore with a food
consumption far lower than most suckler breeds, is producing a calf that is
65-70% of its own weight at 200 days from sub-optimal forage.
(Photo ©
John &
Linda McCaig)
Simmental X calf
weighing 40 kg at birth, born to a 350 kg dam.
Photo taken at
5 months old. Weight at 7 months – 300 kg.
(Click to enlarge)
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Easy calving
– Shetland cattle are famed for their ease of calving when bred pure, helped
by their pelvis width which is second only to the Jersey. They maintain a
comparative advantage when crossed to large continental bulls. For example,
the Scottish Dept. of Agriculture & Fisheries’ Knocknagael Farm has noted
their ease of calving when putting even maiden heifers to a continental bull,
compared to the more usual suckler breeds.
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Milkiness
– The Shetland evolved as a crofter’s cow, being required to provide a
plentiful milk supply for both its calf and the family. It therefore has
plenty of milk available for a continental cross calf. This is the
explanation for the impressive liveweight gains.
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Fertility
– Maintaining a tight calving pattern is a key element in profitability.
Research conducted by the Animal Breeding Research Organisation has shown
that pure Shetlands have the ability to calve every eleven months.
Commercial trials confirm that this ability is maintained when crossed with
a continental bull.
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Hardiness
– The Shetland has evolved in one of the UK’s harshest and most impoverished
environments. As the 1912 Herd Book stated, “They are extraordinarily
hardy, the weaklings having died out long ago”. To have overcome the
privations of the Shetland Islands it is undoubtedly one of the toughest and
most disease resistant of breeds.
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Longevity
– Their hardiness and disease resistance means that Shetlands commonly
continue to produce calves into their late teens, significantly reducing the
cost of replacements.
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