QUALITY EVERY YEAR AT SENNYBRIDGE

David Price has been consistently selling around 30 top quality suckled calves at the Sennybridge autumn sale.

David Price farms at Garreglwyd and Gwydre, near Llandeusant in partnership with son Bryan and daughter in law Delyth, where they run a mixed livestock unit with suckler cows and sheep where land rises from 800 to 1150 feet altitude.

The 65 cow suckler herd are Belgian Blue and Limousin crosses bred to a pedigree Belgian Blue bull.

Herd calving is split between late autumn /winter and summer. The winter calves being sold at around 350 kgs when 9 to 10 months of age, with steers sold on blue and green premium status. Calves are creep fed for 2 months prior to sale as grass supply declines and to ensure the cattle keep growing at weaning.

Herd replacements are homebred and carefully selected for conformation and milking ability of the dam, while the herd sire has great muscling and stature to produce suckled calves with tremendous shape and growth which are so sought after at Sennybridge each year.

LIVESTOCK REARING AT 1,000 FEET

Tom Harris farms in partnership with his sons Edward and Richard at Hendre, Felindre near Knighton. Livestock rearing is their main focus on an all grass farm extending to 900 acres and running from 1,000 to 1,650 feet above sea level close to the Powys/ Shropshire border.

The farm runs a breeding ewe flock of Welsh mountain ewes and a suckler herd of 300 cows which all calf in the spring starting from the 1st of April. Cows are mainly Limousin crosses bred to the 8 Charolais bulls which are kept.
Around 80% of the calf crop are sold at the autumn sales with 100 to 120 calves forward at the Brecon and Radnor Suckled Calf Rearers sale at Knighton.

Simplicity is key to the way the family farm, calving all the cows at the same time of year, most of which is done out of doors to reduce disease risks and workload. This then allows marketing of even lots of 15 animals with the steers sold on green passports.

A lot of attention is paid to the purchase of stock bulls, with particular emphasis selecting bulls with high EBVs for Beef Value and calving ease. Tom emphasises the importance to them of having easy calvings and the calves having potential for rapid growth while suckling their dams before taking creep feed later in the grazing season prior to the autumn sales.

Herd replacements are bought as bulling heifers and run with a Limousin bull for their first calving.

Tom was keen to point out they have always concentrated on the breeding stock and doing what they know well. Conformation and growth rates of their reared calves are just as important to the Harris family as their customers who finish the cattle.