In the highly competitive world of pedigree cattle breeding, the Solpoll Herd of pedigree Herefords is renowned for consistently producing top-quality livestock which are highly sought after by beef and dairy farmers.
Owned and managed by the father and son team of John and William McMordie, the 60-cow pedigree herd is also a well-established name in the show ring.
For the McMordie family, Balmoral Show is an annual event to showcase the best up-and-coming breeding stock their herd has to offer.
This year, five animals have been entered in the Hereford society’s cattle show for the opening day, Wednesday. Three heifers will contest the junior, intermediate and senior female classes, with two young junior bulls also on show.
Farm background
The McMordies farm 175 acres of grassland at Ballygowan, close to Newtownards, Co Down. The farm was originally a dairy farm, but John’s father moved into cattle breeding after purchasing his first pedigree heifer in 1953. The herd has built from there.
Alongside the Herefords, there are smaller herds of pedigree Simmental and Charolais cattle, as well as a number of commercial cows which normally serve as recipient females for embryo transfer.
The Simmental herd was established in 1972, making the McMordies one of the first to import the breed into Northern Ireland.
The Charolais herd was established in 1998. Both the Simmental and Charolais operate under the Solitude Herd prefix.
Calving for the Hereford cattle herd is geared towards spring (March/April) and autumn (September/October) to have bulls ready for sale that are well developed and fit for purpose.
Marketing cattle
Demand for Hereford cattle is growing, with more customers making enquiries annually. According to William, two-thirds of bulls are now sold to dairy farmers.
“With dairy herds predominantly using Holstein breeding, the size of dairy cows has increased so bulls have to be strong and well-developed to serve cows.
“A yearling bull is too young, and two-year-old bulls are a harder sell, so we find that bulls aged 18 months are ideal.
This suits our split calving pattern. To have enough bulls to meet customer demand. We calve 50% of the cows in spring with the other 50% calving in autumn.”
A lot of expense, time and effort goes into sourcing the best possible genetics to use in the herd. Cows that do not produce bulls or heifer calves that the McMordies believe would be good enough to retain as breeding stock within their own herd are culled.
With such a tight culling policy on the cow breeding side, the vast majority of progeny are sold for breeding purposes annually.
Last year, 24 young bulls were sold for breeding, along with 15 in-calf heifers, with 60% of sales from repeat customers.
Cattle are sold through premier breeding sales in Northern Ireland and in Britain, with a strong market also in place for farm-to-farm sales.
Bloodlines have been sold throughout the UK and Ireland, while embryo and semen sales through AI companies mean the herd’s genetics are being exported further afield.
Embryo transfer is used to maximise the genetic potential of the best breeding females annually. Embryos are also frozen to serve as an insurance policy for some bloodlines.
Showing cattle
The Solpoll Herd has a long tradition of showing cattle at Balmoral Show, with Hereford animals on display for at least 60 years.
William caught the show-ring bug at an early age and has developed his stock skills beyond just leading cattle on a halter.
Cattle with show potential for the following year are selected as calves at housing time in autumn. At this point, heifers are normally wintered in cubicle housing, but if space is limited, they are housed on slats. Bulls are housed on straw bedding.
Cattle are fed around 3kg/day of concentrates from housing until Christmas, during which time they are weaned.
The higher meal levels help to transition calves from the cow on to the post-weaning diet. After Christmas, meal is completely cut from the diet and re-introduced around six weeks prior to the show at 1kg/day.
“We do not overfeed animals, especially heifers, as it is more important for us to have as a long a lifespan as possible in cattle.
“We want cattle to finish a show season and be able to re-join the herd and still be fit for breeding. We have had 10-year-old cows winning shows, with judges commenting on how lean, fit and good on feet and legs they are, which is a positive.
It’s a big advantage of the Hereford breed when showing cattle compared with continental breeds. Continental breeds have to be fed much harder for the show ring to make any impact with the judge, whereas Herefords can be much more natural in body condition,” says William.
Preparations
Training show cattle begins by tying animals to a gate to get them used to the halter. Only when cattle start to lie when being haltered will William start training animals to walk while being led.
Around six weeks prior to the show, he starts washing cattle and clipping them to help with presentation.
Preparations started later than normal this year due to calving and weather issues, with cattle only being trained to walk from late April.
Cattle will be washed and clipped again on the Monday of the show week. On Tuesday, cattle will move to the showgrounds to settle before the cattle judging starts on Wednesday. Cattle get a final wash and hair clipped on the morning of the show.
Bulls are fed concentrates while at the show, with heifers on restricted levels of hay to keep them from developing an undesirable gut.
After Wednesday’s cattle judging is finished, heifers will get ad-lib hay provided they are not entered for the best of pairs, or interbreed championships later in the week.
Both William and John tend to the cattle during the show from early morning. Due to close proximity of the home farm to the showgrounds, they do not stay overnight with the cattle, instead leaving for home around 10pm each evening.
Show success
With such a long tradition of attending Balmoral, the McMordies have had numerous successes within the Hereford society, and have claimed the breed championship on 12 occasions.
The standout moment came in 1984 when they won the beef interbreed championship, the only Hereford breeders to do so.
They followed this up with second and third place in the interbreed championship in 2010 and 2015, again the only Hereford herd to have taken these positions.
“We see Balmoral as a good way to test the best genetics in our herd against fellow breeders. We get a lot of satisfaction from showing cattle.
“But we also have sold cattle to other breeders which have won prizes at Balmoral, which is just as pleasing for us.
“Balmoral Show is also a good shop window for selling cattle as we get plenty of opportunities to catch up with existing customers as well as get new customers for breeding stock for the year ahead,” concluded William.