Producing good-quality Limousin bulls for the commercial market is the name of the game for the Davidson family from Corsairtly, Keith.
Richard and Kathleen, together with son Richard, and daughter Rachael, farm 400 acres of ground and rent a further 100 acres of seasonal grass in the local area.
The 100-cow suckler herd includes 70 pedigree Limousins run under the Corsairtly prefix, while the remainder are mainly Limousin crosses bulled back to the French sire.
Richard has used the Limousin as a terminal sire for decades but the pedigree herd was founded only 15 years ago after purchasing females at reductions and dispersals.
Apart from the occasional purchase of a female, only top-quality stock bulls are bought in, with the majority of the herd now home-bred.
Kathleen is also kept busy running Advanced Agricultural Services, doing consultancy work for local farmers and runs a successful business selling grass seed from the farm.
“The Limousin just ticks the boxes for us,” said Kathleen.
“They are easy calving, easy handled and easy kept. There is always strong demand for the breed to produce progeny with plenty shape that will make a good price in the store ring or grade well in the abattoir.
Kathleen said that they are fairly strict on what they sell and only sell a bull that we would use at home ourselves.
“Anything that isn’t suitable for breeding is fattened and sold direct to Woodhead Bros at Turriff,” she added.
“Temperament is also really important, especially when selling bulls so we only keep easy handled animals.”
The family business also includes two pedigree sheep flocks numbering 70 Charollais and 60 Texels which produce around 50 tup lambs per year for selling to commercial producers at Thainstone, Huntly and off farm.
Crops of spring barley and winter wheat are grown for home use.
Aside from lambing the Charollais flock and awaiting the arrival of the Texel lambs next month, the Davidsons are busy preparing the entries for Stirling Bull Sales, while son Richard is in New Zealand working for an agricultural contractor and returns home next March.
The three May, 2021-born bulls for sale next month are the first offering from the herd’s junior stock bull, Deerpark Pluto.
Pluto is a son of Plumtree Fantastic, out of an Ampertaine Elgin daughter, and was purchased for £10,400 on Harrison and Hetherington’s online sale in 2020
The family picked Pluto from videos and photographs during the pandemic, and had a friend who went to view him and backed their decision to buy.
In the earlier days, it was Millington Dominator, Goldies Dictator and Dyke Luke, which put a stamp on the herd, as well as Ronick Inspector, which is still breeding well as a nine-year-old bull.
He was purchased privately as a yearling and most of his daughters and granddaughters can be found in the herd today. Two of the bulls destined for Stirling are grandsons.
The most recent purchase was Whinfellpark Ronaldo, which first calves are now on the ground and look promising.
Around 12 bulls per year are sold either privately or at auction, with the herd’s top price to date being 8,000gns in 2019 for Corsairtly Oswald, which sold to a top commercial breeder in Perthshire.
He is a son of Ronick Inspector and scooped six breed championships throughout that summer.
At Stirling Bull Sales’ multi-breed show and sale in May 2022, the herd produced two bulls at 6,800gns and 6,500gns. The latter was Corsairtly Rocknroll, which stood reserve champion.
Out with the sales, the family exhibit at shows in the north and north-east circuit as they feel this is a good shop window for their stock. In the past, they have shown at as many as seven in one year but last year cut back to three after the pandemic.
While the cows are bulled in groups to calve according to bull sale dates, this year’s batch of bulling heifers, which are mainly Inspector daughters, will be running with the bull next month.
The line-up for Stirling next month includes a black bull named Corsairtly Supra, which stood reserve champion at Nairn Show. He is bred out of a dam by Ronick Inspector, as is Corsairtly Sam.
The other bull is bred out of a Millington Dominator dam.
“We are really passionate about the breed and reckon the future remains bright for it as producers look to keep handy sized animals that can produce easy calving, easy fleshing progeny,” said Kathleen.
“It’s a really good breed to be a part of.”
