Father and son duo Angus and Gordon Cumming from Ellon took the top honours in the Royal Northern Agricultural Society’s on the hook carcase competition.
Held on Thursday evening at Woodhead Bros in Turriff, judge Gary Raeburn of Forbes Raeburn Butchers in Huntly, had the task of judging the prime cattle and lambs which were shown live the previous day.
Mr Raeburn awarded the carcase cattle championship to the Cumming’s Limousin cross heifer from Tillydesk, where the family finishes around 1,200 cattle each year.
The lightweight heifer was bred by the Coghills from Tofts of Tain, and was purchased at Caithness Livestock Centre in September.
Scaling 333kg deadweight with a U+41 grade, she stood second in the liveweight class at the Spring Show.
The duo also stood reserve in the live section with a lightweight Limousin cross heifer bought at Thainstone last May.
She was bred by the Stuarts at Ledmacoy, Strathdon.
They also stood champion bullock with an Orkney-bred Aberdeen-Angus cross bullock, again purchased at Thainstone.
Angus and Gordon stood champion in the liveweight competition last year and have won the deadweight contest numerous occasions before.
The reserve honours went to regular consignor Harry Brown and family from Auchmaliddie Mains, Maud, who were crowned the 2022 Beef Farm of the Year.
This was a home-bred Aberdeen-Angus cross heifer which stood third in her class the previous day.
Sired by Strathinver Bentley, purchased for 5,000gns at Stirling Bull Sales, she is bred out of a Limousin cross cow.
She killed out at 320kg with a -U4L grade.
The on the hoof section was also won by the Brown family with a home-bred Limousin cross heifer by Craigatoke Jamieson, which weighed 645kg liveweight and 395kg deadweight.
Bill Cameron from Burnside of Edingight, Grange, Keith, stood reserve in the liveweight bullocks.
In the sheep, Willie and John Brown from Hilton of Culsh, New Deer, stood champion on the hook with their prime lambs which stood reserve champion the previous day.
This was 46kg home-bred Texel crosses by a Canllefaes Delight tup purchased at Builth Wells, out of Beltex cross ewes.
They weighed 23.7kg deadweight.
Roddy and Hugh Thomson from West Park, Aberfeldy, won this year’s live prime lambs and went on to stand reserve overall on the hook with a pair of home-bred Beltex cross Texels.
They stood first prize in the liveweight class the previous day.
