Line one Herefords

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Bill dog

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Scottish Borders

Sharpy

Member
Livestock Farmer

Cowgirl

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Ayrshire
Yes the Society would not accept that cross as a way of improving the increasingly dumpy cattle , yet were happy to import North American bulls which had suddenly got a lot bigger:rolleyes:.
Frame size has a heritability of about 0.8 so increasing size is relatively easy to do. The Line one Herefords were originally bred to show that, they were an inbred herd selected solely for yearling weight starting at a time when cattle were quite small, they increased quickly in size and were released to the public just as there was demand for bigger cattle. Part of the reason they became popular.
 

Martyn

Member
Location
South west
We are good quality milking grass dairy farm but want to set up a small herd of sucklers so that over time I can give up the milking, I don't want to do it past 45 years!
We run Hereford and Angus bulls on our cows and Finnish the offspring. Will these line one Herefords just get to fat on our type of ground, that it will be a constant battle to keep them in the right condition to prevent calving issues? We could potentially run 250 cows to replace the milkers, currently they are run on a stricked pasture grassing rotation, and we would want to do similar with cows to maximize grass use.
 

Hilly

Member
We are good quality milking grass dairy farm but want to set up a small herd of sucklers so that over time I can give up the milking, I don't want to do it past 45 years!
We run Hereford and Angus bulls on our cows and Finnish the offspring. Will these line one Herefords just get to fat on our type of ground, that it will be a constant battle to keep them in the right condition to prevent calving issues? We could potentially run 250 cows to replace the milkers, currently they are run on a stricked pasture grassing rotation, and we would want to do similar with cows to maximize grass use.
Line ones don’t run as fat mine have had a very good summer but non of that fat lumps you see on. ordinary Herefords imo , but in this era of fert predicted to hit £1000 ton and feed £300 and rising it’s easier to manage cattle to keep em slim than it is to try and put fettle on !!
 
We are good quality milking grass dairy farm but want to set up a small herd of sucklers so that over time I can give up the milking, I don't want to do it past 45 years!
We run Hereford and Angus bulls on our cows and Finnish the offspring. Will these line one Herefords just get to fat on our type of ground, that it will be a constant battle to keep them in the right condition to prevent calving issues? We could potentially run 250 cows to replace the milkers, currently they are run on a stricked pasture grassing rotation, and we would want to do similar with cows to maximize grass use.
Natives on a lowland dairy farm, I'd suggest not.
We've tried various natives and they just get like balls of lard, which us what low keep cows are supposed to do.
The issues for me is this fat isn't doing anyone any good and slow growing calves are a bit of a waste on a lowland farm with good grass management.

To put it in dairy terms, you'd be keeping a 5000lt cow on a 9000lt cows diet.
Better to match the cow to the farm.
 

Hilly

Member
Natives on a lowland dairy farm, I'd suggest not.
We've tried various natives and they just get like balls of lard, which us what low keep cows are supposed to do.
The issues for me is this fat isn't doing anyone any good and slow growing calves are a bit of a waste on a lowland farm with good grass management.

To put it in dairy terms, you'd be keeping a 5000lt cow on a 9000lt cows diet.
Better to match the cow to the farm.
Depends on how keen he is to continue with inputs to keep land rich , they are getting very very expensive , my line one Herefords come
From ex dairy farm and they are not balls of lard here and they were not balls of lard on that ex dairy farm which still runs line ones which are not balls of lard .
 
We are good quality milking grass dairy farm but want to set up a small herd of sucklers so that over time I can give up the milking, I don't want to do it past 45 years!
We run Hereford and Angus bulls on our cows and Finnish the offspring. Will these line one Herefords just get to fat on our type of ground, that it will be a constant battle to keep them in the right condition to prevent calving issues? We could potentially run 250 cows to replace the milkers, currently they are run on a stricked pasture grassing rotation, and we would want to do similar with cows to maximize grass use.
If you are hot on grazing management with a good grassland farm, then grazing cattle to a high standard may be a better bet than sucklers particularly if you intend on taking it a little easier. Have a listen to the Pasture Pod podcast episode 2 where Robert Fleming is interviewed. The growth rates that he is achieving with grass and cattle are phenomenal, albeit on a farm where you could milk cows. Episode 6 with Michael Shannon would also be of interest.
 
Depends on how keen he is to continue with inputs to keep land rich , they are getting very very expensive , my line one Herefords come
From ex dairy farm and they are not balls of lard here and they were not balls of lard on that ex dairy farm which still runs line ones which are not balls of lard .
Grass and clover will naturally keep land rich if managed appropriately, and cattle will feed the arable crops keeping costs of grain production down.
1000 tonnes of dung going onto arable land has increased in value hugely in the past year.

Ive noticed line ones don't hold condition like a lot of natives do, why aren't they fat on good land, isn't low input what natives are about?
 
Grass and clover will naturally keep land rich if managed appropriately, and cattle will feed the arable crops keeping costs of grain production down.
1000 tonnes of dung going onto arable land has increased in value hugely in the past year.

Ive noticed line ones don't hold condition like a lot of natives do, why aren't they fat on good land, isn't low input what natives are about?
Is it not just as simple as more growth, slightly bigger average frame size and so somewhat higher maintenance requirement?
 

Martyn

Member
Location
South west
If you are hot on grazing management with a good grassland farm, then grazing cattle to a high standard may be a better bet than sucklers particularly if you intend on taking it a little easier. Have a listen to the Pasture Pod podcast episode 2 where Robert Fleming is interviewed. The growth rates that he is achieving with grass and cattle are phenomenal, albeit on a farm where you could milk cows. Episode 6 with Michael Shannon would also be of interest.
Currently finishing stock on red clover and maize TMR. Even managing to get good growth rates on limi and Simi crosses, we wouldn't try blues. Cows currently doing 4700l of grass so it's just how we farm. Looking at sucklers to replace the source of calves which currently come from dairy. All set up cubicle etc. We could potentially house a lot of heifers on cubicles I guess to fatten.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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