BALTHAYOCK FARM

Balthayock is a family run stock farm in the Sidlaw hills four miles east of Perth.

Since 1894 when the family acquired the Estate pedigree beef cattle have always played an important part in the farming enterprise.

In 1969 the first pedigree Charolais bull was bought at the first public auction of Charolais cattle at the RHS showground and a small importation of Charolais heifers soon followed from France.

At present the farm is stocked with 70 pedigree Charolais cows and just over 150 commercial suckler cows. Home bred Charolais bulls are used on the commercial cows and all stock is finished on farm. The herd is closed and all replacement heifers are home bred. About 25 Charolais bulls are sold annually at the Societies national sales and others are sold privately.

The farm also runs a commercial flock based on Texel and Suffolk cross ewes and recently has started a select pedigree flock of Signet recorded Lleyn ewes with the intention of moving to an easy care system.

The farm is a member of the High Health Scheme and is BVD accredited. The herd is tested annually for Johnes and all bulls are tested free of BVD, Lepto and IBR and their dams confirmed free of Johnes before they are offered for sale.

For more than thirty years the cattle have been recorded under the Signet scheme to achieve breed improvement, but with the encouragement of the British Charolais Society, we have replaced this with the ABRI recording scheme.

This scheme is enabling us to achieve impressive breed improvement with particular emphasis on easy calving, above breed average weights for age, high milk yield, eye muscle area, scrotal circumference and retail yield EBVs. As a result of careful selection of herd sires which meet our standards we are achieving very satisfactory results well illustrated by the number of Balthayock bred young bulls dominating the Society list of most promising young bulls in the national herd and which have inherited all the EBVs which we think are so vital to our pedigree and commercial customers.

PURCHASE CHAROLAIS SEMEN