Why a high-index Lleyn breeder sold flock to get into sucklers

A first-generation farmer has cashed in his high-index Lleyn flock and bought a small herd of Aberdeen Angus suckler cows to forge a minimal input system.

Running a sheep-only farm at Baston Hall, Alfrick, on the northern edge of the Malvern Hills AONB, was starting to look flawed, explains Ian Horsley, who farms with his wife, Rosanna.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to get sheep to thrive in the regenerative grazing system they operated to build organic matter and promote biodiversity by grazing longer grass in rotations with rest periods of five to six weeks.

See also: How beef herd is delivering £350/cow net profit with deferred, mob grazing

The farm had also developed triple drench resistance (having inherited double resistance with the farm purchase) despite regular faecal egg counts (FECs) and tight adherence to Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep (Scops) advice, and being part of worm resistance research within the Lleyn breed.

Sheep rumens are less suited to longer grass containing lower sugar and more lignin, finding the shorter, lusher grass within conventional leys grazed on three-leaf rotations easier to digest, explains Mr Horsley.

Sheep rumens are less suited to longer grass containing lower sugar and more lignin, finding the shorter, lusher grass within conventional leys grazed on three-leaf rotations easier to digest, explains Mr Horsley.

However such leys often have higher input requirements, and are less resilient to summer droughts.

Instead, the Horsleys will base their farm around outwintering native-bred suckler cows, in a resilient, regenerative system that requires less labour and no cereal or fertiliser, to cope with market volatility.

“We tried to get sheep grazing longer covers more than 3,000kg/ha dry matter (DM) – all could do it and but only some thrived,” says Mr Horsley.

“Ultimately, we decided to bring in a ruminant far more suited to our regenerative farming goals.

“Sheep are also more labour intensive than suckler cows, so we have also done this to enable a change in our work-life balance.”

This was prompted by the arrival of their daughter Skyler, triggering Mr Horsley to rethink how he spends his time.

“Grazing a three-leaf system every 18-21 days down to 1,500kg/ha DM was not an approach we wanted to return to, let alone considering this after fertiliser prices have rocketed like they have.

“Our focus is on quality meat and breeding stock from a healthy biodiverse environment.”

© MAG/Michael Priestley

Sheep performance

The Garton Hardy flock was started when the Horsleys bought a 36ha (90-acre) grassland farm in Devon in 2014.

They had two lambing seasons before moving to Baston Hall – an Elizabethan Hall House – in 2017 to run a more diversified family farm and develop agri-tourism and corporate events in the historic property.

Elite rams, hard selection pressure and Signet performance recording were used to lift the genetic merit of the sheep, even selling a top 1% ram in 2021.

While the efficient Lleyns could wean more than their bodyweight, the farm had been sheep-only for 30 years.

Breaking the parasite cycle with ploughing and cultivations was not a sustainable way to future-proof the farm, explains Mr Horsley, who is trying to sequester carbon and build soil organic matter with ruminant grazing.

The flock was sold privately – through Sell My Livestock and Twitter – to several farms to raise most of the funds needed to buy 14 in-calf cows, with 10 calves at foot and five heifers.

© MAG/Michael Priestley

“I may kick myself for selling the sheep as fat lamb prices may stay at this level, but if I kept them, the problems of Ivermectin, Moxidectin and Levamisole resistance would remain.”

A handful of Whitefaced Dartmoors for boxed lambs will stay on the farm, with the possibility in the future of buying ewe lambs to sell as shearlings on clean grazing following cattle.  

Cow buying

The Horsleys chose Angus cattle from the Phepson herd of Rob Harvard, Redditch, who is a pioneering organic beef producer and ecologist.

The Phepson herd is based on a native-type Angus bred from 1960s frozen semen from the Dunlouise herd. The herd is bale-grazed through winter, never receives concentrate feed and calves outside with minimal intervention.

Heifers will be retained at Baston Hall to grow a herd of about 40 breeding cattle plus followers.

The cattle started grazing a 2ha (five-acre) field with 45 large meadow hay bales in it. They are fed just over a bale a day on 45 mini paddocks, each about 20x20m. They have now moved to a bigger field with paddock sizes increasing.

The plan is to house cattle during February. Then back for a month on another “bale pod” before starting the farm rotation. And then going on to calve in May for 12 weeks.

The Horsleys have been increasing resilience in their pastures by adding deeper-rooting herbs and grasses. Ryegrass content in mixes has been cut from 25% to 5% due to its drought intolerance. Fescues, timothy, cocksfoot and meadow foxtail have been added to grass leys and chicory/clover plantain leys.

Cow infrastructure

A stable block has been adapted for cattle with feed barriers and steel gates. A second shed may be adapted with bull pens and a yard for yearling cattle.

“We we will learn as we go, with a few rules we have we won’t budge on,” says Mr Horsley. “I was never a creep feeder of lambs – we sold grass-fed, and that will continue with cattle.”

Natural service Angus sires sourced from like-minded pedigree breeders will ensure the farm breeds the right type of low-cost, easy-calving cattle.

The calves will be naturally weaned at 10 months, but once weaned, heifers will return to the herd to develop natural herd dynamics, as in the wild, he explains.

All infrastructure improvements for the cattle, which also includes a second-hand cattle crush, a handling system and a sorting yard will cost about £30,000.

Funding has been used to develop the farm’s infrastructure, with a 40% contribution from the Farming in Protected Landscapes grant.

Versatile system

The herd will be purebred with pedigree status, creating the opportunity to sell bulls and heifers, explains Mr Horsley.

He also hopes the farm’s system will open routes into the grass-fed beef market and allow the farm to go for organic or Pasture for Life accreditation.

He believes such differentiation should set the herd up well, as dairy-cross-beef production and shrinking subsidies pressurise conventional suckler farming. And the genetics he has bought will become more sought after, he adds.

“We could stack enterprises here and really try and sweat the assets with pastured poultry and pigs as well,” says Mrs Horsley.

“But we feel aiming for a truly sustainable beef operation, combined with renting out Baston Hall more, will bring in the required income and work-life balance,” she explains.