Run by the McKay family on the grasslands of Maghera in County Derry, the prize-winning Ampertaine Limousin herd is one of the most sought-after in the UK and Ireland. We took a trip to the impressive 250-acre Mid Ulster family farm and met up with James McKay to find out more about this outstanding operation.
Over the past decade, Ampertaine has become a household name in Limousin circles, currently comprising a magnificent pedigree herd of some 120 bulls and heifers. The enterprise has come a long way since founder William McKay bought his first Limousin over 30 years ago, its popularity having surged significantly since the McKays first took a bull across the water to the British Limousin Society sales in Carlisle in February, 2007.
Ampertaine Abracadabra claimed reserve overall champion and made 29,000gns – a definite watershed in the evolution of the herd.
James McKay never misses Carlisle now – attending every February, May and October – and the Ampertaine bull is now one of the most sought-after and used in the Limousin world, consistently selling into the top herds in the UK.
“We started into Limousins in 1986,” says James, reflecting on the genesis of Northern Ireland’s premier Limousin herd. “We did commercial cattle up to that – suckler cows and finishing beef – and my father decided to buy one bull and try a few Limousins out as a hobby.
“The pedigree bulls and heifers gradually replaced the commercial ones as they were earning a lot more money.” As of 2002, James has moved to an entirely pedigree herd.
William still keeps a close eye on what’s happening on the family farm, while his wife Jean looks after paperwork and finances. Meanwhile, son, James, who is fourth generation, has assumed day-to-day running and has been instrumental in Ampertaine’s remarkable success.
This success has seen the herd invariably top 10,000gns at sales, while some of the highest fliers were Ampertaine Commander and Ampertaine Jefferson at 20,000gns, Ampertaine Hotshot at 28,000gns, Ampertaine Elgin at 32,000gns, Ampertaine Foreman at 38,000gns and herd record-breaker Ampertaine Jamboree at 45,000gns. Jamboree was sired by the aptly-named Ampertaine Gigolo, who on the day sired world-record priced Limousin bull Trueman Jagger for 140,000gns (James having sold a half share in Gigolo to Teus Dekker from Holland for £30,000).
The breeding policy is based solely on AI and James aims for year-around calving to ensure that there’s a steady flow of cattle leaving the yard every month … and therefore steady cashflow. “Steady cashflow is very important when you have costs spread out over the course of the year,” James notes. Why the preference for AI? “Just to get the different bloodlines; different cows suit different bulls. It’s variation for the seller.
“We have 120 cows at the moment plus followers – between 300 and 350 at any given time of year – on 250 acres. All grass, except about 25 acres of whole crop, which goes into the silage. They are all on grass in the summer. We do six months in, six months out. When they are inside, we mostly feed them grass silage. That’s their main diet. The calves are fed hay and the bulls get some meal.”
Although it’s a pedigree herd, it’s run commercially and the cows are all run on cubicles and slats.
If you like the occasional lie-in, then breeding pedigree Limousins probably isn’t for you… “I’m up early, between 5:30am and 6:00am, and we try to do everything here ourselves,” says James. Typically, cows are sold at between 15 and 18 months. “About half of our cattle are sold at Carlisle and the rest are sold privately here at home.
“When I bring a bull or heifer over to the sales, I always sell it. I’ve never brought a beast home from a sale. So you hope for the best. I never set my sights too high because you could be disappointed. A lot of factors can influence the price made at auction. You know you have a good bull going over but you honestly have no idea how the sale is going to work out, so you don’t go there with any big expectations. You have to be realistic.”
As for overheads, James continues: “My father bought the first Limousin for £1,500 and it was a brilliant investment, in hindsight. It’s more time and effort after that, rather than financial input. The heifers are all home-bred and we do spend money on semen and buildings and housing. You need the facilities here for them and I’d usually spend a bit of money on the sheds every year, but there’s a lot of work with it, too, so you are always investing time and effort mainly as well as money.”
Considering that he runs such a highly-prized pedigree herd (voted Best Large Herd by the Northern Ireland Limousin Club for the past ten years), it’s interesting to note that farmers can literally call into the farm in Maghera any time and buy some stock: “I have people calling here all the time, looking for bulls or heifers – mostly repeat business,” James confirms. “I sell a lot of bulls and heifers at very reasonable prices – around £2,500 to £3,000 – mostly to local farmers.”
Looking to the future, James’ goal is to consistently improve the already-excellent operation: “The aim is to run it as efficiently as possible and keep costs down by keeping our cows as cheaply as possible in a low-cost but high-quality system, producing easy-calving bulls that can put on weight fed on a grass-based diet,” he concludes.
“There’s always room for improvement and that’s something we are very conscious of. Things are always changing, too, and you have to be ready to adapt to these changes. For example, there’s currently big demand for medium-sized carcasses, with easy fleshing and easy born – and you have to give the customer what he’s looking for.”
Ampertaine Limousins,
88 Kilrea Road,
Upperlands,
Maghera,
County Derry,
BT46 5SB
Tel: 028 79642484
Mobile: 078 72301108
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 3, April/May 2017
