‘Belties of North Wind’

Hauke and Sissi Aye have been breeding Belted Galloway Cattle for nearly 30 years in Rantrum, North Germany. Their 3 foundation cows were from the Scottish herds Ardwall, Netherwood and Park. They started conservation grazing round about 10 years ago, grazing their Belted Galloway Bullocks on moorland conservation land. They strongly feel the conservation grazing helps to market the Beltie meat because people like to see cattle in this natural environment and they want to know how they are reared and fed. People trust them because they see them and their cattle regularly. They like to buy locally. Hauke has written about his experiences in beef production and marketing. He includes some interesting data material of his self marketing bullocks.

Marketing of Belted Galloway – Bullocks

Starting point:
– marketing of bullocks (only)
– castrate between an age of 9 – 12 month
– butchered between 2 ½ and 3 years
– butchered in April/ May (lost off winter fat)
– meat ripen between 12 – 14 days in cold store (better 18 – 21 days)
– marketing only privately
– selling mixed bulk package from minimum 10 kg upwards
– complete outdoor live
– fed only with hay or hay- silage
– summer time on conservation land
– winter time on dry ground with shelter
– whole time disposable of minerals and salt
– water in summer by pump out of fosse – winter- isolated drinker
– deworming 2 up to 3 times in a year (Cydectin, Ivomec- pour on)
– after summer grazing against liver leech (Fasinex with a drencher)
– against fly, louses and ticks with Butox (pour on)

Why bullocks?

Bullocks and heifers of extensive cattle races have a better meat quality then bulls,
especially when they are kept and fed on organic land and terms. This means feeding
without maisesilage and concentrates, only grass and hay (haysilage) from organic
pastures.

If bulls were kept under this terms, they couldn’t been finish to reach store quality. The
meat body of this bulls will be blue, they have to be finished with grain, maissilage and
concentrates to get a small white fat cover (minimum time 6 week feeding) .To finish the bulls, this causes extra money and work and this input is standing in no
relation to the output, because we have to market an extensive, small body cattle race.

Another plus to keep bullocks are the possibility of mixed population with female cattle, this saves in winter time, place and work. Also they are not as noisy as bulls, when been kept in neighborhood to cows or other cattle.

The negative point of keeping bullocks are the time to finish them, in relation to bulls. But in my opinion the low cost feeding and the quality of their carcase are in a good relation to compare them with bulls.

Data – material of self marketing bullocks

In the following table (last 7 years) you see, age, life weight carcase weight (after 10- 14 days of ripen in cold store) of our privately marketed bullocks. This follows into percentage between live and dead weight and finally the meat to sold (*) without bones, tendon and butchers blend (26 – 37 %). Not to forgotten the lost (water) in the weight, when they are ripen in cold store round about 10 kg.

BornSlaughtered at age in yearLiveweightDeadweightPercentageMeat to sold (*)Remarks Carve fee from deadweight
02/05/0835 month (2011)570 kg309 kg54.20%109 kg = 35,27 % = 200 kg meatButcher fee 40 €
04/05/0835 month (2011)555 kg308 kg55.50%116 kg = 37,66 % = 192 kgCarve fee 0,6 € x kg = 670 €
16/05/0835 month (2011)550 kg300 kg54.50%107 kg = 35,66 % = 193 kg
21/06/0735 month (2010)565 kg303 kg53.63%79,6 kg = 26,22 % = 224 kgButcher fee 40 €
12/04/0736 month (2010)576 kg322 kg55.90%92 kg = 28,57 % = 230 kgCarve fee 0,6 € x kg = 669 €
27/04/0736 month (2010)535 kg290 kg54.20%89 kg = 27,65 % = 201 kg
05/04/0636 month (2009)475 kg251 kg52.84%77,2 kg = 27,85 % = 200 kgButcher fee 40 €
10/04/0636 month (2009)475 kg277 kg58.30%71,2 kg = 28,34 % = 180 kgCarve fee 0,6 € x kg = 397 €
05/05/0536 month (2008)580 kg313 kg53.96%88, 39 kg = 28,24 % = 224 kgButcher fee 60 €
24/09/0444 month (2008)540 kg283 kg52.40%78,4 kg = 27,7 % = 204 kgCarve fee 0,5 € x kg = 418 €
10/05/0436 month (2007)465 kg250 kg53.76%67 kg = 26,8 % = 183 kgButcher fee 60 €
18/03/0438 month (2007)505 kg252 kg49.9%68,5 kg = 27,2 % = 183, 5 kgCarve fee 0,5 € x kg = 311 €
27/04/0423 month (2006)375 kg188 kg50.13%62 kg = 39,98 % = 122 kgButcher fee 60 €
15/09/0332 month (2006)430 kg222 kg51.63%70,5 = 31,75 % = 151 kgCarve fee 0,5 € x kg = 325 €
17/06/0232 month (2005)420 kg222 kg52.38%75 kg = 33,8 % = 166,5 kgButcher fee 60 €
20/02/0324 month (2005)364 kg219 kg60.16%55 kg = 25,11 % = 164 kgCarve fee 0,5 € x kg = 296 €
05/03/0324 month (2005)265 kg189 kg51.78%47 kg = 24, 86 % = 142 kgBSE+Disposal = 160 €

Meat products in reliance to weight of the bulk package

10kg15kg20kg30kg40kg60kg
Mincemeat3.356.61013.220
Boiling meat11.42346
Roast meat2.13.246.4812
Roll/ roulade0.50.70.811.62.4
Beef & rump steak11.623.246.2
Goulash1.72.53.55710.5
Liver0.40.60.811.62
Piece of sirloin000.30.40.60.9
Soup bones

Points of interest
– there is a difference in the taste of the meat in reliance of feeding, we found out that hay feeding is the best way to get the original taste, in our opinion if you fed silage (gras, maize) you will taste it
– the heaviest carcase is not always the best, mostly this one has some extra fat
– the meat to sold stands in relation to the deadweight, the fat quota and experience and quality of the butcher
– the working quality of the butcher, is an important point of meat to sold
– the quality of the meat gets better as longer it could ripen in the cold store – best about 3 weeks
– the price for the meat you could reach depends on income of the customers, education, place of residence (city or village)
– the best price you could get is to sell the meat seperate, vacuum packed

Hauke Aye,
Nicolaus-Bachmann-Str. 1,
25873 Rantrum,
Germany
www.belted-galloways.de