It’s a great testimonial to excellent stockman ship to see cattle all contented and quiet in their sheds on the day of one of the worst storms recorded in the South West.

And, this attention to detail is paying dividends for Cecil and Ruth Partridge and their son Stephen, who run a traditional family farming operation at West Sidborough, Loxbeare, Devon.

Their pedigree Limousin cattle regularly win awards at carcass shows, and any sales of their stock are keenly sought after by local farmers.

Cecil and Ruth bought the farm 44 years ago. West Sidborough covers some 135 acres, with a further 45 acres rented on a business tenancy. 10 acres of barley are grown for own use, and approximately 250 tonnes of clamp and big bale silage are made annually. The rest is down to grass as Cecil says “It’s good grazing pasture, with some traditional red type of Devon soil.”

Dairy to beef production Originally dairy farmers, the decision was made in 1999 to come out of dairying. “But we retained some cross-bred beef cattle, and the following year we bought our first pedigree Limousin bull from Arlington in North Devon” says Cecil, “and he had Greenson’s Gigolo in his bloodline.”

So, why did Cecil and Stephen decide on Limousins? “Well” explains Cecil, “it’s a breed that’s easy to finish for a continental breed, with good eating quality”. Although the breed sometimes has a reputation as difficult to handle, the Partridges have never experienced any problems in this way. “Our first bull was very good natured, and I believe he has passed this trait onto his progeny.”

In 2001, 8 pedigree Limousin cows were bought locally, and since then herd numbers have built up steadily to an average of 107 head of cattle. “We keep one stock bull, and breed the odd young bull for selling” Cecil explains. “Last year we sold some bulling heifers, last autumn we sold a few cows and calves.” Herd pre-fix is PGX with three quarters of the stock pedigree.

2 “We start calving inside in March and, weather permitting outside in April and May”, as Cecil feels that this is a more healthy way for them. “They are an easy calving breed, and I have found them to have a very good temperament.”

A herd health scheme is an important part of the system at West Sidborough, with all cattle being regularly tested for Johne’s Disease, BVD and there have been no incidences of TB on the farm for over 5 years.

The cattle from the farm have an excellent reputation for quality. Last Spring, some pedigree breeding heifers from the herd were sold at the local mart at Sedgemoor, and the purchasers were so pleased with them that they keep returning.

Feeding Regime For a number of years Cecil has worked very closely with and taken advice from his NWF Agriculture local representative, Andy Essex. “It’s a pleasure to work with Cecil and the family, and although they operate a simple, but very effective feeding regime on the farm, it’s attention to detail in the breeding, rearing and finishing of their cattle which are paying dividends.”

All calves are suckled and fed a creep feed at 3 to 4 months to aid weaning. They are fed NWF Super Rearer with yeast, as Andy says “this aids digestion and helps them to grow a bit quicker.” At 6 months, the calves get additional home grown cereal.

The fattening cattle are started on a feeding regime in August. “We pick the steers out from the heifers at 16 months old to build up for the Christmas market, and we sell them in November and December” says Cecil. They are fed on the same ration as the calves, with the addition of 50% barley. Cecil says that they “thrive really well on this ration.”

This is certainly the case, as DLWG from birth to finishing is 1.1kgs per day, with monthly LWG averaging 65 kgs, which equates to 2.16kgs DLWG towards finishing.

Cattle are grading at an average E3L’s with carcass weights averaging 400kgs dead weight at 20 months, and killing out at 60%.

“Once the steers are fattened and sold, we start feeding the non-breeding heifers for fattening. We feed them the same ration across the board”.

All the cattle are sold to St Mirren Meats at Bodmin, and at the Christmas carcass show last year, the Partridge cattle won a first and third prize in the medium weight carcass class, against strong opposition.

Apart from the beef operation, there is also a flock of 180 lambing ewes on the farm.

In conclusion Cecil says “I know we operate a simple system here, but it pays off for us and works well for our small family farm. And, there is always a demand for a top-end quality product!”