Shorefield Cattle

The Shorefield bullocks have come on well over the summer.

Highland Beef from the Shorefield Project

Two of the Shorefield Bullocks will be slaughtered this week

Two of the bullocks from the Shorefield Project will be slaughtered at the Avonvoggie Abattoir on Islay this week.  One of these will be used by Caledonia TV in the making of the Gaelic TV programme Am Boireannach a Dh'ith Bò (The Woman Who Ate A Cow) which has been commissioned by BBC Alba.

After hanging for 21 days, the carcasses will be butchered and each beast split into four equal quarters, vacuum packed into freezer-ready portions.  We already have customers for these, but more will be ready before long, so if you fancy adding yourself to the waiting list please let us know!!
Carl

The Shorefield today - "the boys dung good"

These are some views of the Shorefield shortly after we moved the bullocks.

It would be interesting to calculate the tonnage of herbage eaten by the five bullocks during their stay - and the tonnage of dung left behind.  Doubtless someone will have done a pHD....

We did not expect them to be so enthusiastic about eating willow shoots - this goat willow has been neatly clipped.

 



There are lots of lovely little nooks and crannies that have escaped the grazing - here Celandines, Dog Violets and a variety of mosses and lichens make up a rich herbage.

"The Woman Who Ate A Cow" - filming starts

'Am Boireannach a Dh'ith Bò'

Les Wilson is pictured shooting some video of the Highland bullocks being fed by James Brown down at the Shorefield.  Les will be joined by Caledonia TV producer Faye MacLean this weekend when filming will continue at one of Islay's biggest cattle sales...

Am Boireannach a Dh'ith Bò (The Woman Who Ate A Cow)

 Shorefield Project to appear on TV....

The Caledonia TV director Les Wilson is pictured at Octomore Farm above Port Charlotte checking out some candidates to star in his new TV programme for BBC Alba.  The production will feature one of the bullocks from the Shorefield Project.

Heather Dewar

A documentary about how to cook and eat an entire cow is Caledonia's latest commission for BBC ALBA. 'Am Boireannach a Dh'ith Bò' (The Woman Who Ate A Cow) will feature Islay born artist and cook, Heather Dewar, as she reveals how previous generations ate animals from head to tail, never wasting a scrap of meat. Today, only half the meat from a carcass ends up on the supermarket counter - but not so long ago meals made of offal were welcomed by hungry families. The programme will follow Heather as she selects and buys a Highland bull, sees it slaughtered and butchered, and cooks all the parts that modern diners turn their noses up at.



http://www.caledonia.tv/

Whisky and the Shorefield bullocks

Lots of boys like a wee dram, and the Shorefield bullocks are no exception.  They are given a ration of cownuts every day to 'bring them on', and also to get them used to, indeed positively enthusiastic about, human company.  This will make them easier to handle when the time comes.  The cattle nuts on Islay are made from 'draff' which is a bi-product of the whisky making here.  It is essentially the spent barley from the mash tun, i.e. barley that has had all of its carbohydrate converted into to sugars prior to being converted into alcohol.  The residue (or 'draff') is a sort of high protein porridge which can either be fed directly as a sort of wet splodge, or dried and converted into nuts - which is what you see here.

You can see Bruichladdich pier in the background.

Three more Bullocks in the Shorefield



The three new bullocks for the Shorefield had to have their passports checked today, which essentially meant putting them into the 'crush' so that they can have their ear tags checked and the numbers recorded.  Every movement of cattle has to be logged. 




 Reading the ear tags of Highlanders is not that easy - because they get covered in the long hair - hence the need to get then into the crush so that they can be safely seen.




Once that all-important job was done it was time to load them into the 'float' for the short trip from Octomore to the Shorefield.  All this is being done in pouring rain of course...




All went very well up to this point and they quite cheerfully entered their new home with the minimum of fuss.




This did not last long however, as very shortly after this photo was taken they decided to take a wee trip into Bruichladdich - and hopped over a wall.  Happily we managed to head them off before they got to the Mini-market...




The rest of the afternoon was spent further reinforcing some of the walling using stobs and rails.  We left them a wee while ago and have to hope that they will chill out and realise that the coziest place to spend the night is tucked up in the middle of some nice gorse bushes with their new pals...  



New bullocks for the Shorefield

Three of these handsome chaps are destined for the Shorefield Project.  They were born and bred down in Portnahaven, but have made the long journey up to Port Charlotte (all seven miles of it) and are pictured enjoying a little breakfast after having had a check over and a precautionary dosing at Octomore.  They will be introduced into the Shorefield during the next couple of days.  That will make a wee 'fold' of five bullocks there - which is where we will leave it for a while.  We would not want to create undue strain on the place - or put the noses of the local Roe deer out of joint...
Herds of Highlanders are not called herds - they are called 'folds'.  I have no idea why...
Carl

Moonlit bullocks at the Shorefield

It has been a lovely day - or at least a lovely afternoon here on Islay, and the evening did not disappoint either, with a big moon rising over the Paps and lighting up Loch Indaal.  Grabbed a couple of shots of the bullocks in the Shorefield as I was pedalling home from Dunlossit...
Carl

The Shorefield Project - Update

This rather cheeky ewe has moved in to Shorefield and was munching away on some seaweed over the weekend.  Not sure of her provenance - but I know you pay a premium for salt-marsh lamb..!!

For the latest on the Shorefield Project check out

The Shorefield Project

The Shorefield Project - feeding in the snow

The Highlanders are being fed barley straw, which was baled earlier in the year after the grain had been harvested for Bruichladdich Distillery.  It is loaded onto the feed trailers using a telehandler.

The bale then has to be broken open and is soaked with molasses.  The Highlanders are happy with the low nutrient content of the barley straw, it provides the bulk to fill their stomachs, and the molasses adds the sweetness while also having a high calorific value.

The feed trailer is then towed up to the hill by James in h is shiny new Massey Ferguson.

The Highlanders come swiftly when called. 

They really do look magnificent in the snow, and give the impression of positively enjoying the cold weather, snug inside their thick coats.

Shorefield Project - Fixing up the dry-stane wall

There is a rather splendid old dry stone wall that marks the border between the road and Shorefield.  I have no idea how old it is - but like most of these old wall it represents an enormous investment in time and effort and materials for someone at some point in the past.  I know very little about dry stone walls, but you can tell that this is essentially two separate walls, locked together at intervals with stones that tie the two together.  The 'space' in between is filled with rubble.  This one then has an attactive run of capping stones along the top.

Sadly, the wall has been knocked down at a number of points along its course, almost always through being hit by cars, which usually go right through it.  Rebuilding the wall is a long-term ambition, but it takes ages, requires a highly skilled craftsman, and therefore costs a lot of money.  In the short term we need to make it stock proof so we have blocked up the gaps using stobs and rails - avoiding wire if at all possible.

 

We had a good afternoon - James did most of the hard work, Dolly provided the expertise and I fetched and carried a bit and generally got in the way.  We just have one gap left to fill now - but James has an old gate that he reckons will do the job perfectly.  We are another step along the way to introducing the beasts onto the ground...

The picture above is from a Guardian article and shows the two walls that comprise the finished article quite clearly.

Shorefield Project - Costs

We have the invoice for the first two Highland bullocks.  They weighed in at 485 and 425 kilos and cost £0.9011 per kilo.  This does not include transport costs from the mainland

Shorefield Project - Octomore

Most of the cattle at Octomore are Aberdeen Angus crosses.  Apart from the Highlander, all James' bulls are Angus and he has a mixture of cows including Simmental, Limousin and Beef Shorthorn producing the hybrid calves that are sold as beef "stores". 

"Store cattle" are defined as "animals which have been grown slowly so that their skeletal development is not impaired, but muscle tissue is slightly below the animals potential and fatty tissue is not developed."  The production of stores is the classic modus operandii of beef farmers in the Western Isles.  They are then sent to the mainland for fattening before slaughter.  This has been the pattern of production for thousands of years and it still continues today.



Across the track from the Highlanders are a small of group of heifers who will be run with the bull in the spring for the first time.  Again, James was feeding them cake largely to make them easier to control.

Shorefield Project - the first Highlanders arrive late this afternoon

The first two Highland bullocks destined for the Shorefield Project have arrived - sourced from the mainland and delivered by Willie to a holding field near Port Charlotte.  The two beasts, which looked to be in superb condition, were completely relaxed after their journey - Highlanders tend to be more docile than some of their crazier continental relatives.  They have joined a small group of eight of their brethren and will be moved up to Octomore for their innoculations over the next wee while before being introduced into Shorefield. 

So there is lots to do before that can happen - pleanty of fencing work for a start...

Sorry about this shot being a bit gloomy - but it was getting pretty dark by the time they arrived.  More pictures soon I hope....
Carl