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| Chris Partridge with ‘Kersey Domino’ by Mountjoy Utopia. Domino has a Carcass Yield Index of 23 and a Pedigree Breeding Index of 23 |
The farm has a mix of enterprises on 300ha (750 acres); two-thirds
is arable and the rest permanent pasture. The pedigree herd currently
consists of 20 breeding females of different ages. There are also
60 commercial sucklers and a long-established flock of 100 high
index pedigree Suffolk sheep.
The cattle are fed arable by-products such as straw, as well as
home-grown cereals and fodder beet, with just some protein and
minerals bought-in. Farmyard manure is applied to the arable fields.
Blue pioneer
Chris Partridge started the Kersey British Blue herd in 1986 after
leaving college, and his herd is one of the oldest in the country.
Attracted by the muscling and high killing out percentage, he started
with two pedigree heifers from the Park Herd. He believes the breed
has great potential for dairy and suckler farms looking for bulls
to produce fast growing, high quality slaughter progeny.
Mr Partridge uses Blue bulls on his own Simmental cross cows. The
progeny are finished indoors and sold through Colchester Market
at 15-16 months of age; heifers achieve up to 550 liveweight and
steers up to 650kg.
Performance recording
Mr Partridge has been performance recording for eight years, first
with Signet and now with Breedplan.
When selecting cows to breed from, he takes account of growth and
other performance traits, but says they must also have good legs
and feet. Some of the best cows have been flushed and their embryos
transferred to some of the cross-bred cows. Any animal that does
not make the grade for breeding goes to market. The pedigree cows
are served by AI to incorporate new genetics from bulls with top
beef values.
“Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) are very important tools
in my business,” says Mr Partridge.
“The key one is 400-day growth, followed by muscle and backfat
depths, and carcase yield index. All animals are scanned and weight
recorded which helps confirm I’ve made the right breeding
choices.
“We seem to be making good progress. Growth rate and carcase
yield EBVs are improving due to three or four good bulls. In particular,
Ridgedean Physical and Mountjoy Utopia have been very influential
over the past five to ten years.”
Bulls are sold mainly privately off farm, mostly to local East
Anglian suckler herds. A few have been taken to pedigree sales
at Chelford and Carlisle.
Satisfied customer
Gerald Ketley runs a commercial suckler herd near Colchester with
pure Limousins, Limousin crosses and British Blue crosses. He has
purchased a number of bulls from Chris Partridge.
“Chris knows my herd well and carefully selects bulls to
suit my cows and my system,” says Mr Ketley.
“We use the British Blue bulls with the pure Limousin and
Limousin crosses and have no calving difficulties in either, despite
achieving high birth-weights. Our Blue X Limousin cows produce
a lot of milk and can outwinter – which is essential on this
farm.”
Youngstock is pushed hard after weaning and finished from 12 months
of age. Heifers achieve 460-520kg, and steers around 520-600kg,
achieving good weights whilst remaining lean. The cattle consistently
finish at R and U grades.
Mr. Ketley supplies local butchers, as well as selling through
the local auction market and supplying Morrison’s supermarket.
“I trust Chris as a breeder and have been very satisfied
with the bulls which I have bought from him,” says Mr Ketley. “I
shall definitely keep on buying breeding stock from him in the
future!”
Worthy winner
“Chris Partridge has done an excellent job with the Kersey Herd and the
British Blue breed as a whole over the past 25 years,” says EBLEX breeding
specialist Samuel Boon.
“His focus on providing top quality breeding stock that produces commercially
desirable progeny is commendable. His use of records and information to make
sure the herd is progressing in the right direction is certainly reaping dividends.”
latest news
Royal Ulster Show
Taking top honours in the British Blue championship at Balmoral was Andrew Craig with his heifer Woodview Frarlein, a Barbier daughter out of Woodview Britney. [results]
Carlisle Annual Spring Show & Sale 2012
280 British Blues on Friday 19th & Saturday 19th May 2012. [catalogue]
Dispersal of the College Valley herd at Carlisle on Friday 25th May. [catalogue]
Strong demand for quality at Chelford
“Quality” was the name of the game when the British Blue bulls went through the ring on Saturday 3rd March. [report]
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