Dairy farmers endorse Norbreck Newman as the

best Belgian Blue for their herds

Norbreck Newman is the best selling Belgian Blue bull at Cogent, and with over 75% of beef semen sales coming from Belgian Blue’s this represents a strong belief in him.

Many dairy men have continuously used Norbreck Newman since he came to market, so we visited two dairy herds to find out why.

Frank Brown, his wife Irene and son Joe farm at Halfway House, Burton- in -Lonsdale. They are very clear about their reasons for continuing to use Newman.

It all boils down to the three C' s

“There are three very important factors that dairy men are concerned about when using beef bulls: calving ease, confirmation and colour - we should add carcase quality” summarized Frank, “but without doubt calving ease has got to be number one priority” he stressed.

Norbreck Newman has one of the highest indexes for calving ease (+15, breed ave +9) and his gestation rarely differs from 280 days. Difficult calving's affect parlour performance, so dairy farmers need to be able to trust the beef sires used. Calves by Newman are easily born and they grow quickly and thrive.

Confirmation of cattle is the second key factor for calves, stores and as finished carcases. Frank Brown has an excellent reputation with calf buyers at Bentham market and has regularly won calf classes and achieved the highest prices. “Our dearest calf sold at 5 - 6 weeks was £338 - granted it was in the days of subsidy, but I still achieve some of the highest market prices today”.

It’s not easy selling bull calves from dairy herds - you can’t convince a calf  buyer that a black and white calf is beef cross, but by using Belgian Blue Bulls you are more likely to get coloured calves, as Frank Brown can testify, “I’ve always had blue calves by Newman” he said, as he highlights his pen of young Norbreck Newman calves. “Selling calves is about getting it right for the men that matter; buyers are looking for smooth coated, blue calves and Newman has given us a great reputation at market.” confirmed Frank who now only uses Norbreck Newman.

“Newman is easy to calve to; they are good growers and a great colour. Our buyers have been impressed with the carcase quality and are confident to pay that bit more for our stock.  I will continue to use him as long as he is available” he endorsed.

The ability to finish quickly and provide good carcase quality is something confirmed by Paul Mason from Hoskinshire Farm, Out Rawcliffe. He and his wife run a pure Holstein dairy herd of 125 and uses Norbreck Newman on 20% of the herd.  Beef crosses are sold as calves and stores, but Paul likes to finish a few himself. “I like watching them grow, they are good converters and very quick to finish. Unusually Paul runs his few stores through the parlour. “they are very docile and are easy to manage with the dairy herd. Complete feeding with maize meal and grain, the beef crosses receive 4kg cow ration through the parlour and we easily finish them in 60 days or under.”

Their herd is very dairy like, so blue calves are even more important for the beef market. “I get great satisfaction from sending the Belgian Blue’s to auction. Despite being pure Holstein cross our buyers are happy because the product is right and they kill out well.” Paul continued.

In conclusion he feels that “Belgian blue crosses are easy to sell at any stage; calves, stores and finished cattle - an important consideration for managing stock levels and cash flow.”  He added “Newman is consistent, he has never thrown a black and white calf for us and our market prices are always the best we could have hoped for. If your stock finish well for buyers, they’ll support you next time.”

Quality carcases confirmed by new technology

Newman is a Meadow Quality approved sire and is one of the first Cogent bulls to be DNA tested by Ingenity (part of Merial), he rated 1/10 for fat content ( showing him to have high lean meat), with 10/10 for growth and eating quality. Whilst this is new technology it does reinforce what farmers have to say about Norbreck Newman progeny.