Highland cattle at the Royal Highland Show
By Mike Day
Ginny Stacy-Marks lives on Auchtenny farm near Kinross with her head of 30 prize winning Highland cattle. She has won a number of prizes from shows around Scotland, but the grand prize at the continues to elude her.
Preparing the cattle
The 2011 Royal Highland Show sees Ginny taking her two-year old bull, Alasdair, and heifer, Effy, to compete. Ginny has reared her cattle from birth, and they show a close bond with her. Cattle from all over the country will arrive to parade before large audiences. The Highland cattle are one of the star attractions. Quintessentially Scottish, they are an iconic breed, but numbers are far lower than they once were. The cattle require some specialist preening before they can be paraded. Giant cattle hair driers, baby shampoo and a jet washer are all deployed to get the mucky cattle fit for showing.
Highland Cattle at the Royal Highland Show
Ginny Stacey-Marks takes her Highland cattle to the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston, Edinburgh. Ö÷²¥´óÐã World Affairs Correspondent Allan Little describes some of the key moments from his career and answer questions about what it is like to report the world in an age of conflict. Bill Boyd reads his poem Hogmanay, written in the style of Robert Burns.
About the breed
Highland cattle are a slow-growing breed and can take around three years to reach maturity. Continental breeds can reach the slaughterhouse in as little as 18 months and are the more favoured herds for modern commercial farming. Highland cattle breeders argue that the slow-matured meat is better quality and more marbled and that their stock is raised on natural diverse pastures. Alasdair and Effy are avoiding this fate, however, as prize-winning cattle they are prime breeding stock.
Grooming Cattle for the Royal Highland Show
Ginny Stacey-Marks reveals the grooming programme required to present cattle at the Royal Highland Show. Ö÷²¥´óÐã World Affairs Correspondent Allan Little describes some of the key moments from his career and answer questions about what it is like to report the world in an age of conflict. Bill Boyd reads his poem Hogmanay, written in the style of Robert Burns.
Elsewhere on bbc.co.uk
Elsewhere on the web
- (royalhighlandshow.org)
- (facebook.com)
- (twitter.com)
- (highlandcattlesociety.com)
