Perthshire Limousin breeder Stuart Fotheringham, Ballinloan, Dunkeld, will be the man in the middle when he judges the pre-sale show at the British Limousin Cattle Society’s (BLCS) premier Bull Sale to be held on Friday 4th – Saturday 5th May 2012 at Harrison & Hetherington’s Borderway Mart, Carlisle. The catalogue comprises of 224 bulls, and 10 females.
Commenting, Stuart Fotheringham said that he was very much looking forward to the job at hand: “It’s a real honour and privilege to be nominated to judge at what is the breed’s foremost sale of the year. Through the judging I’ll be looking for typical Limousin bulls, true to breed type, medium in size, easy fleshing, with good locomotion, power and plenty of muscling. You are also, of course, looking for those bulls that have that style and presence over and above that makes them a wee bit special,” he said.
Stuart will commence the show judging at 10.30am on Friday 4th May with the sale itself kicking off at 10.00am the following morning.
Well-known throughout the pedigree and commercial sector, Stuart Fotheringham established the Ballinloan pedigree herd in the early 1990s with the purchase of three cows, Newferry Hattie & Newferry Laura (at Perth) from PG O’Kane & Son, Bellaghy, N Ireland; and Newhouse Ibetha, from RM Adam & Son, Glamis, Forfar. The first Limousin bull to grace the holding, Tinzan, had been bought in the early eighties by Stuart’s father for their commercial herd.
The present pedigree herd numbers approximately 100 breeding females which run alongside 50-60 commercial cows and a flock of 2,000 breeding ewes (split equally between Texel and Cheviot crosses). The farm, which is run in partnership with brother Ewan, comprises 3,000 acres of which 500 are down for cropping.
Limousin blood runs right through Stuart’s veins as he is a cousin of the late Alan Fotheringham of Craighall Farm, Forgandenny, Perth and second cousin to Kay Adam and Hazel McNee of the Newhouse and Westhall Herds respectively. Adding an interbreed “flavour” to the pot is Gillian Greenhill of Craighill Simmentals, Duntruine, Dundee, who Stuart, 42, married last year.
Although busy undertaking judging duties on the Friday, Stuart also has four bulls entered including Ballinloan Formidable, a son of the 18,000gns Millgate Caesar, and who has a Beef Value of LM+41 and a muscle depth of 5.9. A regular consignor at Limousin sales at both Carlisle and Stirling, the top price achieved by the Ballinloan prefix at sale to date is the 10,500gns Ballinloan Rascal when standing as Junior Champion at Perth in 2002 and selling to the Griseburn Herd. A number of other bulls have been sold around the 9,000gns mark.
Stuart Fotheringham’s previous judging experience includes the May 2003 sale at Perth, where he put up Grahams Sebastian, a Jockey son, as his Champion. He has also judged Limousins at the Cumberland and West Fife Shows as well as mainly crossbred cattle at shows across the North of Scotland, including the Black Isle and Nairn. A trip over the water to Northern Ireland is also on the horizon where he will be judging the noted Armagh Show on 10th June.
Continues Stuart: “The Limousin breed is in such fantastic shape at present and on the whole the beef cattle trade is booming. The market is demanding weight and growth, and Limousins can produce a top class saleable article for both the meat and the breeding trade.”
