Dairy Shorthorn judge set to make Dairy Show debut

Renowned dairy breeder and judge, Paul Harrison from Northumberland heads to this year’s Dairy Show to judge the Dairy Shorthorn classes for the first time. Katie Fallon finds out more about his history and success within the industry. Surrounded by the Northumberland countryside, Paul Harrison together with his wife Ann and their two daughters Joanna and Victoria, milk a 100-cow closed herd of pedigree Holsteins and Dairy Shorthorns, at Breckney Hill Farm near Heddon-on-the-wall in Northumberland.

Originally residing in the North Tyne Valley, Mr Harrison’s parents initially milked British Friesians, establishing their Chishillways pedigree British Friesian herd in 1958. It was in 1972, that Mr Harrison and his parents moved to Breckney Hill Farm as tenants, which they later purchased in 1996. Following a stint away at college and five years working at the Hunday Herd, at Peepy Farm in Northumberland, Mr Harrison returned home to work on the farm in 1983 when the family began introducing Holstein genetics into the herd. But it was not until 1989, following Mr and Mrs Harrison’s nuptials that they decided the farm needed a new direction, and in the spirit of trying something new, they purchased their first Dairy Shorthorn cow. “Ann used to work at George and David Dent’s dairy farm in Kirkby Stephen milking Dairy Shorthorns in their Winbrook herd, so that is where we bought our first Dairy Shorthorn, which established our Breckney Shorthorn herd,” says Mr Harrison. Following this, the couple bought a cow from Sam Wilson at Castle Douglas, called Screel Goldie 6 which marked the beginning of a very successful Goldie line for Mr and Mrs Harrison. “Her daughter Breckney Goldie was such an excellent cow, she won classes at the Great Yorkshire Show several times,” says Mr Harrison. He adds: “We had her all set up for the Dairy Event at Stoneleigh, but then foot-and-mouth broke out, so we could not take her. She went on to develop e-coli mastitis and we thought we were going to lose her, but she survived, and we decided to flush her.”

From two flushes, 23 embryos were collected, with 11 heifer calves and three bull calves being registered. Mr Harrison says: “One of those bulls went onto to be an AI bull, Churchroyd Goldwin. His semen is still available today through Red Cattle Genetics and he went on to sire the winning cow of the Great Yorkshire Show in 2017.” That one Goldie cow went onto develop the foundations of the Breckney Shorthorn herd which are still present today, with all four Dairy Shorthorn cattle Mr Harrison took to the Great Yorkshire Show this year, being from the Goldie family. Today, Mr and Mrs Harrison run 30 pedigree Dairy Shorthorns and 70 pedigree Holsteins under their Breckney and Chishillways prefixes. With no staff, Paul and Ann run the farm between them, with help from their daughters and friends when needed. “Both daughters work away from the farm, but will always help whenever we ask,” says Mr Harrison.

The family milk through a 7:14 Fullwood herringbone parlour, with the herd currently averaging 8,500kg, at over four per cent butterfat and 3.2 per cent protein. Cows are grazed from April until October, and fed selffeed silage through winter which Mr Harrison says is a ‘simple system for simple people’. The herd operates at a high health status, with annual vaccinations for leptospirosis, bovine viral diarrhoea and regular blood sampling for Johnes. “You can never ever say you are disease free, but we try to operate at the highest health status possible,” says Mr Harrison. Mr Harrison does all the breeding himself, with very little beef semen used. All heifers are served at 16 months then followed up with a Holstein bull, to catch anything which has not held. Mr Harrison adds: “We serve at 16 months to get natural growth, because when you are on a selffeed silage system you need robust cows. Also, the cows and heifers run together so they need to be big enough to survive.”

Calving takes place all year round, with surplus newly calved, Holstein heifers sold monthly through Carlisle. “I have always bred for type not figures because if you breed the right type, the milk will come,” says Mr Harrison. He adds: “We have got to breed functional cows with good feet and legs which sell well at market. If you breed good type, buyers will come back every time.” Regulars in the sale ring, Mr Harrison and family have also had great success in the show ring with Breckney Hill Farm claiming a vast number of rosettes over the years. Mr Harrison has been involved with both showing and judging for the last 40 years, with the show ring having always been a part of his and his family’s lives. “It all started through my uncle. He wanted something to show at a local show, so my dad sold him one of our cows. I told dad off for not selling him the best one, but he had method in his madness, as he told me he had not sold him the best, because we were going to take the best and beat him.”

Having shown since the early 1970s, the family have been triumphant with both their Holstein and Dairy Shorthorn herds. As winners of the Holstein Friesian championship and inter-breed championship at the Great Yorkshire Show in 1996, they have also taken the national All Breeds Calf Show, Shorthorn championship in 2012 and 2013, junior and reserve champion at the Great Yorkshire Show in 2017, as well as championships at Dairy Expo and class winners at Agri Scot. The family complete all the show preparation themselves, with Mrs Harrison taking charge of halter training, and Mr Harrison responsible for clipping. “Our daughters have both competed in showmanship classes, and have done really well across national competitions, they both really enjoy it.”

As a result of their show ring success, Mr Harrison has been lucky enough to judge at many shows and competitions, travelling the length and breadth of the country. His stockman’s eye took him further than British waters in 2018, after being asked to judge at the Australian International Dairy week in 2019. Mr Harrison says his Australian debut was complete luck, after meeting an Australian judge at Cheshire show, he received a phone call 18 months later asking him to judge the Australian Illawarra Shorthorn cattle. “It was an amazing experience, and I got to spend time looking at red cattle genetics while I was out there. I have since been asked to judge at the Royal Adelaide Show as soon as Covid restrictions allow.”

After building such a reputable presence in the judging arena, it is difficult to imagine a time when Mr Harrison was not judging. However, it all began where most good things do, through his local Young Farmers Club, which saw him go onto represent the club at both county and national levels. Mr Harrison also began representing the Northumberland British Friesian Breeders Club on both a local and national level.

Since these early days Mr Harrison has gone onto judge inter-breed and breed classes at the Dairy Event, National Shorthorn Show, The Royal Highland Show, All Breeds All Britain calf shows and the Royal Show to name a few. However, this year marks the first year Mr Harrison will judge at the Dairy Show this autumn. Judging the Dairy Shorthorn classes, Mr Harrison says he will be looking for a well-balanced cow, with a lot of dairy strength, body and capacity with good feet, legs and udders. Having shown both Holsteins and Dairy Shorthorns over the years, and a self-proclaimed Holstein enthusiast with a passion for both breeds, Mr Harrison believes the Dairy Shorthorn is the easier managed breed, with a greater drive to survive. “In all the years we have had Dairy Shorthorns we have never had to lift one up. They have that willingness to live and thrive, with so much vigour and fight in them.” Other than virility, Mr Harrison believes there is not much difference in breed performance, particularly production, however, considers that large Holstein cows are harder to manage compared to the Dairy Shorthorn on our system. He adds: “A good cow is never a bad colour, I still look for the same traits in all of them as they must have good feet, legs, and udder. But it is the easy management and the fight to survive that I like about the Dairy Shorthorn.”

[Farm Facts]

• 67 hectares (165 acres) of grassland • Silaging begins mid-May with three cuts taken annually • Milk sold to First Milk • Herd averaging 8,500kg at 3.2 per cent protein and 4 per cent butterfat • Calves fed on whole milk and weaned at eight to nine weeks of age • Bull calves are sold at 10 to 12 weeks of age at

Carlisle auction mart • Heifers served at 16 months of age to conventional Holstein and Dairy Shorthorn semen