Frozen semen from the 1960s has repopulated an extinct species of Aberdeen Angus cows - with one super-fertile bull named after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (BoJo).
Farmers Geordie and Julia Soutar have been running a worldwide genetics project from their rural farm in Forfar, Scotland, for 26 years.
Since the 1970s the Native Aberdeen Angus breed has become diluted with the prevalence of American beef in Britain.
In 1995 there were only nine native cow families certified by Aberdeen Angus Society in the world - prompting the couple to start their breeding process the same year from their home at Kingston Farm.
While Aberdeen Angus beef is commonplace throughout the world, the Native breed - with a pure bloodline that can be traced back more than 150 years - is classed as “at risk."
Farmers Geordie and Julia Soutar with the native Aberdeen Angus cows. (Katielee Arrowsmith via SWNS)
There are now 50 cows grazing at the couple's farm, including one named after the Prime Minister.
Dad-of-two Geordie said: “We began to look at the original cattle, the Native Angus with no imported genetics in the mid-90s.
“There were only around 20 cows left that had no imported bloodlines in them.
“Mostly they were old and mostly they were in calf to North American bulls, so we started to gather them up and sourced some old semen.
“To this day, we will still use semen that was collected in the 1960s.
“It’s frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen.
“I would say, to be fair, the efficacy is probably not as high as 100 percent modern stuff but we can still get claves and that is how we have widened the genetic pool.
“Some of the early stuff I bought and as time went on we got some from the Rare Breeds Farm because they had a library of old semen.
“The conditions were you had to use it in a purebred cow because otherwise, you were wasting it and not keeping the purity.
“It is the same as a person getting IVF, you’re messing a wee bitty with nature to create the result you want.”
The semen is packaged and sent around the world as far away as Colombia, Uruguay and Argentina.
Geordie added: “It’s not a 9-5, 40 hours.
“There are different time zones in some of the places we deal with so we’ve had to educate some of the people we deal with not to phone us at 2am to talk about cows.”
Their process started with impregnating the few remaining pure Native Aberdeen Angus cows with frozen sperm, a process known as selective breeding, resulting in a registered herd called the Dunlouise.
One bull born last year was dubbed ‘Dunlouise Champion Boris’ - named after the Prime Minister who has an ambiguous number of children.
Geordie said: “We’re not sure if he’ll sire more progeny than the other Boris.”
Farmers Geordie and Julia Soutar with Dunlouise Champion Boris(Katielee Arrowsmith via SWNS)
Native Aberdeen Angus are fed on grass, rather than the grain diets given to other breeds, resulting in a higher concentration of healthy fats such as Omega 3 and with additional health benefits for the consumer and the environment.
Geordie said: “There is no doubt people are more conscious as to what they eat and so the quality is very important.
“This is the reason for farm shops, they have the provenance and the story to tell, and people want to know these things.
“Meat is an essential part of our diet and you need to make sure you’re eating good beef.
“These cattle have stayed the test of time.
“I’m not a scientist and I don’t want to get in arguments with people who know more than me but there is no doubt grass captures carbon and also smaller animals have a smaller footprint.
“You can keep more of them on an acre of ground and they are quite efficient.
“And we can go where you can’t grow grain.
“Native Angus are hardy animals, we can access ground that is not suitable for grain, which is why they have been so successful in other parts of the world.”
Stories and infographics by ‘Talker Research’ are available to download & ready to use. Stories and videos by ‘Talker News’ are managed by SWNS. To license content for editorial or commercial use and to see the full scope of SWNS content, please email [email protected] or submit an inquiry via our contact form.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.