Top-class breeding brings show success for Thor Atkinson

Thor Atkinson is a well-known name in the pedigree cattle showing world and unlike many of his fellow competitors, he keeps a total of five different breeds. He explains the reasons behind the approach and outlines some of his achievements to date.

The pedigree breeds that have traditionally been kept at Thor’s farm near Ulverston include British Limousin, British Blonde, British Charolais and British Blue. Last April, he and his team took a trip to the USA to look at cattle farms and he returned with a couple of Aberdeen Angus females to add to the collection.

“I grew up on a smallholding where my late father bred Blondes and Charolais and I was keen to maintain the tradition,” explained Thor, who also has a steel fabrication business. “However, my own personal preference is for the Limousin and my 30 Arradfoot cows are my particular passion.

“One of my proudest moments was when Upperffrydd Power, which I bought as a 15-month-old, won the supreme championship at the Limousin Society’s 50th anniversary show last July as a three-year-old. To top it off, his calf won the reserve junior male title at the same event.

Thor Atkinsons' Upperffrydd Power won the supreme championship at the Limousin Society’s 50th anniversary show last year

“Power is sired by the legendary Trueman Jagger and has also had red tickets at the Great Yorkshire and the Royal Welsh. In addition, one of his sons called Arradfoot Salvador holds our current farm price record for a bull sale after an undisclosed buyer bought him for a five-figure sum.”

The Limousins have been a permanent fixture on the 200-acre Cumbrian holding since 2007, when Thor bought two cows and their calves from the dispersal of the noted Bankdale herd. The females stood to AI until 2012, when Thor put in a successful bid for Newtown Freeman at a society sale in Carlisle. The bull had been Irish National male breed champion in year prior to the purchase.

The Newland British Blondes and British Blues and the Arradfoot Charolais herd have also enjoyed some success in the show ring and, in fact, the Blonde cow, Brownhill Netta, has notched up the highest number of red ribbons out of all of the breeds. She has taken several prestigious awards in 2022, including the inter-breed title at the Great Yorkshire Show, the breed championship at the Royal Highland and the inter-breed at the Royal Welsh Show.

Interbreed champion Brownhill Netta with Thor Atkinson

Thor said: “I have always found it especially rewarding to win with my cattle at the Great Yorkshire, because the annual visit to the show with my grandparents was one of the highlights of my year when I was growing up. It is also one of the largest competitive events close to home and there are a lot of opportunities to socialise outside the show ring – it is always great to catch up with fellow cattle enthusiasts.”

Meanwhile, the Charolais female, Tophill Roxanne, won two major female championships in 2022, while the highest-performing home-bred British Blue is Newlands Petra. She was reserve breed champion at the Great Yorkshire and the Royal Highland in 2021 before being sold for 7,000gns.

The pedigree females calve all year round and their heifer calves are evaluated for their replacement potential at the point of weaning. Genetic progress is accelerated through the use of in vitro fertilisation, with 15 high health status Fleckvieh females used as recipients.

“It does not suit the system to finish cattle that are not going to be used for breeding,” commented Thor. “Therefore they are sold as ten-month stores at the live auction mart in Skipton. Our surplus breeding cattle are mostly presented at society sales, although some go to private buyers.”

The cattle breeding enterprise is run with help from a part-time manager, Steven O’Kane, as well as support from full-time employee, Richard Cleasby. The team’s visit to Texas last spring has influenced future policies.

“We were impressed with the Aberdeen Angus cattle that we saw in Texas,” he said. “They can put on flesh without consuming large quantities of feed. That is important, especially as we are facing rising input costs. The Angus cows also had excellent maternal qualities, were easy-calving and they were good on their legs.

“I enjoy running my fabrication company, but the farming business is also very important and it is something that I hope to pass on to my young son, who is equally keen on cattle breeding. Netta’s performance will be hard to beat, but our ambition is to win some prestigious titles with our home-bred animals.

“Some additional success in the Limousin ring would be tremendous, but competition is very fierce and we will be up against stock from some magnificent herds of cattle. We will have to wait and see what the 2023 circuit has in store for us,” said Thor.