TOMMY & ALLAN TAYLOR – HEATHERYHALL

3rd generation farmers, Tommy and Allan Taylor, have been at Heatheryhall for 28 years.They live on the farm along with their mum, Jean (who is still heavily involved in working on the farm),Tommy’s wife Elaine and 2 daughters Maisie and Ivy.

The farm is 750 feet above sea level providing mainly grassland. The brothers took over the 1060 acre farm in 2008 when Tommy was 24 and Allan was 22. They work 365 days a year, looking after 1400 cattle which they buy personally through eye and touch from local markets in Lanark, Castle Douglas and Ayr at the age of 12-18 months. They fatten the cattle using a main diet of grass, homegrown silage, potatoes and home grown barley, which they store in a purpose built gigantic feed store. All cattle are bought in and the main breeds selected include; Charolais, Limousin and Simmental as the brothers see them as the top breeds for converting to the best weight for sale. They have a 50/50 split of heifers and steers with Tommy knowing the animals individually and sending mainly heifers to MACDUFF Beef.

The Taylor’s have won a number of awards for their cattle, including the Lanark Christmas Show and Sale with the champion in 2013.