Scottish family who made history at Royal Highland Show get ready for Stirling Bull Sales
A West Lothian farming family is experiencing surging demand for their pedigree red Aberdeen-Angus cattle
Farmers Guardian – 08th October
The Taylor family are enjoying a run of success with animals from their Mosshall herd of pedigree Aberdeen-Angus. After setting a new breed record for the highest price paid in the UK for a red Aberdeen-Angus bull, they made history at the Royal Highland Show with a red Aberdeen-Angus winning the breed championship for the first time.
Based at the 101-hectare (250-acre) Mosshall Farm near Blackburn, West Lothian, the pedigree Aberdeen-Angus herd is mainly based on the increasingly popular red strain of the breed.
The business is very much a family affair and spans three generations, with George and Nikki Taylor at the helm, supported by their children Lauren (15) and Ryan (11), along with George’s parents Andrew and Janet.
George says both the red and black Aberdeen-Angus cattle attract the same premiums and are registered and recorded with the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society in the same way.
The Taylors transitioned from dairy farming to beef almost 15 years ago, establishing their Mosshall Aberdeen-Angus herd in 2011.
“We dispersed the dairy herd in 2012,” says George.
“The work-life balance was not great, and we were facing costly infrastructure upgrades. It just was not sustainable.”
Pedigree herd
Already familiar with the Aberdeen-Angus breed, having used the bulls on their dairy cows, the family initially bred Aberdeen-Angus crosses and Simmental crosses to form a commercial suckler herd, and gradually built up their pedigree numbers, which were running alongside the commercials at the time.
Nikki, who works part-time as a primary school teacher in addition to working on-farm, says: “Over time, the pedigrees took over and the commercial numbers reduced.”
The family’s interest in red Aberdeen-Angus began somewhat by chance when George spotted a red bull at market, but it was out of his budget for crossing with dairy cows at the time.
Nikki says: “When we moved away from dairy, we saw red Aberdeen-Angus as a way to do something a little bit different.
“Our original plan was to breed red bulls for our commercial herd, but it just grew and grew from there.”
Today, the herd stands at 135 cows, including 95 pedigree red Aberdeen-Angus, 30 pedigree black Aberdeen-Angus, and 10 commercial cows, which are used for embryo transfer work.
Breeding plan
The family say all animals are kept with a clear breeding philosophy in mind – to produce functional, easy-fleshing cattle with size, structure, and maternal strength.
Nikki says: “We have not chosen to go down the route of reducing our cow size like some other breeders are currently doing, because our buyers are mostly commercial farmers who cross onto continental breeds – they want size.
“Our average cow size is 850kg and we focus on producing cattle that are easy, soft-fleshing with depth, great top lines, natural shape and sound feet, legs and udders.”
With limited red Aberdeen-Angus genetics available in the UK, the Taylors sourced many of their foundation animals from abroad.
George says: “We bought some great red cattle from black lines in the UK, but we also went to Denmark – before Brexit made importing more expensive – and sourced some fantastic cows from there.”
In more recent years, the family have also imported semen and embryos from Canada. However, the frame size of some of the progeny produced from these genetics has not always matched their goals.
To expand the herd’s gene pool, the Taylors have also invested in quality black Aberdeen-Angus cows from dispersal and reduction sales, crossing them to red bulls to hopefully breed strong red progeny.
Nikki says red Aberdeen-Angus cattle have gained traction in recent years, with the family seeing growing interest from commercial producers.
She says: “Farmers are drawn to the usual Angus benefits – calving ease, shorter gestations, calf vigour, polled genetics, and easy-fleshing. But many also want to retain the red colouring in their calves.
“We have also been told by many of our customers that their red store cattle sell better for them in the store ring.”
The Mosshall herd is run on a low-input system, with cattle primarily fed on grazed grass and grass silage, and minimal concentrates are fed.
Heifers calve in January, with the main herd calving from March to May.
The cattle are out at grass from the beginning of May until the end of October, depending on the weather, and they are indoors on straw courts with a diet of silage and minerals over the winter months.
Each year, about 20 heifers and 20-25 young bulls are retained or sold for breeding, while the remainder are sold as stores through United Auctions at Stirling – typically between November and March – at about 400kg.
The average weaning weights of calves are 370kg for heifers and 400kg for bulls.
George says: “We sell some pedigree bulls straight off the farm at weaning. We have got regular buyers who come to choose some every year.”
As the Taylors prepare to take their entries to Stirling later this month, Nikki says 2025 has been a landmark year for the family.
Breed record
In February, they set a new UK breed record for the highest price paid for a red Aberdeen-Angus bull when Mosshall Red Earl Z575, by Mosshall Red Ferdinand U922, sold for 11,000gns at Stirling to the St Fort herd based in Fife.
That success was followed by historic wins at the Royal Highland Show in June, where one of their cows became the first red Aberdeen-Angus to win the breed championship.
This was three-year-old Mosshall Red Essence Y436, by Galcantray Red Sampson V252, shown with its six-month-old bull calf at foot by Mosshall Red Pharaoh. It also went on to stand reserve overall in the inter-breed beef championship.
Further accolades followed at the Orkney County Show in August, when Mosshall Red Dancer X314, by Mosshall Red Legacy U863, was crowned inter-breed champion, marking the first time a red Aberdeen-Angus had won the title at that event.
It was bought by Keith and Mhari Eunson, Braebuster, Deerness, for 7,500gns at the Stirling Bull Sales in October 2022 after being reserve intermediate champion.
Bull sales
At the upcoming Stirling Bull Sales, the Taylors are taking two bulls – one red and one black – and two red heifers, all of which will be brought out and shown by herd stockman James Reid.
The red bull, Mosshall Red Simba A649, is a March 2024-born son of Mosshall Red Quintin W133, and the black bull is Mosshall Eion A679 by Isauld Lord Hector T816.
Nikki says this will be the first Quintin son being offered for sale, and the progeny coming into the herd are showing great promise. It is also the sire of the two red heifers on offer – Mosshall Red Millie A667 and Mosshall Red Sue A720.
Nikki says: “The majority of our heifers usually go for export, but current bluetongue restrictions mean we have got a few spares to sell.”
With growing demand, record-breaking sales and a standout year in the showring, the Taylors say they are optimistic about the future of red Aberdeen-Angus and Mosshall’s place within it.
Nikki says: “We are always working to improve the traits our customers want. We aim to grow the herd sustainably, continue to widen our customer base, and keep showing farmers the benefits of what red Aberdeen-Angus can do for them.”
Mosshall facts
- 101 hectares (250 acres)
- 135-cow herd comprising 95 pedigree red Aberdeen-Angus, 30 pedigree black Aberdeen-Angus, and 10 commercial cows for embryo transfer work
- Focus on producing cows with depth and frame to meet the needs of commercial buyers
- Set new UK record for the highest price paid for a red Aberdeen-Angus bull in February 2025 when Mosshall Red Earl Z575 sold for 11,000gns
- Made history at the Royal Highland Show when their three-year-old cow, with bull calf at foot, stood breed champion – a first for a red Aberdeen-Angus
