Livestock Farming – meat, leather & wool
By about the late 1800s a new crop-rotation system meant that
there was now a lot of land lying under grass for much of the time
which led to increased amounts of grazing land. Along with the
cropping of hay, this proved an incredible boost to meat and dairy
production. The Earl of Marchmont is credited for bringing Dutch
cattle into the area at this time and breeding them with the
native, Kyle breed on his estate in Berwickshire. Some of these
animals were then introduced into Ayrshire (probably near Galston
or Cessnock). John Dunlop of Dunlop is also noted for bringing
similar Dutch, Teeswater or Lincoln breeds into Cunninghame which
he bred with local cattle. Whoever was responsible, this new breed
was noted for their milk yield and proved so popular that they
spread across Ayrshire and into Dumfries and Galloway and other
adjacent counties within a few years. Originally known as Dunlop or
Cunninghame cattle they eventually came to be called Ayrshire
cattle and now meet the needs of dairy farmers throughout the
British Isles and further a field. Thanks to the new breed the town
of Dunlop in North Ayrshire became internationally renowned for its
cheese. Galloway famously produced its own beef cattle (sometimes
called Carrick cattle in Ayrshire).
On the rougher, higher ground indigenous blackface sheep were
reared for their wool. The breed has been known to have been in
south-west Scotland for hundreds of years and their origin is
unknown but skilful breeding and draining of hill pasture has meant
that they have steadily improved in quality. Other less widespread
breeds in the region included the Cheviot and, in more sheltered
areas, the Border Leicester.
Markets sprang up and by the beginning of the 19th century,
south-west Scotland was exporting beef, pork, mutton, cattle and
wool throughout Great Britain. Drovers took Ayrshire and Carrick
cattle to Barnet Fair near London every year. The journey was made
on pony and took several weeks! In 1835 the Highland and
Agricultural Society of Scotland held their show at Ayr on October
2nd. It proved so popular that the very next day, the Marques of
Bute founded the 'General Agricultural Association of Airshire',
which held its first show the following year in
Kilmarnock. The Association, which became known as the
'Ayrshire Agricultural Association' in 1852, was soon holding
annual shows at Ayr which were designed to improve the quality of
cattle, sheep, pigs, horses and poultry.
During the 20th century, The growing of oats, which had been the
main crop and staple ingredient of the regions diet in past
centuries, was vastly reduced which left far more free land for
cattle grazing. The production of cheese was replaced largely with
dairy farms concentrating on the production of liquid milk and the
harvesting of hay for feed was superseded in many areas by silage
production.
