The Fairway Herd has not been seen by many breeders hidden away as it is beside the River Nidd in the Vale of York. Rarely were cattle sold publicly and showing did not fit with the high health policy. David Fattorini farmed as a young man, but the family business beckoned and he did not return to his consuming interest of breeding good cattle until he retired by which time he had decided on criteria which he believed were critical to profitable beef production.
He bought the Fairthwaite herd, one of the founding herds of the B.C.C.S., and on his farm he created his ideal handling and housing facilities. The main building, not unlike the Sydney Opera House, was much admired when the International Congress delegates visited the Fairway Herd in 1997.
Over two decades the herd has been fully recorded by the farms veterinary surgeon covering every aspect of herd health, fertility and calving performance. There has been little natural service instead using A.I., from both U.K. and French herds, thus widening the herd’s genetic base. Grassland management has been based on regular reseeding, incorporating clover and chicory, with regular blood checks keeping mineral levels at optimum levels. The herd milks well, has an excellent calving record and lives on grass and haylage without the need to creep feed heifers.
David Fattorini was a man of the highest integrity with a comprehensive knowledge of genetics and animal health. In the last years of his life he cared for his ailing wife Lyndey, but that didn’t stop him making his daily trip to meet his loyal stockman George Young to go round the entire herd.
It is often said that to create a top herd of cattle takes a lifetime. What David achieved is just that.
Buyers will see cattle in their working clothes. There are cows with great calves at foot, springing cows in full bloom with two generations of very classy heifers. Undoubtedly there are foundation cows with a depth of breeding normally so hard to find. This sale can be recommended with confidence.
