A PRIZE-WINNING herd and flock are getting back on track after being badly hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Blonde d'Aquitaine X calves bred at Sleddale Hall, near Shap, thrive on hard land running up to 1,500ft above sea level.

Mike Harrison farms the 1,000-acre Less Favoured Area unit with his parents, Henry and Joyce, and his brother, John.

The pedigree Shapfell Blonde herd was founded 13 years ago after the family had used a Blonde bull commercially and liked the calves. They have remained committed to producing crossbred Blonde suckled calves, in spite of losing most of their livestock during foot-and-mouth in 2001.

Sleddale Hall is tenanted from United Utilities, with Henry Harrison taking on the tenancy in 1947, seven years after the creation of Wet Sleddale reservoir. The Harrisons own 55 acres, and the farm also has rights on neighbouring Ralfland Common.

The 165 crossbred cows - Belgian Blues, Blondes and Limousins - have been replaced by 145 mainly Belgian Blue X Limousin and Simmentals, reducing herd numbers along with the sheep, to meet the requirements of the Lake District Environmentally Sensitive Area, of which the farm is now part.

All but the 500 away-wintered sheep of the farm's 2,000 Swaledale flock were lost and numbers are now back up to 1,200, which include some bought-in sheep which will all be bred pure.

This year, the Harrisons have 20 shearling rams for sale at the October Swaledale Sheep Breeders' Association C District Kirkby Stephen sale - their top price was £25,000 in 1992.

Replacement cattle were bought from various farms and consisted mostly of bulling heifers and some in-calf heifers and heifers with calves. Most of the females are -beef bred to steer away from Holstein bloodlines.

"We like the Blonde bull because the calves it produces are good conformation and easily calved," said Mike Harrison. "They have a quiet temperament and they are hardy, running at between 980ft and 1,450ft at Sleddale Hall on rough grazing."

The calves are sold as suckled calves at Penrith, Wigton and Carlisle at ten to 12 months, collecting the first subsidy payment on the bullocks and selling in January to £700 for a bullock. Heifers also sell well and are in demand as replacements for upland suckler herds.

A heifer which was champion at the Wigton show in January was bought by fellow Blonde breeder Andrew Stott, formerly of Caldbeck, who has since shown the animal with considerable sucess in commercial championships.

The family has picked up other tickets for their suckled calves over the years, some of which have gone on to be primestock show winners.

Only pedigree bulls are used on the commercial cattle. Current stock bulls are Forthview Rosco, bought in Perth for 1,700gns in February 2002, and Easterton Pedlar, bought privately from Scottish breeder John Owen.

The Harrisons also bought last July's Carlisle Blonde sale champion, Megray Senator, from Graham Barber, Devon, for 3,000gns. Penyghent Prince was also bought privately from Skipton breeder John Bradley.

The pedigree herd now numbers eight cows, fewer than originally, and the Harrisons hope to rekindle the success their pedigree breeding enjoyed before 2001.

Just before foot-and-mouth, an open day for the North of England Blonde Club was held at Sleddale Hall, and drew visitors from as far afield as Ireland, Scotland and the Midlands.

The cows are calved in three batches. Fifty calve inside in March; the 60 May calvers are outside, while the remainder calve in the autumn, the later ones being housed, depending on the weather.

Winters at Sleddale Hall are usually wet and all the cattle are housed either in cubicles or on slats, with the calves having access to a straw bedded area. The cows are on ad-lib silage and straw.

Depending on their size, the calves are fed a bought-in concentrate, usually a competitively priced blend, starting at 1.5kg a head, increasing to 4kg maximum. The autumn-born calves are sold straight off their mothers; the spring-born calves are usually weaned before sale.

For the future, the Harrisons intend to keep some heifers as replacements and buy in other female suckler cows.

* The Blonde d'Aquitaine Society's autumn show and sale takes place at Borderway Mart, Carlisle, on Thursday