CUMBRIA is already home to a breed of cattle descended from Aberdeen Angus sent to Australia in the early 1900s. Decades after a research project saw the animals shipped across the globe, UK Sires are now offering Lowline semen for dairy herds. The Australian Lowline is still a relatively new breed to the UK but it has started to establish itself in dairy herds looking to tighten their calving pattern, reports Megan Povey, from UK Sires. “With pure Aberdeen Angus ancestry, Lowline sires have a much shorter gestation length than other breeds of around 271 days compared to the average of 283, making the breed an ideal choice for block calving herds”, explains Megan, who is head of sales for the Devon-based semen company.