Episode 7 - Neil McGowan

Recorded in April 2018.

Neil McGowan is from the best county in the UK, if not the world .... (that's Perthshire just in case you don't know this already). He is a breeder of stock and the result of excellent genetics himself - both sides of his family have been pedigree breeders for generations.

Hear how his great grandfather got hung in the Chicago Winter Fair Hall of Fame (it's not as bad as it sounds) and of the magic of the old Perth Bull Sales.  We discuss why Scotland might have lost its "Stud Farm of the World" title.

I try and extract the dark arts of pedigree breeding from Neil and he tells me about Anna Pavlova, maternal character and the importance of simply looking at animals for a long time.

We talk about marketing and needs related to wants of the customer. He was one of the first in the UK to sell rams through an on farm sale and he is now expanding this to include bulls and heifers. See http://www.incheochfarm.co.uk/ for details.

He also tells one of the best stories in breeding - Phar Lap.

Hope you enjoy it.