NBA Magazine - Spring 2023

Photo credit Ian Findlay.

EDITOR

Julie Holmes

National Beef Association

Concorde House 24 Warwick New Road Leamington Spa Warwickshire

CV32 5JG 01434 601005

julie@nationalbeefassociation.com

DEPUTY EDITOR

Neil Shand ceo@nationalbeefassociation.com

CHAIRMAN

Andrew Laughton

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NATIONAL BEEF ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE

SPRING 2023: Issue 26

NEXT ISSUE: SUMMER 2023

NBA give notice that no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior consent of the publishers. Every care is taken when compiling editorial and advertisements and the publishers can accept no responsibility for errors or omissions arising from publication. Views expressed and information contained in The National Beef Association Magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the National Beef Association who cannot therefore be held responsible for any reason arising therefrom. Neither the Association, the Publisher nor the Editors endorses any services or products advertised in this Magazine.

Welcome to the Spring edition of Beef magazine Andrew Laughton

Welcome to the spring edition of the NBA’s Beef magazine. I should know better but in the kindest February we’ve had with the snowdrops out in force, the daffodils starting to come out grass growing and cattle looking over the gate I have to admit to being very tempted to open it! Thankfully experience won out and as I write this with a sharp frost and covering of snow last week I was pleased it had! As an old neighbour used to reckon; they eat with five mouths in the frost.

Eating with five mouths made me think that one will be plenty if the supermarkets are going to keep us all fed. The egg debacle along with the reduction in the pig herd and recently the rationing of some salad products must have some of theses retail buyers wondering what has hit them. Gaps on the shelves must be concentrating their minds. Clearly it puts the suppliers in the driving seat – or so you would think and for how long? Rest assured that those concentrated minds will find ways to get themselves back in the ascendancy. My worry is that the shortages and/or price of pretty much every commodity will give the retailers the scarce little reason they need to look abroad to fill those gaps. Thankfully most of the beef prices across the globe aren’t likely to be much competition in the short term - who would have thought that Southern Irish beef would be more expensive than ours? Whilst

for the moment it is a nice feeling, I would warn of becoming complacent.

agenda – I am mindful I will be shot down in flames for suggesting bringing more burden upon the industry but it is high time that we should be catching up and overtaking the opposition on EVERY front including the Green agenda. If we don’t we are at very real risk of giving the retailers that reason and coming second in the race to sell beef. Unthinkable… but then how many unthinkable things in the last 12 months do you want me to point at? We need to be able to hold the retailers to account and keep them serving our Great British Beef to our Great British consumers.

Perhaps the time is coming for the supply chain to work together; rather than being at odds within the industry. I’m sure the processors and the retailers face significant challenges but they need to also realise that we the farmers cannot deal with huge volatility whilst trying to produce on wafer thin margins – there is literally nowhere else to go. If you think the above is a flight of fancy then the following is clearly delusional! WHAT If ELMS and all within it were to work in tandem of what the market place wants and the farmer needs? What if it all tied magically together for best efficiency / green / welfare / soil / production? Okay, okay I will go and have a lie down! But think about it…. WHAT IF?

I can’t help but think that this is where British Beef PLC needs to up its marketing game and start to catch up on this Green

Take care

Andrew

A recent conversation between the NBA and a retailer revealed that they thought that Board Bia and its Origin Green marketing agenda with carbon audits on every farm are very appealing for them and moreover for their ever more demanding customers. Please don’t forget that those customers are ultimately our customers - each and every one of them.

Vicky Anderson Training and Business Services

Since 1986 Vicky Anderson and her team have been supporting rural businesses, helping them grow and develop.

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Neil Shand

Chief Executive

March well and truly came in like a lion and that thread has continued to beyond the halfway point of the month, hopefully the end of the month will give some genuine Spring feeling to the air.

The cold weather has helped beef sales, when in fairness numbers are already tight, +/- a few pence of £5 kilo is normal at the moment and never has the UK been so geographically aligned with price. Depending on where you are in the UK, you may not agree with this, but closer alignment of the farm gate prices, which happened during Covid, which just happened to be just after Brexit, is good for the industry; the scale of variation historically was too great.

The budget statement suggests we will no longer go into recession in 2023, and there will be economic growth - but it will be small.

It would be brave or foolish to predict where the beef price is going to go in the remainder of 2023, but here goes.

It is easier to start by tracking back to March 2020, and I write this almost 3 years from when the first lockdown was announced and as a population we started to deal with a whole new world; including new words like furlough.

By the end of Easter 2020, farmgate beef prices had dropped to a UK average of £3.40p/kilo, this week it is £5p/kilo. If I or anyone had suggested that in 2020 we would have been escorted to the nearest mental institute.

We can debate the various factors that have driven the increase, which equates to about £600 on a 380 kilo carcase. What is harder to debate, or even understand is the fact the retailer shelf price is more or less the same as it was in March 2020. We are all naturally suspicious that the producer makes the least from beef production compared to the processor and retailer, and I won’t add fuel to the argument here, but the producer has received all the uplift in the last three years to date, and all of it has been required. Furthermore, as the price continues to rise as inputs fall, the opportunity to make hay while the sun shines cannot be missed.

like for like comparison but chicken we are told is always our major competitor. Reductions in feed costs will increase the competitiveness of chicken as the year rolls on, and by the nature of the business far quicker than reduced inputs on the beef price.

Global demand for beef is strong and that alone will likely lead our price to remain strong for the next 4-5months; while some predict some serious continued rises from now until June.

I think we are more likely to be around where we are now, with maybe small increases between now and summer. Thereafter till the end of the year, unless there are global insecurities, we are probably going to see a steady consistent trade with price being roughly where it is now, £5 or thereabouts will be the consistent price for the year.

Cattle numbers are tight and will remain tight for at least the next two years, cull cow numbers last year rose dramatically, the heifer kill also increased by over nearly 10%, so there is clearly a reduction in replacement levels, this is a major concern moving forward.

I may be proven wrong, after all, I thought Scotland were going to win the six nations this year.

As point of interest, this week one of the major retailers has best lean mince at £8.90 kilo, whilst chicken breasts are £16.50 kilo, I appreciate it’s not a

We are now very close to announcing the venue for next year’s Beef Expo, the date is still to be finalised but watch this space, we will be making an announcement very soon.

So, what lies ahead of us this year - at some point the price of beef will rise in supermarkets, the unknown is when and by how much and will the cumulative result cool sales.

NATIONAL SUCCESS FOR DEVON FARMING FAMILY

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Limousin Society ran a commercial herd competition for the first time and the winners were the Mather family from Besshill Farm near Barnstaple in Devon, where the emphasis is on securing a future for the business and the next generation.

Edward and Hazel Mather run the farm with Edward’s father Jim. And their daughters Selina, Ruby and Emily are getting increasingly involved with the stock. The all-grass farm is home to a 104 head of commercial polled Limousin cows with all progeny reared on farm either as replacements or finished cattle, with many of them sold through their farm shop.

The shop was set up 20 years ago as a way to add value to cattle during the Foot and Mouth outbreak and has remained a major part of the business, developing an excellent reputation. The rearing system is geared to providing the required flow of finished cattle for the shop with the balance, mainly steers, sold to ABP. Around 85 cows will calve in the spring with the balance in the autumn. Bulls are turned in for 8-9 weeks to ensure a tight block and usually 15 home reared heifers will calve down each year.

“We want to move to 100% polled cattle for ease of management,” Ed comments. “We buy pedigree bulls from James Milligan-Manby’s McTurk herd in Lincolnshire.”

Spring born calves will spend the summer on their mothers and are fed a Harpers

Feeds 16% beef blend from around August, being weaned in November when they are consuming 4-5kg/day. They are housed on big bale grass silage and blend. Steers and heifers are reared in separate batches with steers receiving 5kg/day of blend while heifers are fed 3kg.

Any steers weighing 550kg are kept indoors in the spring, finishing on barley while lighter animals will finish at grass. Any heifers not retained for breeding will be sold through the shop with a target 360370kg deadweight. Spring born steers are sold to ABP, targeting 680kg liveweight (390-400kg deadweight).

Autumn born calves receive the same blend from six weeks old and stay on the

dam until early August. They will stay out at grass as long as possible before being housed on big bale silage and barley until finishing. All are sold through the shop.

“We calve all cows in yards and ensure each calf receives 500ml of colostrum from their dam via a tube immediately after calving. Although it increases workloads, we believe this helps get calves on their feet and we know they are suckling and it ensures a good supply of strong calves,” Ed explains.

Achieving net zero is a major focus for the family who are conscious that they are supplying the end consumer who is interested in the provenance of the meat. Ten years ago they installed solar panels and the latest development is a water wheel which is hoped will supply the electricity needs of the house and farm. They have planted 3000 trees and re-established hedgerows which were taken out in the 1970s.

In a move to reduce their carbon footprint further, they are currently trialling Harpers Feeds Planet beef diets which contain zero soya and palm and hope that they can remove soya without affecting performance.

“We have worked with Harpers Feeds for many years,” Ed continues. “With continued pressure to remove soya from beef diets, we are keen to see how cattle perform on a zero soya diet so will be trialling the Planet blend with both autumn and spring born calves. Hopefully it will be another way we can move to more sustainable production for the farm, and the family.”

The Mather family.

Mindset is the key to sustainable suckler production

Sustainability is a word used all too often without a real thought for its true meaning. There are in fact three pillars to sustainability; social, economic and environmental and it is the balance of all three which can be subjective to each farm business. AHDB’s Senior Knowledge Exchange Manager Amy Hughes looks at the influence of mindset on sustainable suckler production.

It goes without saying that everyone who runs a farm business, wants to do it successfully and make a profit - a business is not a business if it doesn’t pay the bills. But what about the lifestyle that you and your family want to lead and the longer-term success for the business?

About Nerbas Bros. Aberdeen Angus

A recent visit to the UK from Canadian suckler producer, Arron Nerbas of Nerbas Bros Aberdeen Angus, sparked thought provoking conversation on this very topic.

AHDB Beef & Lamb, the British Cattle Breeders Club and the Aberdeen-Angus society put together a weeklong programme for Arron to travel around the UK and talk about his farm business and his stance on how to produce a profitable suckler herd fit for the future.

Arron farms with his brother, Shane, and his parents, Cynthia and Gene. They are

a third-generation ranch, farming 5,000 acres of perennial forage. They total 550 head of cattle, selling breeding bulls and replacement heifers along with direct-toconsumer beef. Using regenerative and holistic principles, the ranch supports three households.

Having travelled and taken time to ‘grow up’ Arron returned to the farm and his whole family decided to take a course in holistic management. They wanted to change the way they farmed and become more ‘in-sync’ with nature, putting back into the land what previous practices had taken out. By taking the decision to change their grazing practices, the family have been able to double their forage production on the same area of land using

animal impact, rest and recovery to do so. No artificial fertiliser has been used for 20 years.

Thoughts from Canada

Throughout the week of events, Arron shared his experience focussing on a simple, low input system and cows that fit and thrive without being overmanaged. One of Arron’s main messages was to “love what the cow can do for you, more than you love the cow itself.” Are we guilty of loving our cows too much?

The consensus throughout the week was that we (in the UK) have developed a habit of fitting the system to the cow, rather than breeding and managing the cow to fit the system. Could this be a costly mistake?

Using strict system selection pressure, Nerbas Bros Aberdeen Angus were achieving (and in most cases exceeding) our industry KPIs for animal performance. Calving in less than an eight-week period with 94%+ in-calf rates, there was no question that his ‘momma cows’ were fertile and doing the job they were supposed to do, producing one, marketable calf, every 365 days.

His heifer selection was based on using his “cow goggles” to select animals that were built for functionality and removing any outliers. Arron wanted forage efficient animals, that held their body condition score in the harshest of winters and thrived in his system. A herd-first mentality was taken, no splitting into groups and managing them separately. If the cow didn’t thrive, it went and that was that.

Establishing a robust mindset

The host farmers for the three on-farm events shared a similar mindset, they all run low input, profitable suckler systems, outwintering cattle and focusing on a breeding plan that produces functional, fertile suckler cows. They were Silas HedleyLawrence in Oxfordshire, Jimi Collis and Matt House in Dorset and George Burrell in Northumberland.

Calving over a nine-week period and achieving above 94% in calf rates, these three farms were going ‘back to basics’ with their beef systems, using the cows to improve forage production and soil health, whilst still producing a beef carcase that hits market specification. Efficiencies were improved further by calving at two years of age and reducing mature cow weight to minimise feed requirements.

Having a producer focused, business mindset was the underlying key to success in these systems in similarity to Arron’s system. The ability of these farmers to adapt and move with the changing industry was an inspiration. Happy farmers producing high quality beef in a sustainable way, but most importantly with open minds that were ready for change.

Find out more about Arron Nerbas and his farm business in the AHDB Food & Farming podcast https:// audioboom.com/posts/8254293ahdb-beef-lamb-producing-profitablesuckler-cows-thoughts-from-canada

Meet the host farmers:

Silas Hedley-Lawrence, FAI Farms in Oxfordshire, manages a herd of 100 organic and Pasture for Life accredited, Saler and Aberdeen Angus suckler cattle. The FAI farm is set in 578 hectares of ground straddling the river Thames rented from Oxford University. They run an adaptive multi-paddock grazing system which is mapping out in detail the farm’s transition into regenerative agriculture. Having a strict culling policy and only keeping the cows that work for them has enabled them to operate a seven-week bulling period with a 95 – 98% in calf rate.

Jimi Collis and Matt House his herd manager, Launceston Farm in Dorset, manage 240 organic, mainly Stabiliser cross suckler cows on a low input system. They calve half the herd in spring and half in autumn, achieving a six-week calving period with a 94% in calf rate. All heifers calve at two-years old and they run a systems-based approach to selection, whereby cows that don’t thrive are removed, leaving only the most profitable animals in the herd.

George Burrell, Aln Angus farm in Northumberland, runs a herd of 250 Aberdeen Angus suckler in Northumberland. The system is mainly grass based with crops and silage available during winter for young stock. George breeds his cows for his system. His aim is to produce the maximum amount of red meat per hectare without exposing themselves to uncontrollable input costs. He operates a six-to-eight-week calving period with a 98% in calf rate.

Acknowledging that this selection process is not a quick process, Arron’s advice was to make your rules and then stick to them. “Set your non-negotiable traits and remove those cows. Then the next year, remove a few more. The result over time will be a herd of uniform, functional and profitable cattle,” Arron explained.

Great British Beef Week is back

Great British Beef Week (GBBW) is returning for its 13th year to celebrate ‘naturally delicious’ British beef, renowned around the world for its quality and sustainability.

The week launches on St George’s Day and encourages the nation to enjoy one of our most iconic meat dishes – the naturally delicious British beef roast.

Running from Sunday 23 April until Sunday 30 April, GBBW will see farmers, processors, retailers, butchers and chefs unite once again to share recipes, real-life farming stories and infographics on social media and in the press. As well there will be industry promotions such as on counter, on menu, in-store and on beef packs; nearly ½ million packs of beef will have the Great British Beef Week sticker applied reminding consumers British beef is naturally delicious.

The brainchild of Ladies in Beef, a voluntary organisation of female beef farmers co-founded by Devon producer Jilly Greed and NFU President Minette Batters, GBBW brings everyone together to champion Red Tractor assured British beef in a week-long celebration of quality, taste and our world-leading farming credentials. Jilly Greed said: “We have one of the most sustainable beef production systems in

the world. Using the natural resources of grass, plentiful sunshine and rain we produce highly nutritious British beef that is a natural source of iron and can be very much part of a balanced diet.”

The week-long celebration is supported by AHDB, Red Tractor, the National Farmers Union and RABI.

AHDB Head of Marketing Carrie McDermid said: “This GBBW, we want to connect the great taste of British beef with our UK farming credentials. We want to celebrate delicious locally reared British beef, which is among the most sustainable in the world. The UK has one of the most climate friendly and sustainable beef production systems in the world.”

To get involved in this year’s GBBW by hosting your own event or activity, please contact domestic.marketing@ahdb.org.uk to access any of the supporting marketing materials.

For more information about GBBW 23 (April 23 - 30) visit www.ladiesinbeef. org.uk. You can also connect with Ladies in Beef on their social media channels:

LtoR: Jilly Greed, Ladies in Beef co-founder; Adam Henson, Patron of Ladies in Beef and Minette Batters, President of the NFU taken at Ladies in Beef launch in 2010.

Farmers Minette Batters, left, and Jilly Greed, right, marking the 10th Great British Beef Week in 2020. The campaign returns for a 13th year in April.

Twitter @Ladiesinbeef1; Facebook @ ladiesinbeef; Instagram @ladiesinbeef01. If you’re after new beef recipe ideas and cooking tips head over to www.SimplyBeefandLamb.co.uk

Cost of living to hit farm business margins in 2023

High

The damaging effects of inflation, the supressed economic activity as a result of reduced spending power and the lack of flexibility in the labour market will converge to continue affecting farm business margins. Farmers are particularly hard hit, facing higher input costs while simultaneously facing a price sensitive consumer market for their produce.

Sarah Baker, AHDB Economic Strategist, said: “The main issue with inflation is it drives down the real rate of growth in an economy, erodes households’ disposable income and leads to more cautious spending patterns. Coupled with rising input costs for farmers, the industry will face ongoing dual challenges this year.

“As inflation subsides, it doesn’t mean that prices are dropping, rather that they have stopped rising as quickly as they were before. Therefore, peoples’ living standards will take some time to catch up, depending on income growth. Consumer confidence, along with demand, will take some time to recover, despite inflation dropping as it is expected to during 2023.”

AHDB’s Agri-market outlook is produced every six months and examines the factors likely to affect farm businesses, helping levy payers plan and budget for what may

lay ahead. The analysis features detailed market outlooks for each levy-paying sector covered by AHDB’s remit - beef & lamb, dairy, pork and cereals & oilseeds. The latest outlook also examines trends in farm business inputs and consumer demand.

Key findings from the beef outlook include:

• Production is to grow slightly in 2023 due to higher cattle availability, by an estimated 0.6%

• Consumption is forecast to ease by around 2% as cost-of-living pressures consumer budgets

• Imports are expected to fall by around 2%, driven by easing domestic demand

• Exports could grow slightly by around 3%, reflective of the domestic market balance

Where next for GB cattle prices?

GB deadweight cattle prices have shown remarkable strength so far in 2023, with prime cattle and cull cows posting weekly gains since the start of the year. In the week ending 25 February, the GB overall average steer price reached 480p/kg, up 71p from the same week a year ago. At the same time, the overall deadweight cow measure averaged 379p/kg, up 80p year-onyear.

The price rises come despite pressures on retail and consumer spending, linked to higher cost of living

and price inflation. So, what other factors are at play?

The UK beef market came into 2023 following a tighter supply situation in 2022, keeping prices elevated. A slight uplift in production, balanced with relatively stable imports and growth in exports pointed to lower available beef supplies for consumption during the year. This was particularly prevalent during the third quarter. Supplies grew in the fourth quarter as cattle slaughter rose ahead of Christmas and winter housing, but firm demand kept prices high.

Beef markets are also currently tighter across the EU and indeed elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly the US. This has been driven by production declines, which are expected to persist in 2023. Such trends could suggest that underlying support for cattle prices generally will remain in 2023. A relatively weak outlook for sterling could also be beneficial for beef trade flows. However, we must consider the other end of the market – demand. Our latest outlook points to lower UK domestic consumption in 2023, driven by inflationary-related cutbacks in spending. Cheaper cuts are expected to be favoured by consumers, and so how the value of the carcase is balanced with marketing of more premium cuts will be key to farmgate returns. Elsewhere, EU consumers have also not escaped the challenges presented by cost-of-living pressures.

As we head into Spring, cattle prices continue to rally, with live sales also seeing record returns. Reports of beef stocks in store running tight supports a momentum in this trend. How consumers have responded to the current economic challenges through February and March is the next piece of the puzzle.

For all the latest industry data, analysis and insights from the beef sector to help inform your business decisions, visit the beef markets page of the AHDB website https:// ahdb.org.uk/beef/beef-markets

inflation and the impact of the cost of living on consumer demand for red meat will continue to impact farm business planning in 2023, according to the latest AHDB Agri-market Outlook.

Guest Vet

Nicky Bowden

Beef from the dairy sector and hopes for BVD eradication

When I was asked to contribute to the NBA magazine, my first thought was what could I, a dairy farmer’s daughter, working in the middle of Cheshire have to say to beef farmers? I work at Nantwich Farm Vets, a large farm only practice. We have a few small pedigree beef herds and a range of commercial beef, but the majority of our work is dairy. When it comes to beef, I definitely see myself as more of a consumer of the end product!

It was my own beef consumption that got me thinking about this article. We get deliveries of beef for our freezer from my brother-in-law. He buys beef crossed calves from a dairy farm and either sells them as stores or takes them through to finishing.

AHDB data shows that there has been a notable rise in the number of these beef registered calves born to dairy dams. In 2012 just over a third of calves born to dairy dams were registered as beef animals; by 2021 the share had risen to a half.

The rise in use of sexed dairy semen means farmers are now able to be more selective in which cows they choose to breed their replacement heifers from. Some farms may target this through technologies such as

genomics, but many farms have a policy of a limited number of serves to sexed dairy with beef thereafter. It is great to see that these beef crossed calves now have a value and that the industry is well on the way to the targets set in the GB dairy calf strategy.

beef market. These bulls get cows in calf, produce a quality calf and calves easily, so the cow can return to milking with minimal issues. They even follow these calves through to slaughter and show substantial improvements in dead weights. There are still challenges when it comes to dairy beef calves, particularly in areas with TB. When farms that normally sell calves at a few weeks old are forced to rear them due to movement restrictions, overstocking and the subsequent calf health challenges can be difficult to manage.

Genetics companies identify beef bulls aimed specifically at the dairy

My other contact with the beef sector is via the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA), of which I am currently a board member. One of my focuses is BVD, such as BVD Free England. I admire the progress made by Ireland and the devolved nations. Our own family farm straddles the Welsh border so I am very aware of the numbers of cattle moving around the UK potentially spreading BVD. Hopefully it will not be long before England gets a compulsory BVD eradication scheme, so England is not left even further behind with BVD. BVD eradication from the whole of the UK is something that will bring significant benefits to all parts of the cattle industry.

In the past Holstein bulls were seen as a waste product and beef crosses were often neglected. It is great to see that these beef crossed animals are now valued providing an additional income stream, sometimes described as the ‘13th milk cheque’.

Next generation of livestock auctioneers recognised at Harper Adams University graduation ceremony

A new generation of livestock auctioneers celebrated their achievements at the annual graduation ceremony for the Livestock Market Operations and Management course, hosted by Harper Adams University and attended by the Livestock Auctioneers’ Association (LAA) on Monday 9th January.

Daniel Lynn, livestock auctioneer at Darlington Farmers Auction Mart

was awarded the LAA Gavel for the highest achieving graduating student for England and Wales, while Zanna Dennis of both Bentham Auction Mart and the LAA, collected the ‘Golden Gavel’ Dick Harrison Trust award as the highest achieving first year student.

Daniel graduated with a Certificate of Higher Education in Livestock Market Operations and Management, also receiving his fellowship for the LAA during the ceremony, the culmination of four-years study while in full-time employment.

The ceremony also included five graduating second year students being

awarded Associate membership to the LAA. Oliver Chapman (Louth), George Starkie (Clitheroe), Joe Bowman (H&H), Paul Gardner (Penrith) and Jake Wagstaff (Thrapston) are continuing their studies to complete the full four-year course for Fellow membership of the LAA.

The Livestock Market Operations and Management course aims to provide the bedrock of knowledge and skills needed by anybody aspiring to succeed in livestock auction practice. First delivered in 2011, the programme has been developed by Dr Mark Simcock of Harper Adams, in conjunction with the Livestock Auctioneers’ Association and the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland.

Path to a career in the industry

Having grown up on the family farm, 24-year-old Daniel actually took a slightly convoluted path to a career in the industry, initially joining the armed forces for a brief period after leaving school.

However, the call of farming was too strong, and he soon returned to his roots, taking up a trainee auctioneer opportunity at Darlington Farmers Auction Mart back in April 2016.

Daniel was encouraged to enrol on the course by the team at Darlington, starting in January 2018 and actually completing his four-year course, five years on, due to the disruption caused by the Covid 19 pandemic.

In this time, Daniel now heads up all of the sheep sales at Darlington, as well as a large part of the machinery sales. Outside of the rostrum, he also runs his own sheep flock, with a mixture of pure Cheviot, pure Texel sheep and Mule ewes.

Commenting on the course, Daniel explains,

“Those connections have remained strong from day one. I am regularly picking up the ‘phone, gaining and sharing advice and updates from different parts of the country. It really helps knowing what is going on, and what has worked well in some places as well as what hasn’t worked so well,” he says.

Daniel, who was presented with his LAA Gavel award by new LAA chairman Alastair Brown of Bletsoes, adds, “The course is really well-run and covers so much. The facilities and support are impeccable.”

Balancing her time as development officer for the LAA alongside her role as drover and administrator at Bentham Auction Mart, Zanna Dennis was delighted to receive the Dick Harrison Trust ‘Gold Gavel’ award as the top first year student.

“I am grateful to have the opportunity to study the course, providing an excellent understanding of the day-to-day operations and wider management of auction marts. It has already been of benefit to both my roles at the LAA and Bentham market,” she says.

Chris Dodds, executive secretary of the LAA comments, “The course is about encouraging the networking opportunities and developing the skillsets to help build a

career that will not only bring great personal reward, but will also support the wider UK livestock industry.”

Course manager Dr Mark Simcock says, “All of our farming clients are going to need sound advice from their professional advisors in the years ahead as agricultural policy develops, and our graduates today are in a position to give that advice.”

Mr Dodds adds, “I would like to congratulate all graduates and current students on their achievements to date, and I look forward to seeing them help shape and support the industry moving forward.

“Investing in the next generation of auctioneers is crucial to secure the future of our livestock market industry. This course is a great example of industry doing so.”

“It covers so many aspects of the industry, but it is not just about learning. The networking opportunities and connections are invaluable, bringing peers from around the country into one place.

“Equally, the course provides a hugely valuable opportunity to meet with, and learn from, other auctioneers from across the UK.”

LAA 2nd Year ALAA Graduation.

LAA 1st Year Award Zanna Dennis & DHT Trustee Rob Addison.

LAA Graduating Student Daniel Lynn & LAA Chair Alastair Brown.

Can badger vaccination help eradicate bovine TB?

Ask any cattle farmers about their biggest concerns, and it’s likely that bovine TB will be high on the list. Dealing with any infectious disease in your herd is difficult, but is made even harder when there is evidence that an endemically infected wildlife population is contributing to the spread of disease.

Whilst the culling of badgers is still permitted in areas with a current licence, Defra have clearly stated an intention to move away from this control measure, putting a greater emphasis on increased surveillance and a deployable cattle vaccine, as well as government support for badger vaccination programmes. Dr Lindsay Heasman is the Project Manager for VESBA – a large-scale, farmer-led badger vaccination project in East Sussex. The Defra-funded project is now entering its third year, and results to date have been promising.

“In experimental trials, vaccination with the Badger BCG vaccine has been shown to reduce the likelihood of badgers developing lesions or excreting M. bovis, as well as providing some immunity to the offspring of vaccinated dams” explains Dr Heasman. “In addition, the results from diagnostic tests estimate that vaccinating badgers with BCG reduces new infections by 76%, which suggests that vaccination should

reduce the prevalence of bTB in badgers. It follows that this should have a positive knock-on effect for reducing bTB in cattle, where the source of infection has been an infected wildlife reservoir.

The aim of the VESBA project is to better understand how badger vaccination can be rolled out at scale. So far, over 100 farmers in the area are taking part, and the land area covered is over 250km2. Lindsay continues “The project is overseen by Cliffe Veterinary Group, who work with the local farming community to ensure that as many people as possible take part, with the day-to-day badger vaccination operations being carried out by members of the local farming community that have successfully completed the required training courses. Whilst we are really pleased about the amount of land we cover in the VESBA project, it’s important for farmers to remember that this is also something that can be done on a small scale – even on a single farm.”

In order to vaccinate badgers, there is some preparatory work to do. “Farmers or landowners need to sign a Land Access Agreement, permitting one of our team members to visit the farm and conduct

Dr Lindsay Heasman.

a survey, to understand where badger activity is greatest. Surveying is best done in Winter or Spring, prior to the start of the vaccination season (1st May). Once areas of activity (such as setts, runs or latrines) are identified, we start introducing peanuts as a food bait – badgers will dig to find the bait, even when it is buried a few inches underground. When badgers are reliably finding the bait points, we will put out the approved cage traps with the doors wired open, and then start moving the bait points inside the traps. After 7-10 days of pre-baiting, the traps are set ‘live’ in the evening, and a trained vaccinator will check each trap at first light the following morning. Each badger caught has a visual check over and is then injected with BadgerBCG. A fur patch is clipped and a stock marker spray applied prior to release, so that we know which badgers have already been vaccinated. The process is repeated the following day – with any re-captured badgers being released without a second injection.

Badgers are a protected species, so it is illegal to ‘kill, injure or take’ (trap) them, or to interfere with places they use for shelter or protection without a licence. In May 2022, Defra introduced a new Class Licence for badger vaccination, along with

a reporting App, which has made the whole process much simpler.

“Last year, the VESBA team vaccinated 562 badgers – testament to the dedication and skills of everyone involved. Whilst we know that badger vaccination isn’t going to prevent every TB breakdown, it is certainly an option for farmers to consider as part of their wider bTB control strategy, which should also include biosecurity measures and knowledge-based trading.

Further information is available on the TB Hub (www.tbhub.co.uk) or by emailing lindsay@hurstanimalhealth.co.uk.

“Obviously, its still a requirement for anyone wanting to vaccinate badgers to have completed the relevant training course, and to secure veterinary support – but the amount of paperwork has reduced considerably.

REGIONAL COUNCIL CONTACTS

NORTHERN

William Walton - Chairman Northumberland, NE47

Email: fay.penpeugh@hotmail.com

SOUTH WEST

Robert Venner - Chairman

Email: robert.venner@gth.net

Phoebe Hart - Secretary

Tel: 07309 666895

Email: phoebe.hart@ molevalleyfarmers.com

WALES

Contact Head Office

Tel: 01434 601005

NORTHERN IRELAND

Stephen Heenan - Chairman

County Down, BT30 8RT

Tel: 07889 159496

Email: stephenheenan63@yahoo.co.uk

SCOTLAND

Paul Ross - Chairman

Email: paul@lenahowe.co.uk

Neil Wilson - Vice Chairman

Email: neil@sabadvisory.co.uk

Tel: 07734812704

NBA Regional Round-ups

South West

In the South West this Spring members have been busy calving and selling stirks, busk calves, stores, fat cattle and cull cows and bulls to great effect.

Many suckler herds have dispersed in recent years but that trend looks to be slowing as those still in production are being rewarded with tremendous prices for their sale stock. Straw, diesel, fertilizer and feed inputs are all easing in price. Electricity is the remaining extortionately highly priced input but thankfully, compared to dairy production, suckler producers do not use as much. Labour availability continues to be an issue but many suckler herd operations run on family labour and as such are also less effected.

This Spring at Sedgemoor we have seen finished cattle to £2,151 and 299ppk. Stores to £1,965, cull cows to £1,879 and cull bulls to £2,067. Trade for finished or near to finished stock has been tremendous and this has filtered down to the busk calves and stirks. The one section that has not seen the dramatic increase in value has been the calves.

Pre- Christmas calves were difficult to sell. They have recovered a bit now but they still look cheap. In the nineties when finished cattle were £850 to £900, best calves were £450. Now when the finished cattle are £1,800 to £2,100 best calves are £350, with the odd one over £400. I appreciate calves are no longer going for export but it has never been cheaper to put a bunch of calves together and have some cattle for the

future. Many farmers are also getting older and don’t want the work. They would rather buy reared calves or stirks. In the same way that in-lamb ewes often sell for less per life than couples, whereby with couples “all” the work has been done.

For a young farmer keen for work and with limited working capital, calves look a great opportunity.

Milk powder was up £10 a bag but that is also coming down in price. Calf rearing nuts are dear but calves don’t eat a vast tonnage. The biggest issue would appear to be that today’s calves are weak, being Holstein based and not tough like calves from yester year’s Friesians. Some Dairy farmers are also not looking after their calves well enough. The milk price has been high and calf values low and consequently some calves have not had enough colostrum and or milk. Rearers are complaining that too many calves are dying because they are not well enough bred or fed after birth. This is I believe the main factor which is discouraging rearers or youngsters from having a go.

The onset of the Spring Block calvers with their Jersey based calves will also struggle to find homes as they are just not suitable for the trade.

The request from the beef industry to the dairy industry would be please produce better calves to encourage rearers and young farmers to buy them. Out of a more robust dam and and a calf which has had ample colostrum would be a good start.

We have lost a friend in Parliament in the form of Neil Parish, so we look to Sir Robert Goodwill MP, as chair of the EFRA Committee to act as our defender. Other South West members of EFRA are Derek Thomas, MP for St Ives and Mrs Sheryll Murray, MP for South East Cornwall. A full list of the MPs from throughout the country who sit on the EFRA committee is available on the Government website under EFRA Committee membership.

Providing we do not have any “food” scares the beef trade should remain strong. If supply of domestic beef were to increase, this will be a gentle increase and as such any easing in the trade will be gentle. The “if” is also a big if as dairy cow numbers continue to decline and suckler cow numbers are also still declining, just not at such a fast rate, so an increase in domestic supply is unlikely. The risk of abattoir firms going bust and the slaughter sector contracting, with the knock on effect of reduced competition is a possibility but hopefully unlikely.

So we look set fair. We need a kind Summer. Barns will be empty after this Winter and another drought would really bite, so dear Lord a good grassy Summer would be much appreciated.

Rob Venner

Northern Ireland

With winter hopefully behind us now, we look forward to the clearer mornings and evenings. With February been one of the driest on record, March has indeed come in like a lamb and going out like the Lion. Ground is as wet now as it was in November but hopefully, we’ll soon be able to start the spring work as soon as possible.

Live exports within the United Kingdom has been the main topic of conversation in this region.

This has practically ended a generational pedigree trade internally in the UK. Our politicians have got this part of the withdrawal deal badly wrong.

The beef price has seen a decent rise, but NI continues to lag behind mainland UK price by 14 pence for an R4L. That would amount to a deficit of about £5,500 per farm holding if a beef finisher in NI killing 100 cattle were to compare with a GB finisher.

Apart from that spring is upon us and costs of fertiliser are dropping considerably but unfortunately not down to where they were. Hopefully other input costs will continue downwards also.

I do not see the beef trade crashing. The current excellent trade is supply driven and not demand lead. Beef is dear through out the world and under current trade deals we are not going to see vast imports to drag us back. A food scare as with BSE or Horse gate could and consequently we must ensure food standards are maintained. Neither BSE or Horse gate originated on farm and industry must do there utmost to ensure scandals like that do not hit beef farmers again.

The Government and the EU have reached a deal which has halted cattle from Northern Ireland travelling back from any shows or sales to the mainland UK unless EU rules are abided by with an unworkable 6-month quarantine on the mainland of any unsold cattle.

Scottish Beef Association

The dedicated voice for the Scottish Beef Industry

Agricultural policy developments in Scotland have moved on with direction of travel, timelines and a draft list of potential measures having been published at the recent National Farmers Union of Scotland conference.

Overall progress remains glacial at best and whilst we are sure that ARIOB members representing farming are doing their best it remains clear that the environmental bodies have the ear of Government.

We attended a recent ARD Stakeholder meeting where a number of farming and environmental organisations meet to discuss the agriculture sector with Government officials. This meeting was more constructive than previous events, however the content and meaningful discussion still fall far short of that required to be seriously classed as wider industry collaboration and co-development. There was barely any mention of food production or productive farming with most of the discussion around measures require to tackle emissions reduction and nature restoration.

Members can offer support to the SBA by contacting your local MSP to ask why the SBA seem to be actively excluded from discussions with policy officials and, so far, have not been invited to give evidence to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee who are scrutinising the Agriculture Bill at the moment. You can also use the opportunity to promote the wide ranging benefits of suckler cows to rural Scotland.

We would also urge members to take the time to look through the Policy Route Map and list of draft measures and provide any feedback to the SBA board via the email address info@scottishbeefassociation. co.uk.

Paul Ross and Neil Wilson also met with Cabinet Secretary, Mairi Gougeon MSP, in January. Whilst it was a wide ranging discussion covering areas such as the continued fall in the Scottish suckler cow herd, tree planting and Government investment in Glen Prossen Estate, continued delay in implementing UHF cattle tagging, funding gaps, slurry storage issues and labelling the outcomes were underwhelming with very little progress or straight answers received on any area apart from beef labelling. Some progress has been made in that area as Food Standards

Scotland are reviewing this legislation and we will keep abreast of developments in this area.

Our main concern remains the continued drop in suckler cow numbers in Scotland. We believe that there has been a drop of 25% to 28% over the last 20 years. Unfortunately Government do not share our concerns despite the real issue of loss of critical mass which will not only affect our members but the entire pre and post gate supply chain in Scotland.

We would also welcome member feedback and queries. Please get in touch on info@ scottishbeefassociation.co.uk or on 07734 812704.

Finally, we are racing towards Scotland’s Beef Event on 6th June 2023 at Dalswinton Estate near Dumfries. With main sponsors NFU Mutual and Virgin Money already in place we also have over 80 trade stands and a great programme of events for all beef farmers across Scotland and beyond. Everyone is welcome and tickets will go on sale very soon. Please keep an eye on our website and Facebook pages (Scottish Beef Association and Scotland’s Beef Event 2023) for more details.

Tuesday 6th June 2023

Dalswinton Estate, Dumfries, DG2 0XZ

The Scottish Beef Association has once again asked Government to be directly involved in discussions and development of future policy. As part of the Food and Agricultural Stakeholder (FAST) group

we have also asked for Scottish Government officials to participate in wider industry collaboration. So far that has seen limited success.

We will continue to highlight these challenges and press Government officials hard on how we can continue to support Scotland’s largest farming enterprise.

Photo credit Ian Findlay.

Parasite Watch

Sioned Timothy

Technical Services Manager, Boehringer

Ingelheim Animal Health

Include parasite control within your herd health plan to maintain good herd health, as well as optimise production parameters and business profitability.

Turnout is a particularly important time of year. Calves and young cattle in their first grazing season lack immunity to gutworms, putting them at greatest risk of parasitic gastroenteritis from a high gutworm challenge.

Overwintered gutworm larvae will be readily ingested by cattle after turnout, but clinical signs of a high worm challenge, including scouring and noticeable weight loss, may only become apparent from mid-summer onwards.

However, even a moderate worm challenge can reduce feed intake and utilisation, resulting in a failure to meet average liveweight gain targets, impaired fertility, and reduced lifetime productivity.

Plan your grazing and pasture rotations with worms in mind, as well as nutrition, to help limit the worm challenge. Prioritise

your least-infected pastures for your most susceptible animals (usually calves), and plan ahead to move them to clean grazing such as silage aftermath by mid-summer, when gutworm larvae levels peak on the pasture.

Conducting regular pooled faecal egg count tests for each group of animals, starting a few weeks after turnout, will help you assess the changes in worm burden on the pasture in the first few months of the year. This can help you decide whether you need to treat animals to remove the worm burden and reduce pasture contamination with worm eggs. FECs can also help you to assess the future infectivity of the pasture.

If treatment is required, IVOMEC® Classic Pour-On is a tried and tested wormer that treats and provides protection against reinfection with the most pathogenic gutworm species Ostertagia ostertagi and the cattle lungworm for up to 28 days. For more information, talk to your vet or SQP, or visit the Beat the Parasites website.

24 The National Beef Association Magazine | SPRING 2023

FOCUS ON LIVEWEIGHT GAIN AND FEED COSTS PER DAY

Balanced diets will be crucial if current market opportunities are to be exploited. Molasses based blends can play a cost-effective role in diet formulation.

W“hile beef prices are at record highs, so are input costs,” conceded Georgina Chapman from molassesblends specialists ED&F Man. “But with lower beef imports strengthening the UK market, there will be opportunities especially with good stocks of feed barley on many farms.

“But margins are likely to remain tight, meaning that the crucial KPIs will be daily liveweight gain (DLWG) and daily ration cost/ head/day.”

Ms Chapman advises that both KPIs need to be considered together. If the consequence of achieving a low feed cost per day is lower DLWG then the economics will not balance. Using cheaper ingredients may mean that inclusion rates need to increase, impacting on total cost.

“The aim must be to formulate a balanced ration, achieving the target DLWG at the optimum daily ration cost, and then to monitor performance closely. The diet must supply sufficient energy and protein, but also a balanced supply of both to the rumen.

“Molasses blends can play a big part in achieving this. Cane molasses is a rich source of 6-Carbon sugars shown to improve rumen fermentation. It is highly palatable and proven to increase dry matter intake. Trial work has demonstrated that molasses can, increase DLWG, maintain an optimal rumen pH and improve overall digestive efficiency.

“ED&F Man Liquid Products are able to combine molasses with other raw materials to provide a range of products suitable for all situations and systems. Our unique high protein Regulated Release blends are a research proven protein-urea-molasses complex which is an excellent source of both Effective Rumen Degradable Protein (ERDP) and Fermentable Metabolisable Energy (FME).”

With prices not directly affected by the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and disruption to cereal supplies, Ms Chapman suggests this could be the summer to consider adding a molassesbased blend to growing and finishing rations.

She says that liquid feeds can be particularly valuable in diets containing this year’s home grown cereals. Barley in particular is dry this year as a result of the weather at harvest. Adding a liquid feed will improve palatability, keep dust levels down and minimise waste at feed out, important in helping improve farm efficiency and sustainability. It will also help make the most of higher fibre forages.

With many farmers including treated cereals in diets, Ms Chapman advises it is important to select the appropriate liquid feed. Treatments are added to cereals to make the grain more digestible and to act as a

preservative with cereals rolled or bruised as part of the process.

“If cereals have been acid treated, there will have been no change to starch and protein content in the cereals meaning a Regulated Release blend like Regupro 38 would be an ideal liquid feed to include in the diet.

“Many commercial treatments consist of urea alongside an enzyme or additional protein treatment. The additional ammonia helps to buffer the rumen, allowing higher grain intakes.

“However, these treatments also increase the protein content by anywhere from 3 – 30%. As this is due to urea treatment, the additional protein is highly rumen degradable and in these cases we would advise against a Regulated Release blend, instead selecting a blend such as Stockmol 20 or Molale.

“By selecting the appropriate molasses blend to balance the rest of the diet, it will be possible to formulate grower and finisher rations to optimise the two crucial KPIs of DLWG and ration cost/day,” Ms Chapman emphasises.

Georgina Chapman.

SPRING TURNOUT...

Energisers that are not only dependable, powerful and reliable but who will hang around for at least seven years and much longer.... without the itch

What’s included:

Containment methods and the benefits of electric fencing

Parasite control and more

Sustainability focus for the 75th British Cattle Breeding Conference

Improving the productivity, efficiency and sustainability of beef and dairy production was the focus of the recent British Cattle Breeders Club conference held in Telford.

An impressive line-up of speakers including renowned scientists and researchers and leading farmers tackled how the industry needed to ‘challenge traditions’ to meet current and upcoming challenges.

Time for change

Myths about beef and dairy production are driving sales of alternative products, but do not threaten the long-term success of the industry. However, work needs to be done to share the positive stories.

“The beef industry is destroying the planet!” said Lucianne Allen, sales and marketing director for Aubrey Allen. “Experts in agriculture, leading scientists and top nutritionists all agree that statement is the biggest lie of our century.

“This lie is fired up, fuelled and even funded by people who don’t care about the soil and land as you all do, but whose vision statement is the destruction of the meat industry and to make as much cash so they can be listed in the FTSE 100.

“These businesses have promulgated their own lies that sell – they don’t have stories to compel. We have stories to compel, but at the moment we are not using those stories and they are winning.”

A popular plant-based ‘burger’ product contains 22 ingredients sourced from three continents, she said. “Two of those ingredients are controversial to health. Set against grass-fed burger with one ingredient – grass-fed beef – reared on pastures that can and should only be grazed. Farming in that way, where cattle are part of the solution, not the problem. Not only that, but including 6oz of pure nourishment.”

Plant-based manufacturers were currently winning ‘the war against meat’ she said. However, meat is a valuable source of nutrition and people still want to eat it. “It’s within their very DNA, and it’s what’s been happening since time begun. And the plantbased alternative vegan campaigners know

that secret and they use it much better than we do.” The use of words like ‘bacon’ and ‘burgers’ with plant-based alternatives was wrong, she said. “This is our language isn’t it? It belongs to us.

“I believe we’ve got the expertise and the passion. The only thing we are lacking is the unity. Together we are a multi-billion-pound industry. What can we do to get our stories out there?”

Tackling beef’s ‘mixed balance sheet’

Livestock are part of the climate change problem, so it’s important to address the issues so that they can be part of the solution, said Prof Geoff Simm, Director of the Global Academy of Agriculture & Food Systems at the University of Edinburgh.

Climate change brings a ‘twin challenge’ for agriculture. “One is to reduce and mitigate that impact and the other is to adapt at the same time. There is some change that we can’t stop now, and agriculture is very exposed to some of that change.

“It is difficult for us to acknowledge that livestock are part of the problem, but it is important that we address the opportunities to make them part of the solution as well.”

Photo credit: Jenny Wood Photography.

Beef is an important source of nutrition and the global market for it is growing, he said. Beef cattle can play a role in supporting biodiversity through grazing and some breeds are part of agricultural biodiversity themselves.

“We have to still think about reducing methane emissions,” he warned. This could be achieved through diet, additives, breeding and vaccines. “Additives can reduce emissions by about 25% and there’s a range of those in various stages of approval, we’re not there yet.”

Optimising the use of beef from dairy production would be increasingly important.

“We need profit to sustain and grow the business.” Maximising efficiency and keeping costs of production low in their grass-based system was central to that. In terms of lifestyle, Aled explained that with a young family he didn’t want to be working long hours. “I think there is a badge of honour in farming that working 90 or 100 hours is the thing to do but from a mental or physical perspective there is no gain at all. We set a 50-hour working week and for the team that is really important.” Time off and time away from the farm was also considered important and encouraged. The legacy element included enabling others to reach their business goals, alongside “developing a resilient business that we’re proud of”.

Cutting out purchased inputs including fertilisers and feed has meant a far more resilient system with a low-cost base. “When the beef price is low, we can ride it out and when it’s high we can make the most of it,” he said. Initially thoughts about carbon centred around potential added sales value or carbon credits. More recently the Evans considered it as a ‘social licence to continue operating’. “Consumers we work with care about our environmental footprint,” he said.

Plans are underway for an additional unit where cattle could be outwintered and this expansion also offered career progression potential for employees, he said. “We’re excited about the future.”

“Beef has a mixed balance sheet, and we need to aim to enhance our assets and reduce our liabilities.

“Breeding is key – we need faster gain in appropriate traits, alongside better uptake, incentivisation and reward for the people that really are improving sustainability. Science and technology are vital but they alone can’t fix the challenges, other interventions are needed too,” he concluded.

Developing resilient beef enterprises

Profit, lifestyle and legacy are the three pillars of decision making for Aled Evans who farms in partnership with his brother Iwan in mid Wales. The brothers rear dairy beef calves on their farm in Carmarthenshire and were named Beef Farmers of the Year.

“It has approximately 60% less methane production per kilo because you’re spreading that cost of the breeding herd across milk and subsequent beef enterprises.

Photos credit: Aled Evans.

The Cow For Now

“We did some thinking about exactly what it is that the Galloway offers to today’s farmer,” explained Breed Secretary Dorothy Goldie, “and we decided the Galloway needed a new image.”

That new image led to the Galloway being described somewhat differently from its traditional, heritage-led approach. Banners proclaimed it as ‘The Cow For Now’ amongst a barrage of statements focusing on environmental attributes and hardiness.

“It can be seen as quite a traditional breed, perhaps even old fashioned. But when we looked at what the market is demanding - and what younger farmers in particular are looking for - we realised that our ancient, native breed is now at the cutting edge of what our industry wants,” Dorothy added.

“The phrase ‘The Cow For Now’ may have started as a light-hearted joke, but it actually sums things up perfectly.”

Things certainly seem to be going in the right direction for this hardy native Scottish breed after the Society decided that a decades-long, marginalisation of the breed had gone on long enough. Dorothy explained:

“The Galloway was hugely popular in the 1950s and 60s when the market wanted low input cattle that produced high quality beef. But the shift to continental breeds, combined with the loss of several prized Galloway herds in 2001 during foot and mouth, put the breed in a perilous position. So we decided to change that.”

The same characteristics that drove demand in the 1950s are in favour once again as the beef industry rises to the challenge of sustainability. A growth in demand for the Galloway breed is being demonstrated not only in rising membership numbers for the Society, but in record prices being achieved.

A 34 year old world record price for a Galloway was smashed at the Galloway Spring Show and Sale held in Castle Douglas in February when a call of 26000gns was made for the much fancied bull Blackcraig Dyker, from John, Ann and Iain Finlay, Blackcraig, Corsock. He went home with new Galloway Society members Glenrath Farms, Langhaugh, Kirkton Manor, Peebles for their 29 head herd, which was recently purchased from Joe Cockburn.

Purchaser Ian Campbell explained his interest in the breed after the sale:

When the Royal Highland Show returned from its Covid-enforced hibernation last year, provocative new messaging on the Galloway Cattle Society’s stand caused a raised eyebrow or two from some of the organisation’s older members.

Photo credit Ian Findlay.

A market development programme launched by the Society five years ago is credited with helping to grow the demand for Galloways. The programme supported international learning journeys for young farmers with an interest in Galloways, and it led to collaboration with industry partners, including Aldi and Scotbeef in Scotland, and Farmison & Co. in the north of England. 2022 saw Galloway Beef as the prime festive beef for the third year in a row in Aldi stores across Scotland, and Galloway Beef is due to feature regularly in Scottish specials throughout 2023.

Policy changes too are helping to drive interest in native breeds, and the Galloway’s reputation as a biodiversityenhancing conservation grazer makes it a popular choice amongst those following a regenerative agriculture approach. The ability for it to thrive on rough grazing, to be outwintered and to calve with minimal intervention means it works well within low input systems.

Reflecting on recent sales, Dorothy added:

“It’s great to see the record being broken and top prices being achieved, but what was really exciting for me was the age profile of those attending our spring sales. The number of younger buyers and new members was very obvious. We would never have seen so many young stockmen at a Galloway sale a decade ago. It shows that the Galloway is now seen as a breed that’s ideal for the farming of tomorrow, and that’s hugely exciting.”

“I see great opportunities for the Galloway breed. Galloways suit our farm and the breed fits perfectly with our journey to net zero. The future for British beef has got to be about getting good beef from grass, and the Galloway breed will do that. This particular bull caught our eye last summer, and I’m sure he’ll do well for us.”

Blackcraig Dyker 26,000gns.

Iain Finlay, Blackcraig with Katy and baby Isla.

Photo credit Ian Findlay.

NEWS Breed Society

Devon Cattle Breeders’ Society

The Devons achieved great results at the Spring Calf Show held recently at Sedgemoor Market. Top Devon being Priorton Yeoman owned and exhibited by John May. Yeoman went on clinch Reserve Champion Native Breed. Debbie Telling showed a wellmatched pair of yearling heifers

Hillside Daphne & Hillside Honeymoon

1st that picked up the Reserve Champion rosette in a large Interbreed class.

A judging workshop was held at Colleton Manor in February with Lynden Bustard invited to share his expertise on show ring etiquette and the importance of the judge taking control of the ring. It was a great opportunity for all the judges practise their skills at placing and giving reasons in a relaxed atmosphere.

The Society’s Spring Show & Sale is fast approaching and we are anticipating a large group of both vendors and purchasers to be present on the day. It all takes place on 28th March at Sedgemoor Market. The Show starts at 10am followed by the sale at noon. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to purchase quality Devon cattle.

Beef Shorthorn leading the way in Europe

Shorthorn Breeder results

2022 Champion of Europe

Gold  - Scotland - Vale Meadows Flossy’s Cavalier (P)

Silver – N Ireland –Westmoor Merlin

Bronze – Ireland –Hildaland Laird EX94

Highsky Erin’s Enchantment and Vale Meadows Flossy’s Cavalier have both topped the respective “Shorthorn - Miss Europe” and “Shorthorn – Champion of Europe” online competitions run by Shorthorn Breeder

Winning the “Shorthorn -Miss Europe” competition was Highsky Erin’s Enchantment, from Millie Birch, following a a successful summer in the show ring which included Reserve Interbreed Champion at the Royal Welsh Show.

A Look Ahead

Most farmers are looking at their budgets for the coming couple of years with real uncertainty about where prices and costs are going. In the beef sector there is reason for some optimism with finished beef prices remaining high and demand seemingly sustained. British beef from grass is what consumers want and growing grass is what we do well. With all the hype about re-wilding the fact is that our uplands look the way they do is because they are managed grasslands.

Profitable suckler cow production is the key to maintaining and improving profitability. A small cow which doesn’t eat too much, calves down at two years, and produces a calf every year without assistance is a key part of the road to profitability. The Stabiliser cow has been bred specifically for this purpose and she keeps getting better thanks to the advanced genetics that we employ throughout our extensive multiplier

The “Shorthorn – Champion of Europe”, Vale Meadows Flossy’s Cavalier, from J Cameron and V Orr, also had a successful summer including taking Male Champion at the Royal Highland Show.

Further British breeding featured in both competitions, with Blackbrook Heathermaid Rosa taking bronze in the female competition, and Westmoor Merlin and Hildaland Laird placing silver and bronze respectively in the male competition, Congratulations to all.

2022 Shorthorn – Miss Europe

Gold – Wales – High Sky

Erin’s Enchantment

Silver – Austria

Bronze – Scotland –Blackbrook Heathermaid Rosa

Dates For the Diary

We have a fantastic array of open days planned in the coming months, giving you the opportunity to look around some of the most prolific Stabiliser herds. We hope you can join us as we take an indepth look at each farm, with an emphasis on calving as each farm will be in the thick of it.

• Bettws Hall, Powys – April 5th

• Bishop Burton, East Yorkshire –April 19th

Head to our website to register.

network. Feed efficiency, improving meat quality with emphasis on marbling, and the pioneering work we have done on reducing carbon footprint are just some of the net gains that have come from our talented breeders embracing the best available technology. The commercial beef breeder can quickly show benefit from using the Stabiliser approach.

Stephen Fell, Stabiliser Chairman

Due to popular demand Stabiliser Livestock Viewing Days are returning. A designated day where you can view all the breeding stock available in your area, without the hassle of organising it. You can find your local dates at www. stabiliser.co.uk

BRITISH WAGYU CONFERENCE 17-18 MAY

Warrendale Wagyu is holding a two-day conference in Telford, Shropshire on Weds 17th and Thurs 18th May 2023 in partnership with the British Wagyu Breeders Association and Wyndford Wagyu. The first part of the programme focuses on Warrendale Wagyu’s commercial supply chain including presentations by Genus, Dovecote Park and Aldi. Later, the theme ‘Future Perspectives for Wagyu Globally’ will be addressed by Dr Matt McDonagh, CEO of the Australian Wagyu Association and Angela Tant, Head of Commercial Partnerships at Red Tractor. Day One will be rounded off with a gala dinner and overnight stay at the Telford Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort. The following morning will see a visit to Wyndford’s 400head Fullblood Wagyu enterprise and will examine the potential for Wagyu Fullblood genetics.

The conference is open to Warrendale partner farmers, Wagyu Breeders Association members and invited guests. If you would like to attend, please contact Company Secretary Richard Saunders info@ britishwagyu.co.uk. We look forward to seeing you at Telford in May to learn more about Warrendale Wagyu and be part of the vision for Wagyu both in Britain and globally.

WAGYU BIRTHS UP BY +27% IN 2022 BCMS FIGURES

Figures released by the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) for 2022 show that British Wagyu, known for its highly marbled premium beef, has increased its numbers by 27% on the year. The figures, for beef cattle born in England, Wales & Scotland, reveal over 17,000 Wagyu-sired calves were born in 2022. Of these, 15,933 were crossbred (sired by a Wagyu bull) and 1,150 purebred or Fullblood - totalling 17,083 head of Wagyu animals when compared to 13,457 in 2021. The continued growth and impact of Wagyu is underlined by past totals for 2020 and 2019 of 9,435 and 5,699 respectively with the breed now representing almost 1% of the circa 1.8 million beef-sired calves born in Great Britain annually.

You will find a breakdown by country below:

Source BCMS

Says WBA Director Chris Dickinson: “It’s great to see British Wagyu numbers continuing to grow year-on-year and a further sign that Wagyu in the UK is much more than just a ‘fad’. The profile of the breed has risen dramatically over the past 2-3 years and is now a significant player in the UK beef industry. As both Wagyu producer and WBA Director, I can’t wait to see where we can get to in the coming years.”

Consumer demand for the world’s luxury beef shows no sign of slowing.

www.britishwagyu.co.uk info@britishwagyu.co.uk

94% OF BULL BUYERS CONFIRM THEY WILL PURCHASE FURTHER SIMMENTAL BULLS

A fantastic ninety four percent of Simmental bull buyers have confirmed that they will purchase further Simmental bulls at future Society sales. That’s the strong endorsement of the Simmental breed following a snapshot survey of bull buyers at Society Sales held between 2017 and 2019.

The survey saw buyers completing a detailed questionnaire covering the initial reasons for purchasing a Simmental, and thereafter how satisfied they have been with the abilities and the performance of their bulls.

Unsurprisingly maternal traits featured highly in the characteristics of the Simmental breed most attractive to buyers, including: mothering ability and easy calving; milk; producing replacement heifers; and fast-growing progeny. The top characteristic for buyers was temperament and this was emphasised later in the survey with a total of 97.18% saying that the temperament of their bulls was good (88.73%), or average (8.45%), and with 92.53% saying that the temperament of the progeny was very good or good. Across these two categories less than 5% of purchasers responded that the bulls or their progeny had been below average for temperament.

The bulls are being used on mainly suckler herds (93.25%), with the dominant breed of suckler cows being Simmental/Simmental X, followed by Limousin/Limousin X; Angus/Angus X; and Luing/ Luing X. The largest percentage of buyers run 31 to 100 cows (41.43%); with 37.14% having 101 to 200; and just over 21% having over 200.

The working abilities of the breed are again highlighted with 94.12% of buyers saying that they were happy with the physical and structural condition of the bulls bought, and with over 85% of the bulls still working in purchasers’ herds. In an anticipated

SUSSEX CATTLE SOCIETY NEWS

Our recently established “Sussex Cattle Next Generation” held their first event. The objective was to select a new show team to prepare for this season’s shows. Mr. David Spanton (Maygate Herd) has generously provided the animals and sponsoring costs to enable a couple of our younger members to learn the art of preparing and showing animals under the guidance of Brenda Hide and Leighton Snelgrove.

Their next two events will be “Selection of Breeding Heifers” using visual inspection and EBV’s followed by another “What the Judge is assessing when making his decisions”.

The majority of our Next Generation are also on our Trainee Judge List and these events will contribute towards their assessments.

strength of the breed, just over 92% of buyers said that they retained heifer calves as herd replacements. 42.86% of buyers said that they used bulls on heifers, and of those, 44.12%, aiming to calve the heifers at 28 months and under.

At the conclusion of the survey buyers were asked for ‘any other comments’, and again these were a combination of extremely positive, constructive, and insightful points. A number of comments remarked on what they saw as the ‘big strides’ in ongoing improvement in the Simmental breed over the last ten years. A further similar sentiment was that if the breed maintains and improves its strengths in milk, easy calving, docility, and good locomotion, ‘Simmental bulls will sell themselves’ in the forward industry. Producing ‘bulls that make good cows’ was also a sentiment with a clear overall emphasis on the desire for Simmentals many recognised maternal strengths.

This year we will be encouraging more of our breeders to take up Signet Beef Breeder recording under our Society sponsored scheme to provide this service free of charge. We have herds that have been recording for over 50 years.

There will be a Sussex Focus Sale of Breeding Stock on 11th April at Ashford Market.

Some of our Next Generation gathered to select the Maygate Herd show team together with David Spanton and Brenda Hide.

with the

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• Increases milk yield by up to 2 litres per day1

• Protects fertility and reduces calving interval2

• Protects against reinfection by gutworms and lungworm*

1. McPherson WB et al. (2001) New Zealand Veterinary

with