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SUSSEX CATTLE SOCIETY NEWS
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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.
FLOURISH WALLS HOUSE GREENLAW, DUNS BERWICKSHIRE, TD10 6XW t: 02475 099146 e: info@beefshorthorn.org www.beefshorthorn.org
