Breed Society News

Against a backdrop of sustainability discussions surrounding red meat, Hereford Cattle Society has been working to collect information to back-up the breed’s credentials in order to understand how Hereford cattle can be recognised as a fundamental part of future sustainable farming systems. One element of the society’s sustainability project has been to assess members and Hereford producers’ systems’ carbon efficiency, to give an indication of how participants’ businesses compare with industry averages which showed those involved to be at or above industry averages. Dr Liz Genever has been leading the work with members undertaking carbon audits, collecting information about livestock type and numbers, crops grown, any inputs (eg. fertiliser, feeds, fuels), plus details on hedges, woodland, soil organic matter and waste management. A herd review project was also undertaken to gather information to support members to benchmark and improve their suckler cow efficiency. Herefords are well established in the pasture-fed beef movement in the UK due to their ability to perform off grass and forage alone. With the findings of the two sustainability projects bolstering the society’s recognition of the Hereford’s role in the future, Hereford Cattle Society now looks to harness this information within its breed strategy moving forwards.

We anticipate having a strong presence at our first event of the year, our Spring Show & Sale at Sedgemoor on 29th March. Entries are looking very positive, with quality bulls, heifers, steers and semen for sale. We are looking forward to a full and busy show season this year, our Trade Stand will be at the Royal Bath & West, Royal Cornwall, Devon County, Dorset shows. We have our National Show this year at the Royal Three Counties Show in Malvern. A chance to really showcase the Red Ruby Devons and an opportunity for the farming community to meet our animals and members to discuss all aspects of the future of the industry. With the gradual implementation of the Environmental Land Management Schemes, as stewards of the land, we need to be proactive in looking to the future and how the Red Ruby Devon fits into the scheme. As it should being a native breed, very adaptable to change and capable of thriving on the marginal land areas of the UK.

Wagyu Breeders Association Company Secretary Richard Saunders reports… “The British Wagyu industry can look ahead with real optimism to the coming year as we continue to build on our solid foundations. The WBA now has a strong membership base of over 150 drawn from Fullblood breeders, commercial farmers and all parts of the supply chain. Calf registrations are increasing rapidly. Our branding is already strong however the WBA Board aims to expand the marketing of British Wagyu over the next 12 months as well as growing the reach of the British Wagyu Assurance Scheme. Collecting accurate data will also be key - whether in the form of MIJ carcase camera technology, Breedplan performance recording or through the validation work that Genus are doing - as we seek to not only improve consistency but reward marbling quality.”

The British Cattle Breeders Club Conference - which was held virtually on 25 January - saw founder and CEO of Meat Imaging USA Desi Cicale share her insights into the recent introduction of Meat Image Japan (MIJ) carcase camera technology to the UK, and what benefits it can offer not only Wagyu producers over here but the wider UK beef industry. The mobile camera takes a picture of the rib eye and provides real-time carcase data for rib eye area, marbling, marbling fineness, meat and fat colour. Knowing that marbling is a heritable trait means the information can be linked to future breeding decisions. One of the key take-home messages from Desi was “Turning perceived performance into proven performance.”

Wagyu crossbred 9,137 2,188 717 12,042

Wagyu purebred 763 1 83 469 1,415

Source BCMS/CTS. Figures Jan-Dec 2021

Data from the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) for the period January to December 2021 reveals an increase of more than 40% in Wagyu births compared to 2020. The figures, for beef cattle born in England, Wales & Scotland, saw over 13,000 Wagyu-sired calves born in the year 2021. Of these, 12042 were crossbred (sired by a Wagyu bull) and 1415 purebred or Fullblood - totaling 13,457 when compared to 9,435 in 2020. Wagyu is well on its way towards a market share of around 2% of beef-sired calves born in Great Britain.

WBA Director Chris Dickinson says:

Numbers of Wagyu births are predicted to rise further due to a number of factors: investment by commercial calf rearing enterprises; growth of beef from the dairy herd; demand from major retailers; and the consumer ‘buying less but buying best’.

The Beef Shorthorn Cattle Society is launching a new National Herd Award in 2022 as part of the breed’s bicentenary celebrations. The award has been developed to recognise 200 years of breeding excellence across the UK and Ireland, which has led to the Beef Shorthorn becoming a much sought after suckler cow that’s highly suited to contemporary low-input farming systems. The award scheme which will be run over an initial three-year period, is being sponsored by Pedigree Sales Online Livestock Auctions, who are providing silverware and cash prizes. Tommy Staunton, CEO of Pedigree Sales Online, said:

“We are proud to be part of the Beef Shorthorn family and feel very privileged to have helped found this competition in the Shorthorn’s bicentenary year. Having personally judged some of the regional herd competitions in recent years I know the depth of quality amongst the participating herds in the various regions throughout the UK is outstanding.” Over the past decade annual herd competitions have become an integral part of regional club activities and breed promotion for Beef Shorthorns, providing a way to showcase the qualities of the hardworking cows around the country that the breed has become well known for.

Entry for the new award will be open to the seven herds that were judged overall champions in their local regions in autumn 2021, with the winner selected by veteran judge George Somerville, former Farm Manager of Glenkiln Farms in Dumfries & Galloway. It is hoped that the introduction of the Beef Shorthorn National Herd Award will add value to the breed development work done regionally by club members. The winners will be announced in September at a celebratory event, hosted by breed Society President, Charles Horton who commented:

“We are thrilled to announce the National Herd Award, one of several initiatives designed to mark the bicentenary of the oldest cattle register in the world. During that 200-year period Beef Shorthorn breeders have carefully selected genetics that have enabled the breed to meet ongoing market demand. Beef Shorthorns have progressed to today’s increasingly popular modern functional suckler cow, being particularly suitable for low input forage based systems.” The first volume of Coates’s Herd Book, which documents the Shorthorn, was published by George Coates in 1822, and it has been in continuous publication ever since. It was the first pedigree herd book for cattle in the world, setting the global standard for pedigree cattle registration and management. Native breeds like the Shorthorn came under pressure in the 1960s and 1970s as Continental breeds soared in popularity. Beef Shorthorn is amongst those witnessing a major turn-around and it has been documented by Defra as the fastest growing native breed in the UK. The National Herd Award is just one of many activities and events being planned by the Beef Shorthorn Society throughout 2022 to mark the bicentenary.

Bucking the downward trend in suckler cows, 9 years of consecutive increases in the numbers of Salers cows means that the Salers share of the suckler cow market has increased to a new high. The Salers ability to calve unassisted, no matter what sire is chosen, is fuelling the demand for Salers as replacements for commercial suckler herds. Salers produce high quality milk, rich in protein and milk sugars. High quality colostrum improves health, lowers mortality, and increases DLWG’s as well as reducing the risk of pneumonia in calves. These benefits lead to lower vet bills and supports responsible antibiotic use. The 9 known mutations of the myostatin gene have the potential to negatively influence traits such as pelvic size, milk production and fertility. To protect the Salers’ leading maternal traits the Salers Cattle Society of the UK took the decision to implement a five-year program in 2019, to eliminate the various mutations of the myostatin gene. This policy is essential to protect these maternal traits, enabling suckler farmers to continue to capitalise on the unrivalled calving ease, whilst having the freedom to select any sire, including strongly muscled terminal sires, that suit their system!

As we enter the spring season and an extremely busy period for livestock farmers up and down the country, who could have possibly imagined after two years of covid restrictions that we would be witnessing the devasting and heartbreaking situation in Ukraine.

Spring is usually about welcoming new life into the world and looking forward to the year ahead. This year livestock farmers will be extremely worried about the three F’s; Fertilizer @ three times the cost of last years, Feed barley currently @ £290/t and Fuel @140p/l. We are always told to be as efficient as possible but some things farmers have no control over, however a lot of things they do and these must be capitalized on. To produce efficient beef, we need to utilize the best genetics available to us and select sires that not only calve easily but will meet target weight ranges and specification at the earliest age possible. This will benefit both farmers by being the most cost effective and the planet as well by reducing our carbon footprint and methane production. 2022 is a hugely exciting year for the breed as the society celebrates its 60th year. British Charolais are lucky enough to be hosting the world congress this summer as well. Running from the 7th-18th of July the tour will take in leading Charolais herds up and down the country and during the congress our national show will be held at the GYS showcasing to the world the top genetics and breeding the UK has to offer.

The society also has commercial open days planned for late summer up and down the country, so farmers can see first-hand the benefits a Charolais bull can bring to their business.

Here’s hoping for a normal summer show season so everyone can meet up with friends across all breeds to have that much needed social interaction.

It has been an exciting 12 months for the Stabiliser Cattle Company. We have seen significant growth not only within our team but also in sales. We were happy to see Stabiliser bull sales increase by 30% during 2021, and females by 9% from the previous year. Going forward we are looking forward to hosting two ‘Livestock Sale Viewing Days’ to be held in Yorkshire and on the Llyn Peninsula. These events are during May and if you are interested in joining us you can find more information on our website. It is the perfect opportunity to look at the breeding stock we have to offer. If you are interested in hearing more about the Stabiliser breed, then you can find us on our stand at the Beef Expo in Darlington. We are also excited to be attending the Groundswell Event for the first time which is held in Hertfordshire. If you can’t make these events then do not worry, we are hosting a range of farm open days throughout the year, our first of the year is to be held in Conwy where we will be visiting a Stabiliser herd which utilises a self-made AI crush/race which is used in techno-grazing paddocks, keep a lookout on our website and social media for more information.