REGIONAL REPORTS inflicted as he is with a medical problem with his leg for many years, causing him much pain at times. However, although saddled with a bad leg, it seems Fred was blessed with a good eye for his cattle, seeing and purchasing a bull which secured a record number of championships for him! Fred Turrell forms strong views on things and does not shy away from expressing them, and needless to say, he is not everyone’s flavour of the month! Having said that, let me quickly add that a more dedicated, loyal supporter of the Charolais you will never meet. If there was ever an event involving Charolais you could rely on Fred being there giving his full support, and travelling thousands of miles over the years in doing so. He will be missed. Fred informed us at the meeting prior to the AGM that, due to the increasing difficulty in getting around, he was standing down from the committee at the AGM. We held the AGM at the Ardingly Inn. After the business, a brief account of Fred’s involvement over the Four-plus Decades was given, and then, thanks to the members’ appreciation of Fred and their generosity we were able to present him with the latest edition Charolais bull figurine, a body warmer, and a little pocket money. Dinner enjoyed by all was then served. The evening concluded with the toast to Fred’s health and well being. There is a touch of sadness when a character such as Fred has to stand down from something that has been part of their lives for so many years. So it was heart warming to see a broad smile on Fred’s face as we gave him a rendition of “For he’s a jolly good fellow”, which he is. On behalf of us all let me reiterate our toast to Fred’s health and well being and wish him a long and happy retirement.
Anglia Louise Barker
Sitting here writing this report, I can’t believe where the year has gone already. It doesn’t seem long since we were slipping and sliding around in the snow and now here we are enjoying the spring weather, the cows are out to grass and before we know it, harvest will be upon us. Herd Competition Our annual herd competition took place in September and was very kindly judged by Richard McInnes. We thank him for the time and effort he put in and also for his expertise. The results were awarded a little later than usual due to our AGM being postponed until January. Richard also made the effort to attend the AGM to award the following: Best group of heifers – Mr & Mrs Rix, Wissington Charolais Best Cow – R & D L Harper, Weybread Tiffany Best Calf – Caylers Charolais Best Stock Bull – Caylers Charolais, Maerdy Uniroyal Champion Herd – Caylers Charolais We aim to hold the herd competition again this year and would like to encourage some more of our members to enter. AGM
Our AGM took place on January 22nd and it was pleasing to see a number of members in attendance, enjoying a good social evening. Apart from the herd competition
IMPORTANT Before using a Friend or Neighbours Bull, please ensure that it is registered and has not passed to a non-member, otherwise the resultant calves will not be eligible for registration
GENOTYPING All new bulls used for pedigree breeding must be genotyped at the owner’s expense. DNA Sampling bags and instructions are available free of charge from the Charolais office. The cost on returning the bags to the office is then £28.75 including VAT
Richard McInnes presenting David Barker with the Champion herd
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awards, there were two other trophies to be presented. Firstly to Alice Robinson who won the Wicks trophy for gaining the highest individual score from the region at the Royal Show young breeders stock judging with 95 points. I must apologise to Alice as due to a printing error in the previous newsletter, it was reported that Alice’s sister Amy Robinson had achieved this score whereas it was actually Alice. At least it was the same family! The next trophy to be presented was the