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Fuggles smells the sweet aroma of success at the 2010 Royal Welsh Show

Junior bull Bosa 1 Fuggles from G. Blandford & Son took the Supreme Championship at this year's Royal Welsh Show, judged by Mr David Carroll from the Republic of Ireland. Eighteen month old "Fuggles" by Newtoncroft 1 Buster, beat a strong line up of Junior bulls to take the Junior Male Championship and receive the inaugural Dendor Trophy presented by Aled Jones from Dendor Herefords, Caersws, Wales.
He then went on to take the Grand Male and Supreme Hereford Championships.

The Reserve Supreme Championship went to another Junior, 20 month old Junior Female Champion Greenyards 1 Lotty (pictured right) by successful sire Greenyards 1 Archie from P.J. & A.C. Allman. Following Lotty's success, she was later sold for an undisclosed fee to new member Mr P. Hunt from Abergavenny.


The picture left depicts the Dendor Trophy being presented to Junior Male Champion Bosa 1 Fuggles, pictured L to R are; Aled Jones, Dendor Herefords, Gerald Blandford, Matt Gray, Breed President Reg Hutchings and Judge David Carroll.



Pictured right are the Best Group of Three by the Same Sire, won by Mr & Mrs T.M.G. Amery of Gomer Herefords with three animals by Mara Chieftain. Pictured from L to R are Hereford Sponsor Mrs Pam Williams of Zintec, Tim Amery, Gaynor Morgan, Sam Bowen and Judge David Carroll.

Regina rules the waves at Scottish National Show 2010!

This year’s National Show was held at Kirriemuir Showground on Saturday 17th July with over eighty cattle forward. Judge was Mr Alistair Scott, the former Stock Manager for Ken Kelly of Barncleuch, Dumfries.

The quality of the cattle was in the opinion of the judge, exhibitors and spectators probably the best that has been seen at a National Show for many years. The Judge commented that in many of the large Classes “there were only fractional differences between many of the placings”.

At the end of a hard fought contest the 2009 National Poll Show Champion, Arranview 1 Regina (pictured above left) from W & J Andrew, triumphed in front of the Male Champion Greenford 1 Huntsman.


“Huntsman” pictured right and exhibited by AJ & L M Dunbar, Aberdeenshire was a four year old bull by Greenyards 1 Alpha.





Ian Skea also from Aberdeenshire, won the Junior Female award with a 2009 Spring born heifer, Bennachie 1 Curly (pictured left) by Dendor 1 Dai. The Junior Male award went to J R B Wilson & Sons with Romany 1 Frigate, a March 2009 son of Baybridge 1 Atlas. The Reserve Senior Male was Romany 1 Distiller, another son of  Baybridge 1 Atlas, exhibited by J M Cant & Partners. The Reserve Junior award went to J A Cameron & Son with Baldinnie 1 Star, a son of two times Royal Highland Show Champion Baldinnie 1 Cranmore.

In the Female Section the Reserve Senior Female was the four year old cow Greenford 1 Alice, and the Reserve Junior Female was Panmure 1 Blessing G6, a “Distiller” daughter from J M Cant & Partners. 

Andrew Wylie (pictured right with Judge Alistair Scott) completed a great day out by being awarded the Senior Young Handlers Rosette - well done Andrew!

More Interbreed Success at the Great Yorkshire Show!

Romany 1 Captain enjoyed further show success in this exceptionally successful show season by taking the Supreme Hereford Championship against stiff opposition, with more than 80 Hereford forward, in what turned out to one of the best Great Yorkshire Shows for many years. "Captain" then went to take the Inter-breed Beef Championship in front of a packed arena and to the delight of owners Aileen and Stephen Nesbitt. Showman Mr Keith Jempson may have seen and done it all before but even for an experienced showman like Keith, one could see the triumph meant an awful lot. Pictured above left are from L to R; Edith Irvine, Aileen Nesbitt, Keith Jempson and Judge Robin Irvine.
Romany 1 Captain completed a knap hand by being judged Native Inter-breed Champion by well known and respected auctioneer Mr David Leggat MBE Chairman of United Auctions. 

Leos Pride 1 Ellis flew the flag for the North of England Hereford Breeders' as he was awarded the Junior and Reserve Supreme Championships by Judge Robin Irvine. Reserve Junior & Female Champion was promising heifer Greenyards 1 Lotty from PJ & AC Allman. Pictured right are Pam & Lynn Vearing, Hereford breeders from Australia and exhibitor John Ellis.



For the second successive year Mrs Carolyn Fletcher took the Grand Female Championship, this time with Barwise 1 Rambling Rosie by current Sire of the Year Barwise 1 Wellington. Carolyn also took the Best Pair of Animals by the Same Sire, again it was "Wellington" who did the business.






Herefords were out in force as this line up of heifers indicates. 








Taking the Best Group of Three Animals by the Same Exhibitor was JRB Wilson & Sons, in second place was WR Kemp & Sons, with AE Nesbitt third.



 
There was more good news at this years Great Yorkshire Show with Miss Charlotte Ormondroyd taking the Overall Beef Young Handler Championship. Charlotte (pictured right) won this prestigious award by showing her young Hereford heifer Tunneltop 1 Fergie, while up against some very tough competiton in form of young handlers showing mainly Commercial cattle.

Welsh Council Member George Thorne Honoured

Hereford Council member George Thorne of Studdolph Hall, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire is being 'Honoured for his Outstanding Service to Agriculture and Wales in particular' by being awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Agricultural Societies. This honour will be bestowed on him during this year's Royal Welsh Show.
Many congratulations to George, pictured above with HRH Prince Charles.

13th European Hereford Conference proves a great success!

Following a welcome reception on Wednesday 23rd June, the first item on the Conference Tour agenda was a visit to the Royal Highland Show. Hereford classes were judged by Jens Michael Jensen from Denmark. Jen's is no stranger to UK Hereford breeders having previously judged the National Poll Show and the last ever Royal Show in 2009. Jens chose Romany 1 Captain as his Supreme Hereford Champion (see Royal Highland Show article below for more details).

 Left is Mr Richard Lochhead Member of the Scottish Parliament addressing the European delegates at the Highland dinner in the Marriott Hotel, Edinburgh. Guests were entertained by Highland dancers and Fiona Sloan singing a melody of traditional Scottish songs and poems.

After an early breakfast delegates were travelling south through the Scottish Borders to the home of the Romany herd, run by father and son Ronald & Robert Wilson.  Following an excellent viewing of the cattle and warm hospitality, everyone had the chance of guessing the weight of stock bull Baybridge 1 Atlas, bred by South Western breeder Mr Les Gould. One member of the delegation guessed the weight to the nearest kg - who was it? None other than Les Gould. Les stated in was "just a co-incidence!"

Next was a trip over the border into England and a visit to John & Tom Kemp's farm, to see the well known successful Auckvale herd. Again the hospitality was truly amazing with as many photographs taken of the wonderful cakes and edible delights than of the outstanding cattle.


Following a long drive down from Bishop Auckland and good night's sleep, guests awoke to the 13th European Hereford Conference. Delegates had the chance to hear Hereford breed reports from across Europe, keynote speaker Marcia Dutra de Barcellos from Brazil and four panel speakers discussing the topic "Building the Hereford Brand". Again please see below in latest news for further details.

The Shropshire County Show was a great spectacle for all visits whether they were from overseas or from the UK. Over 100 Herefords were on show and as indicated by the picture left, some of the classes were a challenge for Judge Steve Edwards due to their size and quality. Overall winner was Leos Pride 1 Ellis owned and bred by D&B Ellis, Wigan, Lancashire. It was very appropriate that Mrs Betty Ellis's young bull took the Supreme Championship with her daughter Jane performing as lead singer in the acclaimed band ABBA Forever, performing at the Gala dinner the following evening. The following day a strong Hereford team took the Inter-breed Team of Five Championship. There was further success when the greatly admired Binnegar Winston from Andrew Hughes & Anita Gilson, came top in the Inter-breed performance recorded classes.

On yet another glorious day, showing English countryside at it's best, the European party proceeded into rural Herefordshire to visit the Haven herd, home to Edward and Carol Lewis & family. Visitors were given an extensive tour of a herd first founded in 1822. Following more great hospitality including local cider provided by Weston's cider, delegates had the chance to view a photographic display by the Herefordshire Photography Festival and to purchase Hereford breed merchandise.

The coaches departed the Haven and made there way through Herefordshire to Temple Court home to Gerald and Rosemary Blandford to view the large Bosa herd. The delegates including speakers Remi Fourrier and Marcia Dutra de Barcelos saw many of the breeding females grazing contently under cider trees, a scene very traditional and unique to Herefordshire. Guests also viewed a pictorial display of Hereford Royal Show Champions from the late 1800's and had an opportunity to judge and place four bulls and four cows. Prior to announcement of the first three placings, master judges' Mrs Jan Wills and Mr Clive Davies gave their reasons. In first place was Mrs Gunbritt Dahlqvist from Sweden, second was Australian Lynn Vearing and in third place from Germany was Ms Thurid Mechler.

 After completing an intensive tour, covering two major shows, four herd visits and a half day conference, visitors attended the Gala Dinner at the Telford Golf & Spa Hotel. On the menu was some excellent dry aged Hereford beef supplied by Dovecote Park. Following dinner delegates were able to unwind and let their hair down to the sounds of ABBA Forever. As the clock ticked past midnight and with audience demanding more, the band took their final bow.  

A world-wide surge in demand for Hereford beef

A world-wide resurgence in the Hereford breed came into sharp focus at the European Hereford Conference, held in the UK last week (28 June). Unprecedented demand for Hereford cattle in many parts of the world was not only considered to be excellent news for the Breed and its British breeders, but was also a reflection of a growing appreciation of taste and ‘eating quality’, which were increasingly lacking in ‘commodity beef’.
Nowhere did this message come more strongly than from Jan Wills, Secretary General of the World Hereford Council who said that in her native New Zealand, the Hereford breed had recently been awarded best retail brand in the prestigious ‘Steak of Origin’ awards, while a leading abattoir had just begun paying a premium price for Hereford pure and cross-bred beef.

This reflected similar schemes in the UK, where quality retailers such as Waitrose were already rewarding Hereford breeding with better prices.
But Hereford breeders had no room for complacency and must adapt to changing market demands, said keynote speaker, Marcia Dutra de Barcellos, Associate Professor in marketing and business strategy from Brazilian University, Rio Grande do Sul.
“Demand for quality beef is immense, and there is still a lot of room for growth,” she said. “And in my opinion, there’s a lot of space for the Hereford breed.”
But coining the phrase, ‘survival of the most marketable’, she said that producers had to innovate and adapt to changing consumer demands with both their product and its marketing. They were competing in a rapidly changing market place in which convenience products were often based on poultry, with which they must compete head-on.
“There’s a huge place for innovation and the beef industry can do much more,” she said.
Citing the example of online sales, she said: “You can buy Hereford steak on the internet, but to do that, you really have to trust your product so you must have consistent quality.”
Suggesting the way forward was through co-operation at every stage, she said producers had to adopt a ‘chain mentality’ and form ‘alignments of interest’.

Robin Irvine from County Armagh, Chairman of the UK’s Hereford Cattle Society and architect of the conference theme ‘Building the Hereford Brand’, said the Society’s own innovative ‘Superior Carcase Sire Scheme’ was a step in this direction. Aimed at commercial and pedigree breeders, he said these represented the first step in a complex food chain and were now being offered a cash incentive by the Society to use sires which could deliver improved quality to each link of this chain.
Launched earlier this year, the scheme offers producers of pure, or cross-bred Hereford calves £5 per calf, up to a maximum of £500. The offer was open to the progeny of designated high performance sires with good Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for Retail Beef Yield (RBY), Eye Muscle Area (EMA) and Terminal Sire Index (TSI).
“This is an investment by our Society and is intended to highlight the real potential of high performance Hereford-sired progeny,” said Mr Irvine. “We are pleased that, at three of the four Hereford Society events held this spring, ‘Superior Carcase Sires’ have taken the top prices and have also been judged Champions or Class Winners.”
With a further performance benefit also conferred on any herd using high EBV sires, he said that independent EBLEX estimates were that a 50 cow suckler herd could benefit to the tune of £1,500 to £2,000 per annum through the better performance to be gained from using high, over average genetic merit sires.

Romany 1 Captain takes the Royal Highland Inter-Breed Championship

The 2010 Inter-breed Beef Champion is Romany 1 Captain, exhibited by A.E. Nesbitt Farms Ltd, North Standen Estate, Hungerford, Berkshire.
Pictured left with "Captain" are from L-R, Mrs Jan Wills Secretary General of the World Hereford Council, professional showman Keith Jempson, Hereford Breed Judge Jens Micheal Jensen from Denmark, owner Aileen Nesbitt, Sponsor John Hamilton from RBS and Breed President Reg Hutchings.
Aileen & Stephen Nesbitt run 35 Hereford cows at their home in Berkshire where "Captain" is stock bull for the herd. He is by Crickley 1 Figurehead, a former Hereford Sire of the Year and out of Romany 1 Julia. Bought from J.R.B Wilson & Sons, Cowbog, Kelso for the herd after standing Junior Inter-breed Champion at the Royal Highland Show three years ago in a private deal for a figure in the region of £8000.


Pictured right is Romany 1 Dawn A84 F50, exhibited & bred by J.R.B Wilson & Sons, took the Overall Junior and Female Championships. This topped a marvellous day for the Wilson family, who not only bred the Supreme Champion but also the Reserve Male Champion Romany 1 Distiller, exhibited by J.M. Cant & Partners. 


Pictured left is Barwise 1 Rambling Rose, by current Hereford Sire of the Year Barwise 1 Wellington, with well known breeder Ms Carolyn Fletcher of Barwise Herefords, Cumbria with Irish Hereford Society Chairman Willie Branagan. "Rambling Rose" was awarded the Senior and Reserve Female Championship by Danish Judge Jens Michael Jensen.

Commercial Beef Producers encouraged to use Superior Carcase Sires

The recently launched Hereford Superior Carcase Sire Scheme has already started to prove its value – at three out of four Official Sales since the launch the top price bulls sold were such Sires.

Chairman Robin Irvine (right) discusses the Scheme with Dovecote Park Cattle Procurement Manager, Kate Sutton; EBLEX, Western Regional Manager, Clive Brown (left) and Tom Kemp exhibiting a Superior Carcase Sire at Beef Expo 2010

The bull pictured, Fisher 1 Ensign (pictured below right), took the Reserve Male Championship at the Society’s Spring Show & Sale and sold for 5,500 gns.

This innovative new project is aimed at improving the carcase quality of both Pedigree and Commercial Hereford Cattle and, to encourage Commercial users to use these Superior Carcase Bulls, the Society is offering a cash incentive of up to £500 to purchasers of qualifying sires.

Eligibility of the bulls selected is based on the Society’s Breedplan Recording Programme with specific emphasis on the EBV for Retail Beef Yield (RBY) – this EBV is a factor calculated from scanned measurements of Eye Muscle Area and Fat Depth and, so as to ensure that the remaining traits are recorded at an acceptable level, all qualifying bulls must also have a Terminal Sire Index (Beef Value) in the top half of the Breed.

To assist both Pedigree and Commercial buyers to easily identify qualifying bulls, a selection programme is being built into the Society’s website and will be available on line in the very near future.

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