Armagh Show played host for the 2022 NI National Show where Carolyn Fletcher, Hereford Cattle Society president, was tasked with judging the largest section forward on the day.

Richmount 1 Treadstone from James Graham, Portadown was chosen by the Cumbria-based breeder as her supreme, male and reserve female champion, which began the day by heading-up the senior bull class. A son of the Australian Mawarra Mustang, this September 2019-born bull had previously stood reserve champion at Balmoral Show.

Young breeder Marcus Murdock from Newry lifted the female and reserve supreme championship with 2016-born Cornriggs 1 Vanity 2^nd, bred by Harry and Janet Elliott, Durham. A daughter of Cornriggs 1 Super Guy and out of Cornriggs 1 Vanity, it was shown with its January-born Fisher 1 Profile daughter at-foot.

Lurgan-based Ciaran Kerr was the winner of the reserve male championship with the Irish-bred stock bull, Country Crest Jack. Sired by Moyclare Phoenix and out of Ballyaville Isa, it stood senior male champion at last year’s Northern Ireland calf show and a first prize winner at Balmoral Show.

Richmount 1 Mabel from James Graham was second in the cow class and was elevated to reserve female champion. Seven years old, it is out of Hilton 1 Deliah and by Richmount 1 Kaiser.

Success continued for Ciaran and his Kinnego herd as January 2021-born Kinnego 1 Valentino took the junior male championship. Sired by the home-bred Kinnego 1 Rocket Man, its dam was Lusky 1 Hope. These two bulls from the Kinnego stable combined with herd mate Kinnego 1 Verity to win the group of three.

The junior female championship was won by Glenn and Tracey Morton, Armagh with the home-bred May 2021-born heifer, Nancy Fancy. A daughter of Pulham Providence, it is out of dam Glaslough Royal, bred by Nigel Heatrick, Co Armagh.

The exhibitor-bred heifer championship was won by the July 2020-born Glassdrummond Vicky from Alan Rea, Ballynahinch. A daughter of stock bull Magheraknock Matador, it is out of Glassdrummond Porche.

Finishing as reserve heifer champion, Magheraknock Daffodil T7 from David Smyth, Ballynahinch was the class winner in the senior heifers. A daughter of Free Town Mentor and Rathregan Daffodil, David’s success didn’t end there when his February 2022-born Border Sentinal son, Magheraknock Winston, took the red ticket in the junior bull calf class.

Greer Watson, Raffrey won the calf championship with his December 2021-born Barbern 1 Victor. A son of the 2022 NI sire of the year, Solpoll 1 Ringo, its dam is the home-bred Barnburn 1 Nolana.

Richmount 1 Mabel W2, the first calf born from Treadstone and out of Richmount 1 Mabel, was the winner of the youngest heifer calf class. Born in January 2022 it went on to finish reserve in the calf championship.

The pairs class was won by two young bulls sired by the home-bred Tullymore 1 Nixon from Raymond annd Stuart Pogue, Benburb.

The final class of the day was the ever competitive young handlers competition. Taking the top place of senior and overall young handler was Nathanial Shaw, Dungannon and his closest competition came from his sister Keziah Shaw who took junior young and overall young handler.

NIHBA thanks sponsors WK Powell and Erin Farm Feeds for their support and their presence on the day and Armagh Show for hosting the National Show so successfully.

The Lewis family has been involved in the Hereford breed for six generations, and in 2022 celebrate their bicentenary of breeding the red and white cattle.

To mark this momentous milestone, both Haven and Boycefield Herefords will be holding  a special sale of heifers at The Haven, Dilwyn, Herefordshire on Friday 1 July. View the catalogue here.

Not many farming families can make claims like these Herefordshire-based breeders: the oldest herd of Herefords in the world to be continuously owned under the same family name; exports to 24 different countries and a heavy influence on the Hereford breed globally.

The Lewis’ story starts way back in 1822 when Thomas Lewis founded his herd of Herefords. Before the creation of prefixes or herd names, at this time not even the first volume of the herd book had been published, which followed in 1846.

At the end of the 19th century, the influx of British-bred cattle to the United States of America was gathering pace. In the boom years of the 1880s, a good number of Lewis-bred animals were exported to the USA. Purchased by breeders Gudgell and Simpson in 1881, among these sales were Anxiety 4th from Stocktonbury and Dowager 6th from Thomas Lewis, with the latter the most influential, and together they became the cornerstone of the Hereford breed in the USA.

The policy of Gudgell and Simpson was to line breed their early imports, and their most notable achievement was the breeding of Prince Domino in 1914, regarded as the greatest bull in the early development of the North American Hereford which went back to both Anxiety 4th and Dowager 6th seven times. Prince Domino and its sons appears in pedigrees around the world and also played a part in the creation of the American Line One programme.

Thomas’ nephew James (senior) Lewis moved from The Woodhouse in 1888 when he married Margaret Bray, whose grandfather quite fittingly was a nephew of Benjamin Tomkins, regarded as the founder of the Hereford breed. On leaving The Woodhouse, a dispersal sale was held, which saw 133 head of Hereford cattle sold.

On relocating though remaining in Herefordshire, they set up home at The Haven, Dilwyn and continued breeding Herefords for the next 40 years. One of the cows which travelled with James from The Woodhouse was Teresa 2nd which founded the Tiny and Thrush families which are still very prominent with the Haven herd today.

The Lewis family were always just ordinary Herefordshire farmers, while the likes of dukes and lords were showing at the Royal at that time. One of the most influential bulls purchased during the time James was at the helm was Leyburn from Allen Hughes, Wintercott, Leominster. An outstanding son of this well-regarded bull was Turgot which stood champion at the 1917 Hereford show and sale, selling to Messrs Liebigs of South America for 2,000gns. Adding to the significance of this bull, as son Edward (senior) was away at the First World War, James’ daughter Gwen brought out the bull and was the first lady in Hereford Market to do so.

It was roughly at this time that herds, including that of the Lewis family, started putting the herd name before the animal name, making it a prefix.

In 1928, as the developed economies of the world lay in depression, Edward (senior) took over The Haven from his father James (senior) when he married. In the first decade of his time in charge, it was a case of survival, while the price of pedigree cattle was at its lowest for over a century. However, Edward (senior) endeavoured to preserve the standard of his herd and managed this by acquiring Free Town Bodyguard in 1946, which moved the herd into the spotlight.

At the first February show and sale after the Second World War at Hereford Market, Haven Victory, a son of Free Town Bodyguard, sold to Senor Duggan of Argentina for 1,900gns, while another son, Haven Broadside, was the first bull to make 1,000gns at the Hereford April sale, selling to the Duke of Newcastle.

At this time Edward (senior) was also fortunate to rent the neighbouring farm, Henwood, from his uncle George Bray, and these additional pastures enabled the herd to double its size in the forthcoming years.

In 1949, Edward (senior)’s son Leslie and daughter Sybil joined their father to form EL Lewis and son, the name associated with the business at The Haven today. This newly formed partnership’s first purchase was Shucknall Favourite which proved to be one of the best sires within the breed for nearly a decade and progeny was nearly unbeatable in the show ring. During this period, The Haven also purchased some top female families, including the Pinky, Prunella and Julia lines from The Vern and Lady Lynda and Martha bloodlines from Tarrington.

Leslie had been stricken by polio when in his teens and was the only survivor of 13 admitted to hospital that week. Since then, he had always walked with a stick, and although not able to do a lot of physical work, he became a master of marketing and built up an export business which no other herd of any breed ever matched, nor probably will.

The old established herd of The Haven really hit the forefront at the 1952 Kington Show, a key event within the breed at the time, where they took the grand male and grand female titles with Haven Lion and Haven Crocus, which later combined to produce Haven Postman. The double championship was again taken the following year at Kington, with Haven Cottage Rake and Tiny 16th.

Haven Lion, male champion at the 1954 Kington ShowEdward (senior) was elected as president of the Hereford Herd Book Society in 1956 and won the first ever herd of the year award in the same year, due to the great influence of Shucknall Favourite.

Vron Gaffer followed in the footsteps of this herd sire at The Haven and was a son of Vern Drummer, and again left his mark, breeding many successful animals. Another bull of the year, this was EL Lewis and son’s first Royal supreme champion.

In 1958, Haven Nobility stepped up as senior herd sire and bred three Royal Show victors; Haven Showman which took the reserve grand male title at the 1963 Royal and Haven Tommy which won the junior class at the three main shows in 1963 and was purchased by Bar Pipe Ranch, and he became a top sire in Canada.

Havenfield Eclipse which stood reserve supreme and grand male at the 1964 Royal as well as being bull of the year and then of the decade.
Haven Showman took the Royal Highland Show supreme championship before heading up the winning interbreed team, being the first time the Herefords had done so, and has been won only once since. A very noteworthy sire, Showman also sired three successive Royal Show female champions, including female of the year, Havenfield Regina 2nd which stood reserve in the Burke Trophy with Havenfield Eclipse in 1964. Showing his worth even more, by 1970, 63 sons and daughters of Showman had been exported overseas.

Leslie Lewis is admired for the sheer volume of exports achieved at The Haven, with 323 live cattle exported to 21 different countries between 1956 and 1976.

Through the sixties, Haven cattle were selling very well, and were all moving through Hereford Market. There had been a healthy level of competition between the herd at The Haven and Captain de Quincey’s Vern herd which dispersed in 1966. In front of a packed ring from all corners of the world following de Quincey’s death, E L Lewis and son purchased Vern Rooti for 12,000gns which went on to sire Avon Priam, a Royal Show champion and 1971 bull of the year. Haven Evolution then took the 1972 bull of the year title, while Haven Frontier won the accolade in 1973.

Success continued through this decade and in 1974, Haven Oyster Girl 36th, grand female champion at the Royal Show, sold for a British record price of 6,500gns to Bert Reyes of San Antonio, USA. The following year, BP Silver Standard Tommy 128G was purchased for $10,000 at the Bar Pipe sale in Alberta, Canada, and was out of a daughter of Haven Tommy, bringing these genetics back home to Herefordshire. BP 55C Britisher 1M was later purchased in 1982 from the same Canadian breeders for $26,500.

A British record price, Free Town Kendal, was purchased by the Lewis family in 1976 for 17,000gns. Between 1976 and 1981, six very successful annual production sales were held at the family’s Boycefield Farm, with 700 pedigree cattle going through the ring, many finding homes in the UK, but a great number were exported. Not only did these sales fuel the success of the Lewis’ herd, but also helped to put the Hereford breed in the limelight.

At the third Haven sale in 1978, opened by TV personality Ted Moult, new breeders paid high figures peaking at 12,000gns for Haven Lumberjack, by Nuelands Giles, purchased by John Leroy from Kent along with six heifers. The second highest price paid was 9,000gns for Haven Nugget, sired by the Canadian bull, BP Tommy 128G. At the same sale, Haven Pearl 2nd broke the female record price at 6,600gns, selling to George Hughes, the owner at Hampton Court, Herefordshire, who that day bought six heifers totalling 19,650gns.

At the following year’s sale, George Hughes again paid a new British record when purchasing Haven Performer for 22,000gns, along with Haven Pirate by BP Tommy for 15,000gns and eight heifers for 15,800gns.

Another record breaker at 1980’s Haven sale was the male record of Haven Reign On, knocked down to Jim Cross of Canada at 27,000gns who ran the Bar Pipe Ranch, where the Lewis family was a repeat purchaser. This price record remains in place to this very day.

The 1981 Haven sale saw Haven Samson by Hi Standard Brit Lad 26G top the trade at 20,000gns. The Lewis family retained a half share while semen went three ways to B and H Herefords, Canada; RC Atkin, Utah and the Zambian Government Developments.

In 1984, at the age of 21, Edward (junior), Leslie’s son, joined the partnership to become the fifth generation of the Lewis family to breed Hereford cattle. He had success in his own name with EBL Haven Tiny which took the grand female championship at the Royal Show in 1984. In the same year, Haven Trafalgar was supreme champion at the National Hereford Show at Tenbury Wells.

Such was the recognition of quality of Haven-bred cattle, in 1986 a £10 premium scheme commenced offered by the Somerset-based Mid-West Calf Group for Haven sired calves.

In 1987 Haven cattle headed to Germany, making it the 26th country to be exported to. The following year in 1988, a unique written auction took place, to celebrate 100 years at The Haven.

Leslie was responsible for the importation of semen of SNS Generator 28X, which became a widely-known bull, and arguably a breed changer, having sired three of the top price bulls at Calgary 1992. The National Show of 1996 saw three top prize winners exhibited from The Haven, all by SNS Generator 28X. Leslie can also be credited for master-minding the National Hereford Show, established in 1983 which has run at Tenbury Show ever since, where now son Edward has stepped up as show organiser, leading on sponsorship.

Edward comments: “My father Leslie brought Generator semen into the country which helped move the breed forward and bring it into the modern era. He strived to find the best genetics, and not only did they benefit our cattle at The Haven, but also the wider breed.

“In the 1980s, the whole system went against the breed with cheap grain which suited the production of continental breeds but the circle has come back around and meat quality and flavour along with grass-feeding is playing an increasingly important role.”

Haven Joker, a Generator son, took the supreme championship at the 1993 Royal Welsh Show. This was the first major supreme championship to be won by the herd since Haven Great Heart at the Three Counties 20 years earlier. Its dam, Haven Patch 73rd, had won the female championship at the Royal Welsh Show the previous year.

In 1995, the year which Leslie passed away, Edward and wife Carol moved to The Haven while brother James and his wife Lucinda moved to Boycefield Farm. In 2003, the business split with Edward and Carol continuing the Haven prefix, while James and Lucinda bred under the Boycefield herd name, which had been previously utilised as the Lewis family’s poll herd name.

From here on in, Haven champions were being brought out more and more, with the help of stockman Mike Chandler, with the first National Show champion of the 21st century was yet another Haven-bred bull, this time Haven Smurf, a son of Haven Leopold and grandson of SNS Generator 28X.

Haven Wizard stood champion at the Three Counties Show in 2005, with onlookers noting its similar type to the Haven animals of former years, despite little home-breeding in his pedigree.

Now farming in his own name, James took the reserve overall champion title with Boycefield Congo at Kington Show in 2006. Congo went on to stand reserve male champion at the Royal Show in 2007.

Today, it is thought The Haven is one of the only two true traditional Herefordshire farms still in operation, with a mix of Hereford cattle, cider fruit and hops. The other farm in mind is Sarah Hawkins’ The Farm in Bosbury.

Edward explains: “Today the cattle have to fit into our system. They have to be easily managed and cannot take up too much of our time.”
Nowadays, Edward farms with son Ben at The Haven where they keep 70 cows while James works with his son Billy at Boycefield Farm, just up the road, where they run 30 cows and won the 2021 HCBA medium herds competition.

With a similar eye for stock, the two herds have recently bought semen from Yarram Park Unique P160 from Australia.

Ben visited the Mawarra herd while in Australia following the completion of his degree from Reading University and in 2021 Edward and Ben purchased Mawarra Influential as part of a syndicate alongside PRJ and LR Vincent, Norfolk and Australia’s Graham Genetics for AUD$42,000. Influential was brought from the Wodonga National Sale, where it was a class winner.

Ben comments: “The cattle at Mawarra are run under a hard selection process, partly due to the environmental conditions. This means it is a good destination for genetics for us as they are proven through performance.”

Edward continues: “Today the Hereford has better live weight gains and maternal characteristics which puts the breed in a great position for the future. Everything about the animals has improved and we see this when we use old semen which we remember as producing some leading animals but now just doesn’t compare to the breeding of today.”

Although Haven Herefords are regularly spotted in the show ring, Edward says he finds the biggest sense of achievement when customers return to The Haven having already purchased stock which has performed well for them.

Ben adds: “We find there are cows which stick in our mind more than bulls. The Dowager, Lady Lynda and Splendour lines have been particularly influential for us.”

“We don’t tend to show females as we like them to be at home doing the work,” adds Edward.

“One of the most important shows for us now is the Christmas calf show at Shrewsbury Auction Centre. We see it as a barometer of the herd to see where we are, with both the horned and poll strain coming head-to-head. It is a proper national show.

“We have had two male champions at the HCBA Christmas calf show: Haven Neptune and Havenfield 1 Robin Hood. We have won the grand male championship at the National Show a total of nine times.”

Although synonymous with horned breeding, some poll animals were acquired by the family in the 1960s, and over the past six or seven years, the poll strain has been reintroduced with 10 cows residing at The Haven, mainly based on Dendor, Romany and Solpoll breeding.

Edward says: “Having a number of poll animals gives a choice to buyers and provides us a challenge. At the end of the day, all strains of the breed are Herefords.”

Edward and Ben consider the best poll stock bull they have bought as Solpoll 1 Lawman which was born in 2013 and is a Panmure 1 Henry son.

At The Haven, 95 per cent of bulls are sold off-farm, and Edward says they like to show purchasers the whole farm and the system they are running.

Up the road at Boycefield, James and Billy are working to increase cow numbers, aiming for 40 cows, all of which are horned. Calving takes place both in spring and autumn at an equal split, with the spring calvers getting on with it outside.

James says: “I like an animal with a nice level top, which is kind to the eye and hassle free.”

In recent years herd sires at Boycefield have included the Irish-import Corlismore General 700 and Lisrace Lumberjack 16th, purchased from Northern Ireland’s David Wilson.

James and Billy feed home-grown oats, while their wheat goes for milling. They grow bird feed and legume rich pastures and have 20 acres in the mid-tier option of the ELMS scheme.

Both herds register most of their heifer calves and roughly half of their bull calves. All males are kept entire and breeding decisions are made at 15 months. Anything which doesn’t make the grade is finished and sold through ABP at Shrewsbury they both like to keep the pedigree bar high.

Largely fuelled by their forward-thinking sons, both brothers have gone down rotational grazing routes with both Ben and Billy keen on pursuing a regenerative farming approach.

At Boycefield, Billy says “The cattle are kept in appropriate groups and moved every 48 hours. The aim is to enter a paddock at 4,000+kgDM/ha covers and come out at around 2,500kgDM/ha. The paddock is then rested for 30 to 50 days before being grazed again.”

Ben says: “We like to move the cattle on to higher covers so there is not too much stress. We have over seeded clover, plantain and chicory. With these adding to both protein and mineral levels, as well as creating more resilience in the sward especially in the drier weather.”

Edward says keeping pedigree Herefords makes farming interesting and adds a challenge.

He says: “Through attending the World Hereford Conferences and visiting people in the UK and overseas, we have been lucky enough to meet a lot people in the ‘Hereford family’ and have had a great deal of enjoyment out of the breed.”

James concludes: “Both Edward and I find it very satisfying to have our sons working alongside us. Moving forward with Ben and Billy involved in both Haven and Boycefield, we are safe in the knowledge our breeding will continue for the sixth generation.”

Cow families at The Haven

Dowager
Curly
Lady Lynda
Louisa
Splendour
Prunella
Tiny
Thrush
Polled:
Ruby
Lucy
Stardust

Cow families at Boycefield

Curly
Louisa
Pinky
Acorn
Purport

Haven farm facts

162 hectares (400 acres)
55 ha (135ac) cider apples – supplying Bulmers/Heineken, Westons and Magners
2.8ha (7ac) Fuggles hops
40ha (100ac) arable – wheat, barley and oats
60 pedigree females

Boycefield farm facts

121ha (300ac)
250-300 North Country Cheviot cross mule ewes
28ha (70ac) arable ground
Building up to 40 pedigree Hereford females

The 2022 European Hereford Conference will be held in France, staged at Sommet  de l’Elevage on Tuesday 4 to Friday 7 October 2022. The conference programme can be viewed here.

A special website has been created just for the conference, outlining the programme and costs. Take a look here.

The early bird deadline is Thursday 31 March, and you can find the booking form here. You can also book online here.

 

There are challenges and obstacles ahead for the ruminant sector, but opportunities are in abundance too. That was the overall message from speakers at the British Cattle Breeders Club (BCBC) annual conference ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’ this week.

Just under 1,000 delegates from across the UK and beyond registered to attend the virtual conference which included 16 presentations by experts from across the industry.

“Ruminant farmers deserve to be rewarded for the favour they are doing to other sectors,” said Oxford University’s Professor Myles Allen. Currently methane emissions from livestock are wrongly blamed for causing global warming, he said.

“The current way we measure the impact of methane on climate, simply isn’t fit for purpose.”

Carbon dioxide and methane have different effects on global temperatures but are incorrectly considered as equivalent under current measures used by Defra, he explained. When correctly assessed it could be seen that agriculture is no longer contributing to an increase in global temperatures, he said.

“That’s been achieved largely by falling methane emissions from the ruminant sector.

“We need to frame climate policy in terms of warming outcomes rather than emissions inputs.” The livestock sector should be arguing for being rewarded for its impact on global temperature, while also accepting that producers should be penalised for adverse impacts, he added.

Professor Jude Capper, ABP Chair of Sustainable Beef and Sheep Production at Harper Adams University highlighted the importance of considering economic viability and social accessibility as well as environmental responsibility within discussions on sustainability.

“If consumers aren’t happy with what we do on the farm, then ultimately we won’t have a market for our product,” she said.

Marks & Spencers’ Steve McLean agreed. Customers want high quality fresh products that offer superior value and great taste, he said.

Increasingly however, they want to ensure that we’re offering food that is healthy, sourced from livestock reared in high animal welfare conditions and coming from farms that are environmentally friendly.

“Personally, I think that is a real opportunity for UK farmers. We have some of the best animal welfare conditions in the world and we can farm in environmentally friendly ways that should ensure that the UK industry is at the forefront of sourcing decisions.”

Former Rugby Union referee and beef farmer Nigel Owens, kindly sponsored by CRV, spoke about the importance of good mental health for individuals, families and the wider industry.

“If you’re struggling, ask for help. It is not a sign of weakness,” he said. “We need to create an environment where people feel they can talk about it and not be judged and that it’s not going to be seen as a sign of weakness. It’s actually a sign of great strength to open up.”

He encouraged delegates to also consider their impact on others. “Never underestimate the influence you will have on people around you and the way you talk about people who are different.”

BCBC Chairman Dr Karen Wonnacott said: “On behalf of the BCBC committee, we would like to thank all of our delegates, speakers and sponsors for their time and continued support. We held a fantastic virtual conference with insightful and thought-provoking presentations from all. Plans are already underway for a return to an ‘in-person’ conference in Telford from 23 – 25 January 2023. We will look forward to seeing you.”

A shipment of 250 straws of Margarita Sebastian, bred by the Hodson-Walker family, Derbyshire has been exported to the USA and received by a group of four American breeders who collectively run 600 cows. In addition, 200 straws of Margarita Sensation were purchased by one of these breeders.

This importation will be used across four different US states, including North Dakota, Kansas, Missouri and Montana, which all have very diverse climate and forage types, ranging from abundant low-nutrient grazeable forages to areas of sparse amounts of nutrient dense forages.
This is the first shipment of UK Hereford semen to the USA for the first time since 2008, when 300 straws of Atok Socrates were exported.

One of the purchasers, Steven Pollestad, North Dakota, said: “All of us involved with the importation were interested particularly in Traditional Hereford bloodlines because of their ability to convert forages more efficiently.

“This efficiency results in more pounds of beef produced per acre or hectare of pasture without resorting to the added expense of using creep feed, or other grains to increase cattle weights while they are on pasture. Drought conditions, such as what we now have here in much of the US, make efficiency traits even more important.”

Roger Hodson-Walker and his family keep 20 females in their Derbyshire-based Margarita herd and explained representatives from the group visited the UK to look at Traditional cows.

The Americans jointly funded a synchronisation programme, with Free Town Kendal as the chosen sire, to produce bull calves for semen collection for export. Kendal was purchased by EL Lewis and son, Dilwyn, Herefordshire in 1976 and sold for a then record price of 17,000gns.

Roger said: “The purchasers were looking for animals to out-winter on the range and to perform on a forage-based diet, and they believed the Traditional Hereford was particularly well placed for this task.

“The Americans travelled across the country looking at Traditional females to breed bulls from for semen collection and settled on five from our herd which had been among our original animals when establishing the herd.”

A group of females from the Margarita herd were chosen for synchronisation including purchases from Peter Talbot’s Baytal herd and Les Cook’s Albany herd which were the eventual dams of the bulls.

Roger explained the purchasers were particularly helpful in ensuring the right procedures were undertaken. To export to America, semen must be free of Schmallenberg, and as such, the timing of semen collection was vital.

From this mating, three bull calves were produced. Photographs were sent to the American breeders throughout their development, and the group of breeders chose two bulls. Semen was collected in the winter of 2020, before any challenge from midges.

Steven said: “My colleagues and I are excited about our recent importation of Traditional Hereford semen from the Hodson Walker family, and we are looking forward to seeing the results of the use of these genetics blended with our own Hereford bloodlines.

“I am very pleased to have been able to locate and obtain Traditional Hereford genetics which are essentially the foundation genetics of the Hereford breed.”

The semen is also on sale in the UK via UK Sire Services.

Carolyn Fletcher of Barwise Herefords, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria has been elected as president of the Hereford Cattle Society at the society’s November council meeting.

A member since 2002, Carolyn is famed for her quality of cattle, having won the UK sire of the year trophy on two separate occasions. Due to the pandemic, she has just completed her second year as society vice-president.

She said: “I look forward to taking on my role as president and becoming integral to the running of the society.”

David Smyth of Magheraknock Herefords, Ballynahinch, Co Down was elected as vice-president.

The United Feeds calf show returns for another year and will be held on Saturday 13 November at Dungannon Farmers’ Mart.

This will be an opportunity to see some of the best young Hereford stock in Northern Ireland and is to be held in conjunction with NI Shorthorn Club in a multi breed showcase.

Entries close Friday 29 October.

At the annual awards dinner of the Hereford Cattle Society, Pembrokeshire-based breeders George, Ionwy and Non Thorne were named as winners of the national herd of the year title after winning the Wales herd competition this summer. With the Glenvale poll, Studdolph poll and Ashdale British Polled herds to their name, the Thorne family have been in the breed since 1946, and were also founding members of the British Polled Hereford Society.

Now running 35 breeding females, the family have experienced some great successes over the years, and previously won the herd of the year title in 2008. This year alone, they topped the female trade at the society’s spring sale with Glenvale 1 Polly 721 which sold at 5,200gns after 40 years of private-only female sales.

This year’s National Poll Show also saw Studdolph 1 Barbie 754 in the reserve supreme position in the hands of Inverness-based owners Calum Smith and Anna Wilson.

Commenting on her visit to the herd, judge Pat Stanley commended the breeders for their animals’ uniformity, stating all groups were of the same type. She highlighted the females’ flat tops and great depth, and praised the cattle for their second thigh and rump angle.

Taking second place was Phillip and Laura Vincent, Norfolk who had led the Midlands and East Anglia Hereford Breeders Association herd competition. Their Pulham herd consists of approximately 30 horned and 15 poll breeding females.

Having won the North of England Hereford Breeders’ Association herd competition a total of seven times, the Kemp family were pleased to be named third place in the national competition. Operating under the Auckvale prefix, they run 100 cows.

For more of the regional herd competition, click here.

The society’s annual dinner will be held at Mercure Shrewsbury Albrighton Hall Hotel and Spa, Shrewsbury on Friday 8 October and will also include the national herd of the year awards presentation.

The society is pleased to welcome Nick Hewer as its guest speaker, and once again looks forward to Clive Davies acting as master of ceremonies for the evening

If you wish to attend, please contact Beverley on beverley.turner@herefordcattle.org to book your ticket. You can find a menu pro-forma here.

Area associations’ regional herd competitions have now all drawn to a conclusion.

The society extends its thanks to those who have judged area competitions, and Pat Stanley of Blackbrook Longhorns, Leicestershire for judging the overall national herd of the year competition, and travelling around the UK to do so.

The results are as follow: