British Simmental Review 2018

President’s
Message
SIMMENTAL REVIEW 2018
Firstly, I would like to say what a great honour it is to be
President of a breed I love so much, and a formidable
task to follow such a prestigious list of previous
Presidents. My special thanks go to our retiring President,
Robin Boyd, for the support he has shown to the Society
and its members during his two years at the helm.
My thanks and congratulations to all breeders who
continue to take cattle to Stirling Sales on a regular basis;
the bar seems to be raised higher sale on sale. In October
2018, 69 bulls averaged at £6187, up by £467, achieving
79% clearance. Well done - this is great for the breed. We
continue to produce bulls more suitable to the needs of our
customers, whilst still retaining the maternal traits no other
breed can offer.
I have always tried to attend all sales up and down
the country, and the Worcester Sale continues to grow in
strength. A big thank you to all the breeders who support it
year on year. However, Carlisle still remains a challenge. For
2019, Carlisle will hold two spring sales, but no leading ladies
sale. A huge thank you must also go to all the breeders who
continue to support summer shows and events up and down
the country.
As we are all aware, post-Brexit is on the horizon, and
it’s important to keep improving our market share and
clearance rates. If we as breeders continue to improve the
quality of our stock by relentlessly culling inferior animals,
and breeding only from animals that carry superior breed
characteristics, the breed will continue to move in the right
direction.
Next year is the 50th anniversary of the British Simmental
Cattle Society, and your Chief Executive and his organising
committee already have plans well in hand to celebrate
this prestigious milestone. The venue at Carlisle market has
been chosen, and we will hold a show and sale and a dinner,
as well as farm open days. In 2020, all efforts will focus on
the anniversary event, and there will be no national shows.
I would like to ask all members to take part, and to put on
a show of cattle which will be the envy of all other breeds.
There is no need for me to remind members how very
important quality of stock is for this event.
Another major milestone to happen in 2019 is the
relocation of the Society office. Sounds easy as we are only
Michael Barlow
President
moving next door, but this involves moving fifty years worth
of documentation, and will cause a Neil and the ladies in the
office a great deal of extra work and stress. I would like to
ask all the members to be as supportive as they can during
this time. Sue Walley has recently left, and I would like to
thank her for her commitment to the Society, and wish her
all the best for the future.
Our young members stock judging finals last year
were held in Northern Ireland. A huge thank you must
go to the Robson family at Kilbride Farm for inviting us to
see such an outstanding herd, and Richard Rodgers and
family at Hiltonstown for hosting the stock judging finals
and displaying another wonderful herd of cattle. Our
appreciation goes to the office staff and Emma McInnes
for arranging this event. I have hosted one of these
events, and know just how much work goes in to making
them successful. Young members find these events very
interesting, and they are a great chance to meet breeders
of their own age. The Council continues to look at young
members and how to develop their skills within the Society.
Recently, three young members attended a Future Leaders
Course which they thoroughly enjoyed, and which led to
them taking part in their own British beef promotion video.
This was released before Christmas onto social media and
the Society website. It was very well received and clocked up
many thousands of views.
May I conclude by giving my sincere thanks to all Council
members, Neil and the office staff for their hard work
and support. I would like to end this message by saying
how fortunate we are to have such an enthusiastic Chief
Executive, who looks after the Society’s interests as if they
were his own.
www.britishsimmental.co.uk
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