British Simmental Review 2018

RED OAK
SIMMENTALS AT
By George Coles
Back in August we attended Countryfile
Live with some of our cattle - Grace
and her calf James Bond, Elizabeth
our pet Simmy X heifer and Mayflower,
a pedigree Red Angus. We were in the
Passion for Farming/Adam’s Farm Area,
which gives the public the chance to see
livestock up close and ask us questions
about what we do and about our animals.
The idea of the Ask the Farmer section is
to get real life farmers talking directly to
members of the public and answering all
their questions.
Countryfile Live is held at Blenheim
Palace in Oxfordshire. It is not an
agricultural show, and is not advertised
as one, and is attended by all the BBC
Countryfile Team plus some other famous
faces. The event attracts over 120,000
people over 4 days; most of these are not
from the farming community, and for some
it is the first time they have seen livestock up
close. The look on some people’s faces when
they see how big the cattle are is a picture,
it’s even better when they get to touch them!
We showed our cattle in the ring, and
held question and answer sessions with the
public, covering everything from the breed
to the show stick. Once a day I was also
involved in a question and answer session
with a vet from Hook Norton Vets. I took
a cow out into the ring and we discussed
everything from dog control and poo issues,
health of the animals, the use of new
052 www.britishsimmental.co.uk