The DEFRA bTB consultation has been published and responses need to be submitted by 8 December which is TODAY. If you wish to send in your response please click on the appropriate links below.
Click here for the DEFRA consultation paper >
Click here for the NFU guidance on how to complete and submit your response >
Jon Birchall from Pilkington Farms, Offley Hoo, Luton has won the BBC Farming Today Award for Farmer of the Year in this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards.
Jon and his wife Sarah kindly hosted the Society as part of our AGM weekend this year.
Many congratulations to Jon and to Sarah who does so much work behind the scenes.
The Regional Groups have now had all their awards presentations and the results of their herd competitions can be announced.
Click here for the South East Breeders' Regional Herd Competition results
Click here for the Midland Breeders' Regional Herd Competition results
Click here for the Mid West Breeders' Regional Herd Competition results
Longhorn cattle feature a number of times in the artisan-food magazine, Cumbria's magazine for foodies.
Click here for the link to the magazine, which includes articles and video clips.
AgriLIVE Smithfield, organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of England and the Royal Smithfield Club and due to be held on 2 and 3 December 2010 has been cancelled.
See below for the press statement issued by the two organisations.
RSC and RASE announce the cancellation of AgriLIVE Smithfield 2010
It is with great regret that the Royal Smithfield Club and the Royal Agricultural Society of England are announcing the cancellation of this year’s AgriLIVE Smithfield. The decision was only taken after consultation with many of our stakeholders.
RSC and RASE launched AgriLIVE Smithfield as a technical business event to meet the needs of the red meat supply chain and invested heavily in the 2009 launch. Feedback from visitors and exhibitors was that the event met the needs of the industry and provided a sound foundation for the future.
While the RSC and RASE are committed to working together to meet the needs of this sector, the boards of both organisations have agreed that unfortunately they are unable to sustain the level of investment required by this event format.
“We are very disappointed to be making this decision,” said John Campbell, Chairman of the Royal Smithfield Club. “The reality is that running a high quality event including large livestock classes is costly. We had hoped this format would be able to support these costs, but unfortunately this has not been the case.”
“The RASE has worked closely with RSC to develop this event and we were pleased with the feedback from the first year. However it has become clear in the last few months that challenging market conditions mean the event requires significant longer term investment. Unfortunately funding this is not good business sense in these difficult times,” added Brian Warren, Chief Executive of RASE.
Both the RSC and RASE are determined to build on the work done so far and will seek new ways to help UK livestock farmers and their businesses.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of AgriLIVE Smithfield and will be in contact with details of future activities which may be of interest to you.
Brian Warren John Campbell
Royal Agricultural Society of England Royal Smithfield Club
Jennifer and Kenny Gracey of the Forthill herd in Northern Ireland have appeared in the second episode of Ulster TV's Fabulous Food Adventure.
Click here to watch the programme which was first broadcast on Monday 13 September. Kenny appears within the first few minutes extolling the virtues of Longhorns both alive and dead and then towards the end of the programme the Longhorn beef is barbequed and enjoyed by all!
The 8th Traditional Breeds National Show & Sale takes place on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 September 2010 at Melton Mowbray Market, Melton Mowbray, LE13 1JY.
Click here for the catalogue or contact the Auctioneer for a hard copy on 01664 562971 >
The Society's 2nd National Show & Sale takes place on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 August 2010.
Click here for the catalogue or contact the Society for a hard copy >
Longhorn Cattle Society members John Harrison and his daughter Ruth Russell from Settrington, North Yorkshire are National finalists in the RSPB’s ‘Nature Of Farming Awards’.
They got through to the finals due to increased numbers of ‘key species’ birds on the farm, helped by their mixed farming policy and also by providing nesting habitat and planting bird seed areas etc.
John and Ruth are well known for the conservation work they carry out alongside their commercial farming operations and have been the recipients of a number of conservation body awards over recent years. They also host an increasing number of school and group visits.
The winner is decided by the public so click here to go to the Nature of Farming Awards page of the RBST website and vote for your winner!
The search is on for the the next BBC Young Butcher of the Year. The first competition was won in 2009 by Jim Sutcliffe of the 'Bluestone' herd so the Longhorn Cattle Society will be watching this year's contest with interest.
Click here for information on the competition >
Click here for Jim's blog >
Longhorn Cattle Society members HMP Kirkham have been filmed for BBC2's Wild Night In, due to be broadcast on Sunday 20 June at 8pm
Click here to read the HMP Kirkham article about the BBC's visit.
Two Longhorn members have made it through to the finals of the Farmers Weekly Awards 2010.
Jon Birchall is manager of the Offley Hoo herd belonging to Pilkington Farms, Offley, Herts. He is in the final three of the Countryside Farmer of the Year Award. Pilkington Farms are kindly hosting one of our farm visits for this year's AGM in November.
Click here for the Offley Hoo website >
Andrew Goodman has the Witley Herd of Longhorns in Worcestershire. His mother Judy is well known for her 'Goodman's Geese' brand. She has made it through to the final three of the Poultry Farmer of the Year Award.
Click here for the Goodmans Geese website >
Click here for the Farmers Weekly Awards website >
Good luck to all the Finalists!
The influence of the bull on herd fertility in beef herds is often overlooked with the focus being on cow infertility. When cow management and infectious disease control are good then the limiting factor in herd fertility may be bull fertility rather than female factors.
The Longhorn Cattle Society National Show and Sale takes place on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 August 2010.
Longhorn Cattle Society member Mark Perry has written a blog for the online resource Farming Futures about how he manages his outwintered Longhorns.
Climate change and the contribution that livestock production makes to it is one of the greatest challenges facing the agriculture sector today.
EBLEX have produced 'Change in the Air', a climate change roadmap document helping to address the issues raised by climate change and the livestock industry.
The New Dishley Society and the Royal Agricultural Society of England are holding a joint lecture on Thursday 20 May at 7.30pm.
The theme of the lecture, to be given by Emeritus Professor Ted Collins, is
'The English Ox since 1800: Resurgence and Demise'.
Two Longhorn members have won their categories in the Regional heats of the Countryside Alliance Awards and are on their way to the House of Lords in February for the Finals!
Offley Hoo Farms from Hitchin, Herts won the Local Foods Award category for the East of England region.
Meridian Meats from Louth, Lincolnshire won the Traditional Business Award category for the same region.
The Countryside Alliance Awards, now in their fifth year, aim to celebrate the characters, skills, traditions and enterprise of the countryside through the people who work so hard to make it tick. This year’s Awards attracted a record 2,500 nominations from the public, all of a high calibre. Regional finalists across four categories include village shops and Post Offices, butchers, breweries, pubs, cheese makers, feed merchants, smokeries, tea rooms, hotels, ice-cream makers, farm shops and even an oysterage
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