News from 2020

Statement issued to members on Thursday 26 March...

With much genuine regret we have cancelled the Society's Spring Show & Sale at Worcester on 16 May.  At the beginning of this week the sale was going ahead, albeit with possible restrictions, but events have moved on very quickly and after the prime minister's announcement on Monday evening professional bodies have issued guidance to their members.  On Tuesday morning the British Veterinary Association asked vets to restrict visits to emergencies only, so asking your vet to do a pre-movement TB test or blood tests will now probably meet with refusal, putting both you and your vet in a difficult position.  Then on Tuesday afternoon the Livestock Auctioneers Association issued guidance to all markets that whilst primestock, cull and store animals can still be traded, breeding cattle CANNOT during the period of the ‘lockdown'.  As the lockdown is scheduled to last three weeks, but may continue much longer, it's not fair on you as members to be constantly speculating about what to do. 

Additionally as a Society we have a duty of care to you as a Society member and the country as a whole to minimise unnecessary contact. We must all do our utmost to act responsibly and try to get COVID-19 under control as quickly as possible through our own individual, as well as collective actions.

The Society's website and social media outlets are available to all members to advertise their pedigree animals and stores for sale; in order to support members at this time we are suspending advertising fees so adverts across all platforms are free of charge until pedigree markets are restored.  If you are selling cattle directly off your farm we encourage you to follow government guidance and take all necessary precautions. We would also advise members who are in TB areas that need to pre-movement or post-movement test to check with your vet practice before selling or buying cattle to ensure they can be moved off your holding, or post movement tested after arrival.

We are also looking at the possibility of an online auction, if this is feasible we will provide more details as soon as we can.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, it's a strange world we are all living in at the moment.

Stay safe and well

We appear to be heading into what can only be described as a national crisis caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic.  At times like this it makes us focus on what is important in our lives, looking after our friends and loved ones and supporting those most
vulnerable.  Whilst many industries will be significantly scaling back production and many workers asked to work from home, the agricultural industry, our nation's farmers and our members will be working tirelessly as ever to continue to supply the nation with the food it so critically relies upon.

The farming community has always been one which supports each other in times of need and I'm sure this current challenge will be met with the same response.

The Trustees of the Society are monitoring the situation very closely and will follow Government guidance when considering any changes which undoubtedly will need to be made to our planned events over the coming months.  Further details will be provided to members as the situation becomes clearer, particularly with regards to any potential impact on the Worcester Spring Show & Sale and the National Show at Suffolk in May.  I'm sure that a number of other shows will be affected so please keep an eye out on the website as Debbie will be keeping this information as up-to-date as possible.  

Tom Mills, Chairman

 

The show season is being affected by the Covid-19 with cancellations and rescheduled events being announced regularly.  We will try to keep the website up to date, but the situation is very dynamic and most exhibitors will already be on show mailing lists.

Only shows with Longhorn classes will be listed here:

Welsh Smallholder Festival - cancelled
Shropshire County Show - cancelled
Northumberland County Show - cancelled
Royal Bath & West Show - postponed until 31 July - 2 August
Staffordshire County Show - cancelled
Suffolk County Show - cancelled
Rutland County Show - cancelled
Royal Three Counties Show - cancelled
Royal Cheshire County Show - cancelled
Lincolnshire County Show - cancelled
Derbyshire County Show - cancelled
Hanbury Countryside Show - cancelled
Royal Lancashire Show - cancelled
Kent County Show - cancelled
Great Yorkshire Show - cancelled
Royal Welsh Show - cancelled
Ryedale Show - cancelled
Brecon County Show - cancelled
Royal County of Berkshire Show - cancelled

As the number of cases of Coronavirus rise, information is constantly being updated on the gov.uk website

Click here for the link

An exciting new award is being launched for 2020 to recognise and reward a member promoting the Longhorn breed whether it be in classes not confined to Longhorn cattle, or by supplying cattle to exhibitions or events which advertise the breed, or those working hard in the promotion of Longhorn beef - ambassadors of the breed whose story may not be being heard when so much publicity is concentrated around Longhorn-specific showring results.

This award isn't for the member who has won every trophy going in the show ring; it's for the member who has promoted the breed in their own way – an unsung hero if you will.  The Council is open to all suggestions so anything goes!

Members should contact the Secretary to nominate a member, or the member can nominate themselves.  A few words and photos and hopefully website and social media links describing what this member has done recently to deserve being called a Longhorn Ambassador should be sent in to the office by 31 August 2020.

All the nominations will then go to the Council meeting in September and a shortlist of three will be selected.  The three finalists and then the overall winner will be announced at the AGM in October.

The Society would like to thank Bernard Llewellyn of the Carreg herd for providing a trophy for this new award and Council are looking forward to seeing all the nominations that come in.

Click here for the nomination form which is available on the website (go into Join Us, then Forms) or contact the office for a posted copy.

 

 

The Society AGM weekend is Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October.  This year we are based in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, with visits to a commercial pedigree Longhorn herd and for something different a bison farm!

Click here for the booking form.  Please note that the Hotel is holding all it's rooms for us until 24 March so early reservation is recommended.  Full details of the rooms and rates is on the booking form.

Members wishing to register Longhorn bulls with the Society have to ensure the bulls make a minimum daily liveweight gain.  A handy ready reckoner is on the website to help members make the calculation and ensure the weight of their bulls are on track.

Click here for the chart

Click here for the link to the bull registration form

 

The entry forms, schedule and health declaration for the Spring Show & Sale at Worcester on 16 May are now available. 

There is no requirement for health testing, but please complete the health declaration even if you do not test. Please contact the office if you have any queries.

Click here for the schedule

Click here for the entry form

Click here for the health declaration form

 

 

The entry forms for the National Show at the Suffolk County Show are now available online.  Closing date for stalls is 24 April, and final notification of entries must be in by 8 May.  The show is in a four year TB test area which means it's perfect for members in all TB test areas.  The show promises us a warm welcome for our National Show!

Click here for the link to the Suffolk Show competitors web page

The Henry Plumb Foundation helps young people (18-35) who are passionate about making a career in agriculture.  Grants of £500 to £3000 are made to successful applicants, who are also paired with a mentor to help them.  The grants may help with business ideas, internships, business or management courses or overseas exchanges.

Funding interviews are held twice a year.  The next deadline for applications in 2020 is Friday 6 March and Friday 4 September.

Henry Plumb has the Maxstoke herd of Longhorns

Click here for more information

The Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust awards life changing scholarships that unlock individual potential and broaden horizons through study and travel overseas, with a view to developing farming and agricultural industries.  Their motto is "Leading positive change in agriculture".  Applications for 2021 opened in January 2020 and close in July 2020.

Click here for more information

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust runs the Churchill Fellowships, a unique programme of overseas research grants. These support UK citizens from all parts of society to travel the world in search of innovative solutions for today's most pressing problems. Every year they award up to 150 Fellowships. These fund outstanding individuals to travel for 4-8 weeks, anywhere in the world, researching a topic of their choice among global leaders in their field. On their return, we help them to share their global learning with professions and communities across the UK.  One of the categories for funding is 'Environment, conservation and sustainable living' and another category is 'Rural Living: strengthening rural communities' which may appeal to Society members looking for research grant funding.  The next round of applications opens in April 2020.

Click here for more information.

David and Angela Blockley were recently featured in the Yorkshire Post and the article was also posted on the paper's website. Photo (c) Yorkshire Post.

Click here to read the article
 

 

The sale of the Belmont herd of Longhorns is taking place at Melton Mowbray Market on Saturday 29 February as part of their 'Saturday Spectacular'.  Sale of cattle commences at 12 noon.

Click here for more details

Society member Joe Stanley has been honoured at NFU Conference for his dedication and commitment to the NFU and to the British farming industry.

The 2020 Meurig Raymond Award – named after the NFU's former President – was presented to Joe at the NFU Conference dinner held at the ICC, Birmingham on 25 February.

Click here to read more

Farmers with older computer operating systems may find that access to the Cattle Tracing Service and other DEFRA online tools is blocked from 1 April.

DEFRA said that upgraded security measures mean the online Government Gateway will no longer support certain operating systems and browsers.

These include Windows XP, Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 6&&. Other more recent operating systems and browsers might need reconfiguring to ensure they work with an encryption service known as TLS 1.2

Can you access DEFRA services after 1 April?

No - Internet Explorer version 7 or lower is not compatible
No - Windows CP or Windows Vista - your operating system is not compatible

Maybe - Internet Explorer versions 8, 9 or 10 - you may need to check your configuration

Yes - Internet Explorer version 11 is compatible.

DEFRA urges farmers to make compatibility checks as soon as possible because the upgrade affects a wide range of services including DEFRA SignOn and SignOn Admin; AMLS2; ESP Seedcart; CTS Online; and Sheep and Goat ETAS.

Click here for the link to the gov.uk website to find out if your operating system and/or browser is compatible

 

 

An integrated beef scheme between a processor and a leading agricultural university is aiming to grow a heritage beef brand using Longhorn bulls as a dairy sire. 

Newcastle University Farms and meat processor Buitelaar have launched the Longhorn Heritage Beef project at Cockle Park Research Farm, Northumberland.

The launch has received extensive press coverage:

Click here to read the print article in the Farmers Guardian

Click here to read more via the Scottish Farmer website

Click here to read more about the project via the Farmers Weekly website

Shrewsbury based farmers, Sam and Claire Barker are delighted and very excited to be working with Pipers Crisps to produce the newest flavour in their flag ship range – Great Berwick Longhorn Beef.

Pipers approached the Barkers at the end of last year, following some very careful and extensive research into flavour, provenance and market demand.  The combination of some the finest, most flavoursome, organic, pasture fed beef from the Great Berwick Longhorn herd and Piper's famously crunchy potato crisps has culminated in a flavour which is destined to be their third best seller.

Sam Barker said 'Claire and I are so proud of the recognition this gives to 15 years of hard work establishing the Great Berwick brand and of promoting the Longhorn breed.  It's a complicated process converting our beef into a beef flavoured crisp, but the results are amazing.  We can't believe that the crisps actually taste like our beef. They have to be tasted to be believed!'

Pipers Crisps are particularly popular in pubs, clubs and bars and they will, of course, be available directly from Great Berwick Farm just north of Shrewsbury.  

Many congratulations to the Barker family on this amazing use of their Longhorn beef!

The Government has committed to support native livestock and equines in the Agricultural Bill that was published last week, which is great news for all Longhorn breeders and members.

A briefing document has been prepared by Chris Price, CEO of the RBST which explains what is outlined in the bill.

 

The Society recently attended the unveiling of a plaque at Melton Mowbray Market to commemorate Robert Bakewell, the 'founder' of the Longhorn breed.

The plaque had been commissioned by the New Dishley Society and representatives of the New Dishley Society, Melton Market Auctioneers and the Longhorn Cattle Society joined other distinguished guests to unveil the plaque.

At the recent meeting of the Longhorn Cattle Society Trustees, Tom Mills was elected as Chairman of Council.  Tom has the 'Wheatlands' herd based in Baslow, Derbyshire.

For a full list of Council members see the December newsletter, or go to the 'contact us' page of the website.

The Society has been informed that Ron Wilson, herd manager to the Grendon herd, passed away on Christmas Eve.  Mr Wilson was also Chairman of the Society 1977-1978. 

The Grendon herd belonged to the Walters family who had a long connection with the Society.  Mr RS Walters was Breed Secretary from 1924 and Mr EH Walters was Breed Secretary from 1932.

The Memorial Service will be on Friday 17th January 11.30 am. at Grendon Church CV9 3DP.

Undertakers : M G Evans & Sons Ltd, Atherstone. 01827 713240.

Pictured is Mr RS Walters with Sutton Victor, a Longhorn bull unbeaten between 1932-1939, taken sometime in the 1930's

 

Are you looking for a varied, full time position working with Longhorn cattle and other enterprises?

Ben and Tori Stanley of the Melbourne Park herd, Derbyshire are looking for a new member of staff to join their team.

Click here for the job description and contact details.

Ruth Russell of the Settrington herd is promoting 'Meatruary', a campaign to encourage meat consumption during February.  She has produced a poster for all members to download and print off to spread the word.

Click here for the poster