The Herd of the Future 

The 2025 British Cattle Breeders Conference, held in Telford, 20-22 January, heard from farmers and academics who offered insights into current and future genetic solutions to meet the challenge of growing more food while reducing emissions and production costs.  

Graham Wilkinson, CEO of AHDB, told delegates that global beef consumption was going to increase by 10% by 2032, but he added farmers were being expected to produce more from less.

Genetics holds the key to unlocking this growth while reducing livestock emissions, delegates agreed.

However, on average, UK dairy farmers are spending 0.6-0.8ppl on genetics. This accounts for just 1.5-2% of the cost of production.

Consultant Andrew Thompson, questioned if this was enough: “Genetics has a 50% influence on gross margin potential, and you choose to spend 1.5% of cost of production on it?”

The conference kicked off with an interactive bovine workshop on Monday afternoon, followed by beef presentations on Tuesday and dairy presentations on Wednesday.

BCBC chairman Andy King said: “There are a lot of tools in the toolbox to help support the herd of the future. These should be used regularly to rise to the challenge of meeting increasing food demands whilst addressing our environmental responsibilities.”

Date for your diary:  The dates for the 2026 conference were announced and will be held from Monday 19th - Wednesday 21st January 2026.