The dairy Phd presentation, supported by AHDB Dairy, at January's conference will be presented by Sara Pedersen MRCVS on Routine Cattle Foot Trimming: Current Practices and Future Research Areas Routine foot trimming is an integral part of lameness management on many farms, yet there remains little evidence base behind how and when we trim cows’ feet. This paper presents the results of a farmer c...

The PhD presentation on Tuesday 23rd January, supported by AHDB Beef and Lamb, will be presented by Hannah Shaw on Cryptosporidiosis in calves; effect on calf growth and use of disinfectants. Cryptosporidiosis, caused by the parasite C. parvum, is a common disease of pre-weaned calves. The potential long-term production effects of this parasite are currently unknown and this work aimed to address...

Inspirational young dairy farmer Matthew Jackson, from North Wales, certainly fits within the conference theme of 'Farming & Genetics, let's inspire the next generation'.  He was recently announced Winner of the New Entrant Award - Against All Odds, at the British Farming Awards and will be speaking at the British Cattle Breeders Conference in Telford on 22-24 January. Matthew will present to th...

The British Cattle Breeders Club will be attending UK Dairy Day on Wednesday 13th September with a stand in the Sharing Knowledge Zone.  Come along for a chat and find out more about the British Cattle Breeders Club and our Annual Conference and pick up your copy of the 2018 conference programme. Keynote speakers attending January's conference over the 21/2 days will include, Prof. John Dupre, Da...

The Cattle Breeder magazine Spring issue includes coverage of the British Cattle Conference held earlier this year, at Telford, Shropshire. The full newsletter reviews some of the speakers who presented papers to the delegates in January.  Practical Innovation - Today's Challenges for Tomorrows Generation was the theme chosen by the conference chairman Iain Kerr.  Smart farming and how it can hel...

Dr Alison Van Eenennaam, of the University of California, described how animal breeders have used a variety of methods in selective breeding programmes, to genetically improve food animal species. The concept includes the use of both genetic engineering and genome editing, although no animals produced using these methods have entered the food chain to date, she stressed. “Gene editing refers to a...

Two of the speakers on beef day at the recent British Cattle Breeders Conference were Jerry Wulf, of Wulf Cattle, a breeder based in Minnesota USA and Welsh cattle producer Meilir Jones, a former Farmers Weekly ‘Beef Farmer of the Year’ award winner. Jerry Wulf’s presentation entitled “Advanced Technology in the Beef Supply Chain.” focused on the use of technology in beef cattle production.  He o...

The 2017 conference marked the occasion of the BCBC presidential handover, with Dr Maurice Bichard completing his six-year term and handing over to Professor Mike Coffey, of the SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College). Dr Bichard an industry stalwart and former director of the Pig Improvement Company, said: “Professor Coffey is driven and passionate about all aspects of livestock breeding, while retaini...

Delegates urged speakers from the new innovation centres set up to promote innovation in agriculture to maintain their focus on grassroots farming, at the beef workshop which kicked off the annual British Cattle Breeders Club (BCBC) Cattle Conference on Monday (23 January). Dr Mark Young of the Centre for Innovation in Livestock (CIEL) explained that the organisation had been set up to equip the ...

The PhD presentation on Wednesday 25th January, during dairy day, will be presented by Fern Pearston, looking at lameness evaluations for the UK dairy industry. Lameness has been recorded by Milk Recording Organisations (MRO) in the UK for a number of years, either as a feet problem event or lameness event.   A pilot study carried out by a PhD student on placement with AHDB Dairy in 2016 using da...

The forthcoming British Cattle Breeders Club (BCBC) annual British Cattle Conference, will take place on January 23-25, 2017. ‘Practical Innovation – Today’s Challenges for Tomorrow’s Generation’ is the theme which has been chosen for 2017 by Conference chairman, Iain Kerr, who is also the chief executive of the British Limousin Society. The event, which is being held once again at the Telford Hot...