In just 7 weeks time the next British Cattle Breeders Conference will be held virtually, on Tuesday 25th January 2022. Following on from the resounding success of our first ever virtual Conference, we took the difficult decision to opt for the same format again this year. With so much uncertainty still surrounding Covid-19, we felt it was the safest decision for our speakers, delegates and for the...

On the 23rd September, in the historic grounds of Harper Adams University, BSAS President and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Harper Adams, Professor Michael Lee, presented Professor Jude Capper with the prestigious Sir John Hammond Award 2021. The award was relaunched earlier this year in collaboration with the British Cattle Breeders Club (BCBC) Jude is the ABP Chair of Sustainable Beef and Sheep Pro...

The British Cattle Breeders Club recently invited students to design a new BCBC logo with a fresh and exciting look, that appeals to all ages of our industry and keeps the values of the club at heart.  We are pleased to announce our winner is Annie Stones with her logo consisting of the union jack within a cow’s head.  Annie recently graduated from Harper Adams University with a BSc. Honours degr...

The British Cattle Breeders Club (BCBC) are pleased to announce that its next conference will be held virtually on Tuesday 25th January 2022. The theme for the conference will be ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’ reflecting the club’s aspiration to focus on positivity, resilience and opportunity. BCBC chair Dr. Karen Wonnacott explains: “After what has been a challenging time for everyone, we have pulled ...

BCBC Rebrand 2021 The Club believes that this is a great time to be in our industry and that we have so many opportunities yet to explore. BCBC last underwent a rebrand over ten years ago and the Club feels that it is extremely important to review branding periodically. With this in mind, we are looking for a keen and inspiring candidate who can give the BCBC brand a new, fresh, and exciting look...

Speaking at the 2021 British Cattle Breeders conference earlier this year, John Maddux of Maddux Cattle Co, Nebraska told delegates that using a composite of British cattle breeds created the ideal cow for his 7500 head cow-calf operation. Maddux Cattle Co. farm 2500 suckler cattle and 5000 yearlings across 45,000 acres. Their aim is to produce an animal as near to 1000lb (454kg) at 18 months of a...

The Society is delighted to announce that Dr Jude Capper is the 2021 recipient of the prestigious Sir John Hammond award, which was re-launched earlier this year in collaboration with the British Cattle Breeders Club (BCBC). Jude is an independent Livestock Sustainability Consultant based in Oxfordshire, UK, and her research focuses on modeling the sustainability of livestock production systems, ...

It is a great honour and delight to have been elected Chair of the British Cattle Breeders Club for 2021 and my, what a difficult act I must follow. The past twelve months have brought about a great many challenges for everyone. I don’t think that any of us could have ever envisaged the devastating impact that a global pandemic could have had on many industries, livelihoods and families, not just ...

“Heifers are the lifeblood of any suckler herd” says Sarah Pick, National Knowledge Exchange Manager for AHDB Beef & Lamb. Sarah completed a Nuffield Scholarship in 2019 where she travelled the globe looking at heifer replacement strategies. During her presentation at the 2021 British Cattle Breeders conference, she told delegates “The average UK suckler herd is losing £135 per cow before subsidie...

The next generation – do you dare to dream? It’s back!  The long-awaited sequel to the Q&A of the Year – the BCBC Panel will discuss, debate and answer those questions we didn’t get around to tackling in part 1 in January.  Join us for part 2 and pose your questions to our panel of three young, enthusiastic industry leaders.  Encouraging and supporting youngsters to embark on a career in the foo...

Established in Yorkshire in 1997, Dovecote Park are proud to supply the finest British beef, veal and venison for the retail, fine dining and food service sectors nationwide. Sourcing directly from the Dovecote Park/Waitrose producer group, the company prides itself on maintaining the highest standards of animal welfare and husbandry. We are a privately owned family business with a reputation for...

The dairy cow of the 21st century is a very different animal from that of the past. Her production has substantially increased, her somatic cell count has declined, fertility has improved, foot, leg and udder conformation has seen changes for the better, and many other traits, including lameness, longevity and mastitis, are moving in the right direction. This is as much a success story for geneti...

How to understand your dairy herd even better? The fact that smaXtec Boluses are able to measure the inner body temperature in the rumen was already revolutionary, but now we have succeeded in adding an additional parameter to our unique cow understanding system - rumination. As a result, the system can now do even more and enables you to understand your animals even better. The direct measuremen...

The British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) have collaborated with the British Cattle Breeders Club (BCBC) to re-launch the prestigious Sir John Hammond Award, which is awarded to those who have made significant contribution through research, teaching, knowledge exchange, breeding, farming, industry, or affiliated professions. Highly selective, the Sir John Hammond Award is based solely on nomina...

“We exist to benefit our farmers, our agri-food industry and our wider communities through genetic gain. We do this by developing and applying science and technology to ensure that our farmers and industry make the most profitable and sustainable decisions”. ICBF are a growing organisation of around 90 employees spread across 8 teams that cover everything from genetic evaluations and farmer supp...

ABP is a leading consumer food business delivering quality beef products to our retail, foodservice and manufacturing customers. At ABP, we are committed to supporting British agriculture and work with over 12,000 farming families across the UK each year. We are passionate about helping farmers meet the demands of consumers to produce high quality British beef by maintaining high animal welfare ...

The Automatic Dipping & Flushing system from ADF Milking was developed by founder and engineer James Duke in 2003 when he had a vision to increase efficiency in post milking hygiene methods. By 2004 the first prototype system was installed on 10 farms in the UK, and in 2005 the Automatic Dipping & Flushing system was officially launched and was awarded the Prince Philip Award at that year’s Royal ...