With meat and milk production under growing scrutiny, the first session of the British Cattle Breeding Conference 2023 will ask: Is it time for change?
Opening the Beef Day presentations Lucianne Allen, Sales and Marketing Director for Aubrey Allen, will explore how the industry is faring in the war against meat. Never one to shy away from a difficult conversation Lucianne, a former criminal barrister, will discuss the consequences of the beef industry losing and how working together could make a difference. She has been Sales Director for the national catering butcher for the past 15 years and in the past four years has won three accolades in the Women in Meat Business Awards.
John Giles from Promar International will share insight from the soft fruit industry and how lessons learned in the past 10 to 15 years could benefit livestock farmers. In his role as Divisional Director for Agri-Food, John has completed projects in the UK and some 60 countries across the world and has extensive experience in the beef, dairy, pork, poultry and horticultural sectors. Consumer developments in the UK market and export opportunities in post-Brexit post-Covid Britain will also be on the agenda.
Dr Judith Bryans, CEO of Dairy UK, will explore the opportunities and challenges facing the dairy industry to open the Dairy Day programme. She will explore UK and global consumers’ consumption trends, consumer sentiment and nutritional needs, and address some of the challenges that need to be overcome if the opportunities are to be maximised. Judith has held numerous roles in the international dairy industry including Director of the Dairy Council. She is currently Chair of the International Dairy Federation (IDF) Task Force on the UN Food Systems Summit and Co-Chair of the IDF Task Force on Women in Dairying. She has also served on the board of the Global Dairy Platform and was governor of the Dairy Sustainability Framework from 2016 to 2020.
Tim Brigstocke, Policy Director for RABDF, will share his personal reflections on genetic progress over his working life but challenge those working in the industry to better communicate with farmers. Tim, who is also Executive Director of CHECS (formerly known as Cattle Health Certification Standards) and Chair of UK Genetics for Livestock & Equines Committee, will explore the huge changes he has seen in the industry through his career and the role genetics has played. However, he believes that failure in knowledge transfer between those doing genetic evaluation and dairy farms has limited the progress that could have been achieved. Tim says: “Today health and welfare are much more important than milk production per se, but whether global breeding companies are particularly interested in the UK market is open to question.”
See the complete programme for this year’s conference and to book tickets here