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 help to increase the quality and efficiency of production was featured throughout the conference with an array of technologies that are available now, are at the point of delivery, and those in the early stages of research and development outlined.  Brexit inevitably featured and was one of realism that highlighted both the challenges and the opportunities for the livestock industry moving forward.

The conference marked the occasion of the BCBC presidential handover, following the completion of Dr Maurice Bichard's six year term.  He handed over the position to Professor Mike Coffey, a Professor in livestock informatics at SRUC.  The BCBC committee welcomed Andy Dodd, breeding and fertility technical manager of AHDB Dairy, as the 2017 Chairman, and three new committee members were elected.  Clive Brown will be known to many in the industry as the AHDB Beef and Lamb's head of regional development, while Gary Evans is the business development manager for Neogen's GeneSeek genomic business in Europe and Andy King a dairy farmer from Somerset. 

The 2018 conference will celebrate the club's 70th Anniversary on 22nd - 24th January, at Telford Hotel and Golf Resort in Shropshire.  Full programme and booking details will be available in the autumn, we hope you are able to join us.

The BCBC would like to extend grateful thanks to Shepherd Publishing for coverage in the Cattle Breeder magazine.  The full BCBC newsletter can be viewed in the newsletters section of the website