British Cattle Conference Firmly Established in Farming Calendar
2010-12-23

The farming conference season gets under way early in the New Year when the key event for those involved in cattle breeding and production will be the British Cattle Conference.

Conference Chairman, Lucy Andrews

This event traces its history to the 1940s, when cattle breeders and scientists first came together in Cambridge for a gathering at which ‘modern breeding’ and methods of increasing production were keen topics of discussion.

Although facing a different set of challenges today, speakers at the 2011 conference will continue to confront the industry’s problems head on, and explore the possible consequences of adopting the latest breeding technologies. And while the usual strong theme of cattle breeding will run through the event, speakers will deliver a broad cross-section of up-to-the-minute papers, of relevance to the wider cattle production industry.

With speakers ranging from a cutting edge scientist at the forefront of beef genomics, to bankers, businessmen and farmers representing every scale of beef and dairy production, there will be a view from every angle and an opinion from every perspective.

Familiar speaker names include Defra director general, Katrina Williams; chief veterinary officer of the Welsh Assembly, Christianne Glossop; and a farmer director of the proposed Nocton Dairies, Peter Willes. With ample opportunity for discussion, the 2011 British Cattle Conference promises to get the cattle breeding year off to a spirited start.

Presided over by Lucy Andrews from Holstein UK - the conference’s youngest ever chairman - the 2011 event promises vision, conviviality and a larger-than-usual share of youthful energy.

“I’m absolutely confident this will be an event worth leaving the farm for,” says Miss Andrews. “The theme is ‘Intelligent breeding: we owe it to the next generation’, and a strong emphasis will be placed on the transfer of knowledge to the next farming generation – just as we want to improve the genes transferred through the cattle generations.

“You can always find a reason not to come to an event such as this, but regular attendees say it’s well worth the time spent off the farm; there’s always something new to learn and a commercial benefit to be applied to a business.”

“The Cattle Conference has been known over the decades as the event at which every key technology involved with cattle breeding has first been aired – ranging from artificial insemination and semen sexing to the latest genomic technologies – and I’m confident the 2011 event will be as thought-provoking as ever,” added British Cattle Breeders Club president, Henry Lewis. “And with several international speakers it’s a good opportunity to ‘look over the fence’ at other countries.”

The British Cattle Conference takes place on 25 and 26 January 2011 at the Telford Golf and Spa Hotel. The conference is broadly split into beef and dairy days.

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