The BCBC
The British Cattle Breeders Club provides a forum for exchange between scientists and breeders of beef and dairy cattle.
At the annual British Cattle Conference papers are presented by leading scientists, breeders, industry specialists and veterinarians.
The conference is a truly international occasion, providing a unique opportunity to meet other breeders and scientists in a warm and friendly environment.
Duchy Home Farm
Club members were fortunate to be invited to HRH The Prince of Wales' Duchy Home Farm in Gloucestershire earlier this year.
Farm manager David Wilson explained the policy of placing a heavy reliance on a wide variety of forages in order to minimise grain use.
Intensive or extensive?
Bill Jewell argues for "Low input for less stress, lower costs and greater efficiency", Richard Rhone contends that "Only high input systems can meet consumer demands", whilst Mike Houghton believes that "Grass-based systems offer the best prospect of sustained profits".
US trends and technology
According to Brian Bolton, chief executive of Allflex USA, British dairy farmers may not have the same problems as those in America, but there is much they can learn from Stateside trends
Beef lots in the north east?
Richard Whitlock believes large scale cattle feed lots could be created in the north east once two major bioethanol plants come on stream.
The Vivergo factory in Hull will produce around 500,000 tonnes of Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS) per annum, and the other plant, in Teesside, will have a similar capacity.
Stop pneumonia
Preparation is key to combating pneumonia during the peak disease season.
A major study between Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health and Blade Farming suggest that we may not be treating cattle pneumonia as effectively as we could.
Effective control of IBR
Ruminant veterinary adviser Rosemary Booth reports that switching UK cattle onto Europe's leading Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) live marker vaccine allows us to match our EU competitors in terms of identifying infected cattle and make similar progress towards eradicating the disease.
Rosy outlook for rosé veal
"If the Dutch could import calves from the UK & Ireland and export the rosé veal and make a return, then surely Linden Foods should be fit to do the same." says Linden's Frank Foster.
