Wow, what an evening! On the 29th July we held our summer beef farm walk at the Dorset Wildlife Trust at Lyscombe, where our vet tech lead Dave Philips and his wife Carla graze their Longhorn cattle. The focus of the evening was looking at the performance of the low input suckler cow in a conservation grazing role, and the importance of profitability in such systems. We enjoyed a long walk around Lyscombe, stopping periodically to enjoy the view and to engage in discussion.
We welcomed guest speaker Harriet Bunning, beef breeding and genetic expert from AHDB, who spoke about environmental land management project because of their grazing behaviours. We need to work with that to optimise performance whilst delivering environmental goals. the importance of genetics in bull and replacement heifer selection. She introduced the National Beef Evaluations database, which provides estimated breeding values (EBVs) for five commercial carcass traits plus three new maternal EBVs in beef cattle, using national data from processors, breed societies and the BCMS: https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/national beef-evaluations
Dave gave us a fantastic insight into his pedigree herd and the work that the cattle do in maintaining the delicate ecosystem.
Other take home messages included:
1. Proactive health planning and diagnostics such as bull testing and PDing are still important in this kind of system to optimise performance
and minimise wastage.
2. CHECS health status adds value to herds and optimises performance.
3. Suckler cattle (and breeding herds in particular) have a key role in environmental land management project because of their grazing
behaviours. We need to work with that to optimise performance whilst delivering environmental goals.
Everyone who attended agreed that the location was stunning and a fantastic backdrop for what was a hugely informative meeting. Thanks again to
Norbrook for sponsoring this event and providing the pasties, brownies and cider – it was a perfect summers evening!
Claire Rudd Veterinary Surgeon
