Finalists announced for Holstein UK President’s Medal

Anticipation munts as oerall winner waits for crowning at Semex Conference
Anticipation munts as oerall winner waits for crowning at Semex Conference

Three passionate, aspiring dairy enthusiasts have made it into the final selection for the Holstein Young Breeders (HYB) President’s Medal.

Holstein UK has announced the finalists as Andrew Patton of Northern Ireland, Mark Robinson from Cheshire and Andrew Patterson of Shropshire.

Judging took place prior to AgriScot on the 14th November and now these top three candidates are invited to attend the Semex Conference from Sunday 15th to Tuesday 17th January 2017 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow, where the overall winner will be crowned.

The President's Medal is awarded to a HYB member who has made an outstanding contribution to the breed, Holstein Young Breeders and their own club.

The ultimate winner of this most coveted and prestigious title will receive an engraved President's Medal from the Holstein UK President, alongside a visit to the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto in November 2017, courtesy of Semex.

Each of the three finalists will also receive a memento to commemorate their achievement.

The entry process began with each HYB Club being asked to nominate one young breeder aged between 18 and 26 years of age. Six young breeders were shortlisted for interview with the panel of judges, Sue Cope (Managing Director of CIS), David Tomlinson (Holstein UK President) and Peter Arthur (Semex Marketing Manager) at AgriScot in Edinburgh before the final three were selected.

Miriam Howarth, National HYB Coordinator for Holstein UK, commented: “The wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm for the dairy industry that was received in the President’s Medal entries has been formidable – and quite clearly showing that the future is bright for our industry.

“The three finalists have shown outstanding commitment to HYB – actively shaping and driving the success of the clubs that they are involved in. Andrew, Mark and Andrew are leading stars for British farming and we’re delighted to be crowning one of them as overall winner at the Semex Conference this January.”

Meet the finalists

Andrew Patton, County Down, Northern Ireland

25 year old Andrew Patton of County Down, Northern Ireland, has been farming at his family farm full time for the last 4 years – before this he completed an Agricultural Technology Degree at Queen’s University Belfast.

Farming has been a passion of Andrew’s since he was a young boy; more recently Andrew has developed an interest towards breeding and genomics, as well as competing both locally and nationally in cattle showing competitions.

Currently Andrew is the Club Secretary and has organised 2 embryo sales and took a major role in the 2015 and 2016 calf shows. As one of the more senior members of the club Andrew is a very committed and driven member. Most recently Andrew won the HYB Australian Exchange programme and heads to Australia this January.

Mark Robinson, Cheshire

Mark farms at his family farm in Nantwich, Cheshire. In 2004 the family were milking 350 commercial cows when they decided to take on the neighbouring farm and their cows which were the pedigree registered Brindley Herd.

For Mark this sparked his interest towards pedigree Holsteins. After completing a National Diploma in Agriculture at Reaseheath College, Mark returned to run one of the herds, with the support of this father. In 2012 the two farms amalgamated to drive efficiency and output, with large investment made in a new milking parlour.

Milking changed to three times a day with yields increasing from under 10,000L/ year to 11,500L/ year in just a four-year period. This year Mark has achieved Reserve Junior Champion at UK Dairy Day, gained Champion Cow at Cheshire Show and elected as member of the Western Holstein Club Committee.

Andrew Patterson, Shropshire

Andrew grew up on a dairy farm in Northern Ireland but for the last two years has been a valuable member of the Shropshire HYB Club. After graduating from Harper Adams University in 2015, Andrew started his full-time job as Assistant Herd Manager at Wyndford Holsteins, Shropshire.

While his attention is in Shropshire, Andrew does still have an active contrition in breeding and management decisions at the home farm in Northern Ireland. Andrew has been an active member of HYB since the age of 10. During this time he has received countless awards for his showmanship, clipping and stock-judging skills.

At national level Andrew is a front-running HYB member and he has huge scope to be an influential opinion leader in the wider dairy industry. Andrew has a well-rounded and realistic view of commercial dairying and appreciates that pedigree must be profitable.