North East Charolais breeder elected society president
Noted north east Charolais breeder, Billy Turner, of Ripon, North Yorkshire has been elected society president, and breed promotion is among his priorities for the 12 month term of office. He plans to ensure British Charolais is firmly repositioned on the international platform and on the home front, for the breed to be at the fore of youngsters' minds.
"British Charolais semen and embryo trading is at last being restored with some of the leading international producers of beef thanks to the gradual lifting of our export bans. I'm very focused on continuing to revive that interest in Charolais and I plan to travel in the coming 12 months to a number of countries to open more doors including Brazil, as well as host inward missioners seeking out our quality cattle," he explains.
"Our British genetics are second to none, and despite the adversities we've faced in the last decade, Britain is still regarded as the stockyard of the world," he says. "And I sincerely believe Britain breeds the most correct Charolais. British Charolais have the ability to leave calves with that stylish quality and exceptional weight for age."
Mr Turner, who established the renowned Brampton herd more than 30 years ago, has lengthy experience of exporting cattle including to Brazil, South Africa and the Republic of Ireland, and then following their progress. "I've visited agricultural shows in a number of countries and seen Brampton lines to be among the prize winning cattle," he says.
Back home at Skelton on Ure, the 100 cow pedigree Brampton herd has achieved a number of milestones. Apart from the countless progeny that have been successfully exported, Brampton has bred the Perth champion on three different occasions, the supreme Royal award a handful of times and it has successfully forward two entries to the MLC's young bull promotion scheme including Brampton Chopper who has had a profound effect on improving muscle traits within the breed.
Nowadays the herd is managed on a day to day basis by Mr Turner's daughter, Sarah. And it's the younger generation he is also focused on encouraging and supporting. "These youngsters are our future," he says. "We have a lot of young Charolais enthusiasts and I think they should have more recognition. I suggest we start by awarding a certificate to each one who makes it to The Royal and takes part in our annual judging competition."
He adds: "I truly believe Charolais also faces bright prospects on the home front. For starters there are changes to the OTMS on the horizon which in the longer term can be only good news for Charolais cattle," he says. "We are expecting Charolais to rapidly return to its leading position in the cull market.
"Equally important will be CAP Reform proposals and decoupling. They will give flexibility to commercial beef producers to market their cattle at the required finishing weight without keeping them on to receive the second BSP payment which has proved necessary to improve their unit's margin. And it's those highly efficient fast maturing Charolais cross calves that will be guaranteed to reach target weight faster than any other cross bred animal."
