Foot & mouth disease in East Asia
[30/04/2010]

Climate change in a climate of change
[02/03/2010]

ILDEX Vietnam 2010 - the solutions for Vietnam’s sustainable growth
[02/03/2010]

UK Sheep meat exports pass the £300 million mark in 2009
[02/03/2010]

Certification Updates
[27/02/2010]

Global Food prices up again according to FAO
[08/02/2010]

New logo selected for all EU organic products
[08/02/2010]

EBLEX beef and sheep roadmap to livestock emissions reductions
[08/02/2010]

Outlook Conference diary alert
[08/02/2010]

Record entries for National All Breeds Show promise a spectacle to dispel the February blues
[08/02/2010]

Make a date: British Cattle Conference 24-26 January 2011
[08/02/2010]

A very merry Christmas (and good year) for British pork sales, at home & abroad
[08/02/2010]

Paris in the Springtime
[07/02/2010]

Aberdeen-Angus semen heads for Estonia
[05/02/2010]

Lloyds TSB Agriculture continues sponsorship of Beef Expo in May
[05/02/2010]

British Blue, British Charolais and British Limousin beef semen exports to USA ...... and Denmark
[05/02/2010]

New JSR International Sales Director
[05/02/2010]

Dairy Burke Trophy moves to new National All Breeds Show
[04/02/2010]

New British semen storage and distribution unit opens
[04/02/2010]

JSR in the Ukraine
[08/12/2009]

Spring into Spring - EBLEX export marketing push
[08/12/2009]

New National All Breeds Show 2010
[08/12/2009]

Male sexed Limousin semen - another ‘world first’ for Crawford Brothers
[04/12/2009]

A Sustainable Breeding Future - British Cattle Conference 25-27 January, 2010
[03/12/2009]

Au revoir and bienvenue to Herefords as they head from England to France
[02/12/2009]

Cogent expansion: commitment and optimism for UK cattle genetics’ future
[01/12/2009]

New Genus ABS appointments in Europe and UK
[01/12/2009]

New British owned AI company launched
[01/12/2009]

British Blues join Semenstore.co.uk
[01/12/2009]

Mad for Madison
[23/09/2009]

New British Angus company launched in response
[23/09/2009]

IndAgra-Farm - UK’s livestock breeding sector are there for business!
[23/09/2009]

Where Asia’s feed, livestock and meat industry do business
[21/09/2009]

National Ploughing Championships 2009
[21/09/2009]

Limousin ‘Goldies Terence’ semen exported to Norway, Finland and Australia
[21/09/2009]

Positive signs for English pig sector
[21/09/2009]

Defra minister to open the Dairy Event and Livestock Show
[08/09/2009]

JSR continues global expansion
[02/09/2009]

World record price for a sheep
[31/08/2009]

Cows for Cambodia!
[28/08/2009]

Cutting edge agricultural research under microscope
[26/08/2009]

GB Bulls Open Day and NEW August DVD now available
[25/08/2009]

Portuguese Pig Producers Choose UK Breeding Stock
[25/08/2009]

Picston Shottle celebrates his tenth birthday
[25/08/2009]

Agriscot - the UK's No 1 Farm Business Event
[25/08/2009]

Strong British team at Expointer
[25/08/2009]

The Dairy Event and Livestock Show 2009
[13/08/2009]

A strong technical team helping the British pig industry
[13/08/2009]

BEEF EXPO 2010 is at Hexham
[12/08/2009]

AHDB appoints new EBLEX director
[12/08/2009]

Expointer And 100 Years of Devons in Brazil
[10/08/2009]

New export initiatives for livestock & meat sectors
[27/07/2009]

EBLEX and BPEX relocate to Stoneleigh
[27/07/2009]

News on latest meat sector economics publications & services
[23/07/2009]

Pig campaign wins major international awards
[29/05/2009]

Doors open for lamb exports to United Arab Emirates
[06/04/2009]

World Shorthorn Conference 2010 – A world of opportunity in the home of the breed
[23/03/2009]

Pig export news from ACMC
[23/03/2009]

UK’s Beef and Lamb exports up
[05/03/2009]

Breeding polled cattle made easier
[05/03/2009]

British pork exports hit £160million
[20/02/2009]

Genus expands business in China
[20/02/2009]

'Positive future' for dairy industry
[23/01/2009]

British Limousin Pedigree sales in 2008 exceed £5 million
[15/01/2009]

2008 Archive

2007 Archive

2006 Archive

2005 Archive

2004 Archive

2007 was a year to remember in more ways than one for the British Blue Cattle Society; apart from the various problems that the whole of the British industry has faced, this was the year that the 'Blues' forged their own identity and became 25 years old. An international gathering in Carlisle in May celebrated the Silver anniversary of the first importations of 'Belgian Blues' from their home country. Guests were drawn from many parts of Europe, with good wishes coming from as far away as Australasia and South America.

Over the years the Society has taken technical development on behalf it its members very seriously and has been working closely with Liverpool University, geneticists at Liege University in Belgium, and the University of New England in NSW as part of 'Breedplan Genetic Evaluation', the Roslin Institute and the Genesis Faraday Partnership. In fact an eminent geneticist has commented "It has been recognised in research circles that the 'British Blue' has accumulated a greater pool of information, either as raw or BLUPed data relating to the bovine than possibly any other breed. This has been acknowledged as a credit to the responsible, technical focus, of the British Blue Society."

The Society recognised back in 1990 the changes British breeders had made over the years and started marketing British bred 'Blues' as the 'British Type', specifically developed to suit the British meat trade and British farming practices, which are, of course, the type required by many other countries with a focus on easy management and outdoor production. The Society continued this evolution by changing its name to the 'British Blue Society' to coincide with the anniversary.

Society Secretary John Fleming commented, "The sterotype of the 'Belgian Blue' as a heavily muscled breed that has difficulty in calving is no longer true of the 'British Blue'. Of those animals calving with natural intent, parturition statistics (independently verified) have been improved to such an extent that they are becoming very close to the bovine norm. This is a tremendous credit to the tireless work of breeders over the years and the dedication to technical advance by the Society's Executive Council."

"In addition, serious attention has been given to addressing traits such as size, stature, and good mobility. This has all contributed to 'British Blues' being highly sought after in the export markets of the EU and elsewhere in the world". John Fleming added "in recent years 'British Blue' genetics have been exported to Chile and Australia. In both markets virtually all the offspring have been born perfectly naturally out of pedigree cows."

In fact the Secretary of the Australian Belgian Blue Society commented, "On my own farm all our breeding cows have calved naturally in the past 12 months and we have just finished calving our ET calves out of crossbred recipients; all calved naturally, unassisted, with one giving birth to twins. These calves were all sired by British genetics; this is a sure testament of the UK genetics. Long-term I would envisage our breed to be close to 100% natural calving, hopefully dismissing any stigma attached to the Belgian Blue breed."

Another first for the 'British Blues' in 2007 has been the introduction of the 'Pedigree Breeding Index'. The power of modern, computerised, genetic evaluation has enabled the Society to identify (from over 30,000 pedigree records) animals that are at the top of the breed for growth and carcase traits, whilst at the same time being above breed average for calving ease. This is in addition to the publication of 'Easy Calving' trait leader lists to further assist breeders to achieve natural calving goals for their pedigree herd.

Over the last quarter of a century, the 'British Blue' has established itself as a major force in the UK meat trade, being one of the most popular breeds registered with BCMS, and where 'Blue' cross stores are sought after at a premium the length and breadth of the country. It is estimated that, where a beef bull is used in the dairy sector, 75% of semen sold is 'British Blue'; with an estimated 160,000 straws being used during the year.

Credit must go to all those British breeders who have radically changed the breed from the original to the breed we know today; producing a high yielding, quality carcase, famed for its short gestation period and low associated birth weights, backed up by sophisticated genetic evaluation techniques.

Since Robert Bakewell's time over 200 years ago, British breeders have been famed for their selection skills and improving breeding to suit market and farming systems. This could not be more true than in the case of the 'British Blue' over the last 25 years. For further information see www.britishbluecattle.org (linked from the BLG website Member details).