Case study: Beef Shorthorn Society

Beef Shorthorn Society secretary, Frank Milnes, says: “We took a decision more than two years ago to introduce the new testing policy. It was a huge step forward, and is proving advantageous for vendors and purchasers, as it gives confidence cattle bought at our sales are of known health status.

“The cost of a blood test is small in comparison to the potential damage an infected animal could bring to a herd. Our prospective buyers, who are seeking to invest in a functional beef animal, have the knowledge all animals have been tested for the three prevalent diseases.”

Martyn Moore, of Woodstock Bower Farm, Tenbury, Herefordshire, is among Beef Shorthorn breeders who are aware of the benefits of blood tested animals when establishing a herd.

“We wanted to minimise the long-term problems of introducing disease, so we did our homework and concluded it was a logical step to buy in cattle of known status confirmed by an official cattle health scheme,” he says.

Closed herd

“The herd is now closed at 30 cows and our medium-term objective is to sell breeding stock to meet the growing demand for Beef Shorthorn as the functional suckler cow, which is easy to keep and suited to low input systems.

“We have joined a CHeCS cattle health scheme because of the benefits it offers in terms of herd health status. The accompanying certification will also be a tradable asset of added value.”

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