|
Report by Dan Evans
We flew to Budapest and were met and taken by
car south for 11/2 hours through very flat countryside intensively
farmed with large fields and vast areas of maze waiting for
the combine. Arriving at Siofok, a small town on the east
side of lake Balaton, which is the largest lake in Europe 72
k long and 10k wide in places. The water is always warm in
summer due to the sandy bottom and the fact that it is not
very deep, it is a very popular holiday resort for sailing
and swimming. We arrived a day late having missed two visits
to dairy farms with the second day taken up with the Council
meeting all morning.
 |
| Opening Ceremony |
Eighteen countries were represented out
of 23 member countries, discussing the reasons why two countries
had not paid their membership subscriptions. A new system is
to be introduced in 2010 for udders etc. using a 100 point
system. All countries seem to have different health standards,
so a group of representatives are to look into the matter.
Suckler herds, there was a request from member countries for
International co-operation, so a new working Beef Producers
Group was set up with Chairman Dr. Peter Polgar, (Hungary)
Henning Hansen and Erick Olsen (Denmark), Poli Gernot and Claudia
Pieter (Germany), Mathias Gerber (Switzerland), Dan Evans (U.K.)
to collect information with regards to the different systems
of recording etc., e.g.: E.B.V., Beef Plan, Inter Beef., to
get countries to accept the different figures and use them
in their own records. The next meeting is proposed for February
2010 at Sterling (Perth) Bull Sales. In Europe 1,000 Beef cows
had 40 Beef bulls tested and 15,000 Dairy cows had 1,200 bulls
tested, which compares with 1 bull on the Young Bull Proving
Scheme in the U.K.
The 29th European Congress is in Italy 3rd
- 7th May 2011 and Slovenia in 2012. There will also be a Council
meeting in France 3.3.2010, that concluded the morning Council
meeting. In the afternoon at the General Assembly a lot of
the morning discussions were reported. The opening address
by Jozef Graf, Minister of Agriculture for Hungary, explained
they were investing £33 million a
year in milk and beef. Imer Fuller (Hungary) reported that
Hungary lost 2/3 of its cattle in World War 2. In 1989 it started
a herd book and in 2004 a beef index. We also had four other
papers mainly on statistics and test results in Hungary; all
a bit heavy going! The last speaker Dr.Gabor Udovecz, (Hungary),
who’s topic was Milk and Beef market in the E.U. trends
and future, again a lot of facts and figures anyone wanting
to see any of the papers; I can let them have a copy.
That
night we had a reception and dinner which I always think is
the most important time as you circulate among all the delegates,
around 150 –200 people, many of them attended the World
Conference in the U.K. and others whom I have met over the
last 7/8 years and this is the time when you get to know what
is happening in different parts of the world and tell them
what is happening in the U.K
 |
| Dan Evans (UK) and George
Rohrmoser (Germany)
judging cattle |
Day three we went to a Livestock
Breeding Exhibition (Show) in Kaposvar, we all attended the
Opening Ceremony with a sample of all the various animals on
display in a large riding school building. The animals were
introduced, different cattle and horse breeds with an explanation
what they were used for, and finally three young men in national
costume gave a fantastic display of horsemanship cracking long
whips as they galloped around the arena, without saddles, displaying
many athletic moves. Finally a horseman came in standing across
two horses driving five with long reigns galloping around the
arena at great pace, what a skill. After the opening we moved
on to the Beef cattle area where George Rohrmoser (Germany)
and myself had been invited to judge 10 heifers 18 months old
all very much alike, we only placed the top 4. Then we went
to the pens to judge cows and calves, again about 10 all very
much in their working clothes except one that was outstanding
from the rest, so we had no trouble making her Female Champion.
We then moved to the Dairy section which was quite large with
Holstein, Simmental, Jersey, Brown Swiss, etc and 3 Beef bulls
all so very different, the eldest was 20 months, big, long,
no hind quarter but quite fleshy, the second was the same age
a lot poorer, the last was 6 months younger very thick, good
hind quarters, very fleshy but would never be as big as the
others, but we gave him first prize. After all the prize giving
us all had lunch of a very good goulash cooked in very large
open pots over fires.
After lunch we were taken to Kaposvar
University a training and research station, Holstein and Simmental
herds split into 3 milking groups depending on milk production.
A dry cow unit, a calf unit, and a heifer in calf unit. Out
at grass dairy cows milked twice a day and fed once, maize
silage, Lucerne, cereals and minerals only giving 5,000 + litres
per lactation. Cows in all year on bedded area or little paddocks
for exercise, I dread to think what it would be like in winter.
Back to hotel for the Closing Dinner and to say goodbye to
the ones leaving.
Fourth and last day we were taken to Festetics
Castle, originally owned by a Hungarian family, with 100,000
hectares from 1744—1944 when it was taken over by the
State and is now 9,000 hectares. We then visited the Csornoc-menti
Agricultural Co. at Vasvar a co-operative with 2013 hectares
, arable 1416h, maize 401h, wheat 258h, barley 119h, rye 147h,
maize for silage 369h, alfalfa 122h, orchard woodland 40h,
grass 235h, pasture 257h, sas 87h, Hungarian Simmental Beef
290, loose housed and bedded. A very interesting visit 290
cows 280 calves all in one field, lots of grass, and a good
calving pattern, all cows A.I. by two polled bulls one Swiss
one German, average life of cows –7 calving. They were
big stretchy cows, good on their feet, with plenty of milk
and very quiet. Three men walked them 500 yards to come and
stand in front of all of us, quite a sight. We only saw them
in the field, no housing, and we also learnt they had 500 dairy
cows which explains the hectares.
During the Congress a ladies
programme was arranged for each day sightseeing. The last evening
was not very well attended as most delegates had gone home.
The next day 6 of us were taken back to Budapest in a minibus
and taken on a sightseeing tour of the city for 21/2 hrs, and
in the evening we met up with the Danish members for a night
trip up the Danube, what a finale. The whole congress was very
professionally organised, all meetings and visits were translated
into English and German. We met a lot of people who had been
on the World Congress in the U.K. and it is important to keep
in touch for the future of Simmental breeding. I am surprised
more members from the U.K. don’t go to these congresses
you don’t have to be a delegate to attend!
|
