2007 REPORT
By Rob Evans

The Midland Club started off it’s 2007 campaign with a very upbeat and pro active talk by Mr Henry Lewis from The British Livestock Genetics Consortium on the export markets. He explained in detail the opportunities and pitfalls of exporting cattle and the help available to us all. As a direct response to Henry’s hard work we were informed of marketing opportunity for Simmental into Poland, which is currently on hold due to ‘Blue Tongue’ restrictions.

Our spring meeting was a quiz night held at the Greyhound Country Inn at Yarlet (the new venue for club meetings). I would like to thank all the visiting teams, especially the students from Harper Adams and the ‘Egg Heads’ from the Centre West Club who for about the third year running won the competition.

This year’s summer farm walk saw the club visit Stuart Shrive and Family’s ‘Brigstock’ Simmental herd in Kettering Northampton. Twenty members ventured over to sample the fine hospitality and setting offered by the Shrive family and enjoy an afternoon browsing around the herd. I would like to thank the visiting members who raised £75 on the day for Stuart’s chosen charity, Cancer Research.

Herd visit to the Shrive family’s Brigstock herd.

Mention too must go to Jimmy and Vikki Woods on their successful showing season culminating in a win at the Royal Show with their cow “Popes Nellys Princess”, congratulations also to Robert Heaps their stockman.

Our herd competition this year was judged by John Trafford and I would like to thank him for making it to judge the Wroxall herd before we had to make the decision to call the whole thing off due to ‘Foot and Mouth’ and therefore one obvious winner!!!!

The club’s autumn meeting was a talk by Jack and Jackie Smith explaining how a video competition would work. The club plans to hold one early in the New Year - Foot and Mouth and Blue Tongue won’t stop us admiring each others cattle!

For the umpteenth year Mandy, our club secretary, has rallied us all round and steered the club with seemingly endless enthusiasm and my thanks go to her for all her hard work and support.

Our newest member to the club is Callum Leedham who was born back in October – Congratulations to Andrew and Yvonne. And so the year rolls to an end, with all the disappointments and frustrations of cattle farming behind us, we look forward to the New Year and wonder what trials and tribulations 2008 will hold.

With the British hosting The Simmental World Congress we must keep our chins up and show the world why there is a ‘Great’ in Britain.

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