Princess Royal attends Beef Shorthorn day

More than 100 Beef Shorthorn enthusiasts were in attendance when HRH the Princess Royal visited Pode Hole Farm, near Peterborough, in Cambridgeshire.

Kindly hosted by Charles and Sally Horrell, along with son Harry, the Beef Shorthorn Development Day saw a packed schedule of expert talks with on topics ranging from performance recording to pelvic scoring.

The afternoon of events started off with the attendance of the Princess Royal. The Princess was welcomed by the Horrell family to the farm, which has been home to the Podhole herd since 1997.

Praising breeders for their hard work and dedication, the Princess then joined guests to present this year’s National Herd Competition award to winners Geoff and Chris Riby from the Stonehill herd, Yorkshire.

The Beef Shorthorn breed has vastly developed in recent years – and its work alongside supermarket retailer Morrisons has helped make it one of Britain’s fastest growing traditional native breeds.

Guests were then spilt into four workshop group with the Princess overlooking various parts of each workshop during the tour of the farm with Charles Horrell and Beef Shorthorn president Tim Riley.

Mrs Horrell said the Princess’s enthusiasm and knowledge of the breed was apparent throughout the day.. “It was lovely to see her speak with fellow breeders and show interest in their different herds, businesses and passions.”

Speakers included Seth Wareing and Harriet Bunning from the AHDB, who discussed the benefits of performance recording; and Freddie Watchorn, from Farm Veterinary Solutions, who demonstrated pelvic measuring heifers prior to calving.

How to combat coastal erosion

North Norfolk farmers and landowners are invited to attend a workshop highlighting ways to mitigate coastal erosion.

Coastwise is an initiative that works with individuals, communities and businesses to explore and demonstrate how coastal businesses and communities can mitigate the risk from coastal erosion.

Hosted by Norfolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), the workshop  will explore ways that Defra’s Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes can help reduce the risk of erosion to livelihoods and the environment.

Mitigation measures include fundamental farming system change, says FWAG. Although this sounds extreme, it can still allow land to be worked while creating valuable wildlife habitats.

FWAG supports farmers working to improve the environment. Workshop participants will be given the opportunity to share their concerns and book a visit from a FWAG advisor to assess and advise on ways to mitigate coastal erosion.

The workshop takes place on 21 November at the Wenn Centre, Happisburgh. For full details, do visit www.bit.ly/wenncentre