The Rural Voice, 1987-04, Page 29Semen is collected, frozen, and
shipped from Avoncroft Cattle
Breeders in Tenbury Wells, Hereford-
shire. Semen from the Haven bulls
is in high demand, and in Canada is
handled by Western Breeders of
Alberta.
About 80 per cent of the beef
produced in the U.K. is from animals
sired by Hereford bulls and from
Friesian cows. In order to become
more involved in the business of
selling semen to commercial milk
producers, The Haven began a program
of testing crossbreds in 1981.
At present, about 450 head of these
crossbreds are on test at The Haven.
has been testing these crossbreds,
about 2,000 head have been marketed.
The males are left as entire males and
go to market at 16 to 17 months.
The heifers go to market at 650 to
700 days.
On average, the cattle sired by the
Haven bulls show a 12 to 14 per cent
♦ B.P. 55 C
Britisher 1 M,
a five-year-old
herd sire bought
from Bar Pipe
Farms of
Calgary (weight
2,700 lbs.).
Agriculture in the U.K. is chang-
ing. Faced with large supplies of
milk, produce, and grain, the govern-
ment has moved to take out ten per
cent of the workable land. Many cities
and towns have new subdivisions un-
derway on lands once zoned for agri-
culture. In some cases this land has
The Haven sheep flock.
Calves are bought at five days of
age and raised through to market.
The mix is about 50 per cent sired
by Haven bulls and 50 per cent sired
by Hereford bulls owned by the milk
marketing board. All calves are under
Faced with Targe
supplies of milk,
produce, and grain,
the government has
moved to take out
ten per cent of the
workable land.
the U.K. Meat and Livestock Com-
mission Beef Breeding and Recording
Scheme.
In the five years that The Haven
♦ Crossbreds
on feed at The
Haven, which
is home to 700
cattle and a
breeding flock
of 500 ewes
larger gain than cattle sired by the
M M B bulls of the day.
These official figures on the
Haven bulls have greatly increased
the sales of semen from Haven bulls
to commercial milk shippers. The
sale of bulls is also very keen, both
to the purebred export business and
to U.K. purebred breeders as well
as to those using bulls for cross-
breeding. As the profit on beef in
the U.K. is slim, the 12 to 14 per
cent better gain with cattle by Haven
bulls is a good way to increase
earnings.
been zoned agricultural for well over
200 years. A short-sighted policy?
Only time will tell.
Altogether, we found Britain a
very pleasing mix of old and new.
And on the way back to London we
were involved with a 100 -horse group
of hunters — but this would make the
start of another story.0
The travellers in Britain included
Richard McNamara, wife Marian,
sister Mary O'Malley, and daughter
Mary McNamara, who was working
in London under the SWAP program.
APRIL 1987 27
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