With Valentines Day over for yet another year, we hope that you all managed to remember to pick up something for your loved one! If not, fear not! We have some great Aberdeen-Angus merchandise available to be purchased just in time for the weekend! Valentines Day aside, we have been extremely busy here at the Society with the Stirling Bull Sales and Dungannon Sale taking place. Preparations have also been ramped up for the YDP Senior Conference which is set to be another great event. Take a look below at what’s been happening in and around the Society over the last 14 days!

News Roundup

One of our young and inspiring YDP participants Andrew Hammill is looking to go a step further in this year’s ABP Competition after Andrew and his team have reached the final for a consecutive year – we wish the boys all the very best in the competition!

The Irish A-A Association AGM is set to take place this Saturday at the Mullingar Park Hotel at 2pm. The AGM will be followed by a presentation on the Association’s ‘Three Year Plan’ – make sure to get yourself along, where new initiatives and events are to be discussed for the coming year.

The highly anticipated Stirling February Bull Sales took place on the 3^rd and 4^th of February. In what was a magnificent event for our breed, the Aberdeen-Angus sale saw 88 bulls sell to a top price of 25,000gns, a 10,000gns increase on the same event in 2018. Overall average for bulls was up £141 at £5,887 with a clearance rate of 74%. Topping the sale at 25,000gns was April 2014-born bull from the Gordon Brooke Estate Linton Gilbertines Elgin T149. Congratulations and well done to all those who participated in both the sale and the pre-sale show.

The first Irish Aberdeen-Angus Sale of 2019 took place at Carrick-On-Shannon, Co. Leitrim last weekend. There was a large entry of over 80 Aberdeen-Angus bulls which attracted good interest from buyers throughout the day with a clearance rate of just over 60% (up from 50% at this sale last year). The best price of the day came from Molloy David T246, exhibited by Brian Faughnan, Clooncarne, Bornacoola, Co Leitrim who sold for €4200.

The Dungannon Show and Sale also took place this week on 12^th February, where the overall breed champion was Hylda Mills and B Johnston’s Dartrey Viscount CID T655. You can read more details about this event and many more over on the Society website.

To keep up with all other news from the Society as well as all the latest updates from shows, sales and other events, just head over to the appropriate sections on our website. Also make sure to check out how you can get involved with the YDP this year with new vacancy opportunities arising – details of these vacancies are available at: http://aberdeen-angus.co.uk/news/vacancies-national-and-regional-co-ordinators-for-the-aberdeen-angus-youth-development-programme/

News and features: http://aberdeen-angus.co.uk/news/

Show and Sales news: http://aberdeen-angus.co.uk/news/show-and-sales/

News and notices from the CEO

• The February Bull sales marked my first year in office at the Society and I don’t know where the time has gone. The new year has started with me picking up with things that have already been done and the veil of mystery about what is coming next has been partially lifted!
• It was great to meet so many of you at Stirling and to catch up, to those who I didn’t see, I will be around the show circuit this summer so hopefully that will give anyone the opportunity to put their points to me.
• The AGM was held on the Sunday of the Stirling Bull Sales and it was great to welcome the new President, congratulate the Past President for her years in office and also to welcome three new members to the Council. I look forward to the coming year at the Society where we can move forward in a positive manner and take our breed and membership to a new and exciting era.
• Thanks to all the team at Pedigree House that contributed to the success of the show and sale, the three-day event has a lot of behind the scenes work that sometimes doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. My hat goes off to them all for what was a great event!
• The sale although it got off to a slightly sticky start gained some momentum and If I had been offered the outcome the night before I think I would have taken it.
• I’ve been in the office for a couple of days catching up then I’ve been on a trip over to Ireland. Thanks to Mack Crowe and Katheryn Bradshaw for orchestrating a trip for me including the proposed venue for the YDP finals weekend later this year.
• Really interesting visit to Oliver Haugh who is running just over 200 head of pedigree Aberdeen-Angus as commercial sucklers. Oliver is an engineer by trade and applies a number of transferable skills to his cattle enterprise. Cow size being one that sticks out! A smaller car takes less fuel to run and so does a cow! A smaller car emits less co2 than a larger one. Hopefully we can include an article from Oliver in the Summer edition of the Cud!
• This was followed by a visit to Albert and Jen De Cogan down in Cork, this included a look round the buildings and cattle in Mogeely, followed by a very warm welcoming meal and a chat about all things Society. Great to see two people who are enthusiastic and positive about the future of the Society.
• We are still working hard on the YDP re-build and we should be moving that forward quickly so that we can facilitate workshops this year. If you are happy to hold a workshop and spare the time and cattle for a day don’t hesitate to let us know.
• YDP continues and the Senior Conference kindly sponsored by Dunbia takes place next weekend over in Cheshire. Our YDP chair has put in a huge effort to pull this together and the content is both of a practical and technical nature, it is also a venture beyond the farm gate with an explanation of the make up and break up of a carcass.
• Irish Aberdeen-Angus Association AGM is on Saturday and we look forward to meeting some more of the Southern Ireland Breeders
• We have been preparing for the first Council meeting of the new year with pretty full agendas for all committees under the leadership of incoming President, Paul Jeenes
• Office has been hit with a bout of illness this last week which has left us a bit shorthanded at times and we hope that everyone returns to full fitness as soon as possible.
• It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks and we look forward to bringing updates in due course!

Notes and actions from Laura Stewart

• The next Council meeting will be held on 6th March – any member wishing to raise any points with Council should do so through their local Council representative in advance of the meeting
• Following the recent AGM, we welcome new Council members Hendrik Rennie (Scotland North), Andrew Hodge (Scotland South) and Will Chrystal (England and Wales North) – please have a look at the new Council list on the website to see the changes in the Presidential team and to find your local representative: http://aberdeen-angus.co.uk/the-society/the-council/
• Preparation for the 2019 events and shows which the Society has a presence at continues with many show stands spaces booked and the infrastructure in place.

News and Notices from the Pedigree Cattle Services Team

• Breedplan active cow lists for 2019 have now been sent out, it would be appreciated if members could return these by Friday 29th March.
• It is coming up to scanning time for a lot of the herds and a very busy time for the scanners, please ensure you book in with them in plenty of time so they can fit you in when in your area.

Shows, Sales and Events

Key upcoming events are shown below:

YDP Senior Conference

• 22^nd – 24^th February: Location – Crew Nantwich Premier Inn

Royal Northern Spring Show and Sale

• 27^th February: Thainstone Agricultural Centre

Merchandise

Keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks as we look forward to bringing you new merchandising options for the whole membership!

SAVE THE WORLD!

With the hot topic of plastic reduction, what better way to help the cause as well as showing your love for the breed than by purchasing an Aberdeen-Angus branded bag for life. You can purchase one for as little as £3!

You can purchase by phoning the office directly. Speak to Yvonne who can deal with and dispatch your orders for all our merchandise. You can pay over the phone by card or simply add it to your next invoice. Full range of merchandise available to view online at: https://www.aberdeen-angus.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/attachments/Merchandise-poster-2018-web.pdf

From all at the Society, have a great weekend!