“There’s no such thing as the perfect breed,” says Clive Brown, operations manager of the Beef Shorthorn Society, “but the Shorthorn is probably as close to perfect as you can get right now.”
As the former head of AHDB’s Beef and Lamb Knowledge Exchange, Clive had good insight into the direction of travel within the beef sector before he moved to the society in 2021.
“Right now, it’s simply the right breed for a growing number of farmers,” Clive explained. “The natural traits of the Beef Shorthorn are in very close alignment with what the market wants, and that’s driving soaring demand. It’s an exciting time to be involved.”
It’s quite a turnaround for the breed. Originating in the North-East of England in the 1800s, the Shorthorn is the oldest pedigree breed in the world, but like many native breeds, it fell out of favour in the 1970s and 80s as continental breeds dominated.
Beef Shorthorn
Today, the Beef Shorthorn is seeing a resurgence. Now the fastest growing native breed in the UK, growth has been driven by market demand for high quality beef from low input systems.
Recognised for its maternal traits – fertile, easy calving, milky and docile – the Beef Shorthorn has long been considered an excellent suckler cow and an excellent cross to improve milkiness and temperament.
Known within the industry as ‘the great improver’, the Shorthorn has been enormously influential in the developing other cattle breeds, with more than 40 different breeds of cattle now incorporating Shorthorn genetics.
Its versatility makes it suitable for a wide variety of modern day beef systems and its environmental sustainability traits are driving new demand – great foragers, hardy and highly feed efficient, the Beef Shorthorn is ideally suited to today’s sustainability-conscious buyer.
Last year saw the Beef Shorthorn Society celebrate its bicentenary but its focus is firmly fixed on the future. Building on the success of established beef schemes, such as Morrisons in the UK and Glenarm in NI, is helping to grow commercial interest in Beef Shorthorn, and a new National Herd Award launched last year celebrates excellence in the breed.
The society is also investing in data gathering and performance measurements, while a new series of breed Development Days are nurturing skills and facilitating knowledge sharing within the membership.
Clive added: “By working together with our board, our members and our commercial partners, we will support the sustainability, adaptability, resilience and the productivity of our breed to secure a bright and successful future for Beef Shorthorn over the next 200 years.”
For more information about the Beef Shorthorn, including shows, sales and beef scheme details, visit www.beefshorthorn.org.
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