SO WHY CHOOSE BLONDES?
The Breeder appreciates the basic qualities and growth rates of these
cattle which enable them to produce strong, very well developed weaned
calves with good conformation resulting in maximum profit per cow.
The Fattener benefits from their good growth rates resulting in the
maximum yield of meat (particularly in the highest cuts) in the minimum
of time ie: profitable production.
The Butcher can, particularly, make full use of the excellent conformation
of the carcases which have the minimum of waste (fat, bone, etc) and a
high proportion of prime cuts.
Finally the Consumer appreciates the tenderness and flavour of beef
from stock specifically bred for producing healthy beef.
Because the breed (in France) became recognised as recently as 1961
it was subjected to rigorous testing and great use was made of Artificial
Insemination (AI) with some 40% of production being achieved using the
technique. The British Blonde Society has maintained close links with the
Blonde d'Aquitaine Herd Book in France and has had access to their genetics which has speeded the advance of the breed in the UK. The French breeding and evaluation programme is awesome to most UK breeders and is unlike anything available to Blonde breeders in the UK. Please contact the Blonde Office for more details of British Semen.
Some of our Blonde breeders have prepared for the future by qualifying better bulls for semen collection and hopefully exports, already a number of doses from British Blonde bulls have been exported to Australia and we have orders in the pipeline from Brazil, New Zealand.
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I just wanted to drop you a line about how well Blonde cross cattle are selling through the live "fat ring" right now which could be of interest to fellow breeders.
Beef prices are quite suppressed right now, but blondes are seeing a strong return in spite of this.
We have just started selling our spring beef at Salisbury Market as usual. Blondes are very well received at this market where their killing out percentage and quality of carcase is appreciated by both processor buyer, private butcher, and box beef suppliers.
Blondes consistently are within three animals of the top price throughout the year, and regularly top the market. There are a number of regular vendors of quality Blonde animals at Salisbury, and the auctioneer Ian Souter of Southern Counties Auctioneers openly supports the breed, promoting it whenever possible.
Four farms had Blonde cross cattle forward. This week saw Blonde sired cattle top three sections of the beef trade.
A Blonde cross topped the cow trade with a new "market top barren cow price" on a standard week. This beast beat all previous show weeks and commercial promotion weeks in Salisbury Market.
A pure blonde aged bull was well received to top the cull bull trade. They also topped the steer trade, and were second place in the heifer trade with animals under 24 months old.
Finally, a 22 month Blonde cross steer took the highest returning price on the day.
Eight animals grossed £12,893; we were delighted and would like to thank Southern Counties auctioneers for their support.
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Paul Thomas, Workingham, Berkshire.
