A record year of pedigree sales grossing £6.36 Million; record registrations of just under 20,000 and up by 7.5%; membership of the Society at a record figure of 2932; and the Limousin breed leading the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) figures for a record fifteenth year in a row.
 |
| Jim Bloom |
These were just some of the highlights in an upbeat annual report delivered by British Limousin Cattle Society (BLCS) Chairman Jim Bloom to members at the Society’s 2011 Annual General Meeting. The AGM, in what is the 40th anniversary year of the breed and Society in the United Kingdom, was held at the Society’s Stoneleigh headquarters, Kenilworth, Warwickshire on Tuesday 7th July 2011.
In his third and final AGM address to members as Chairman, Mr. Bloom outlined the vision and purpose of the BLCS as the UK’s leading beef breed organisation. “It is our aim to deliver the highest level of core and practical value added services to members and customers, to drive breed improvement and produce cattle and products that meet the demands of the marketplace. We must continue to embrace new sciences and technologies to meet our technical objectives, to grow our knowledge and promote the breed at every level. Ultimately we must be commercially focussed on ensuring the means of profitability for our breeders and customers. I am delighted to report that 2010 was another tremendous year of success for the breed and Society and again was a progressive step toward meeting our vision,” he said.
 |
| Mary Reynolds |
In delivering the financial report for the year, BLCS Honorary Treasurer Mary Reynolds highlighted that 2010 had represented a difficult year for businesses, the national economy and, within that, the agricultural industry. In this setting, and with numbers in the national beef herd continuing to fall, she noted that the Limousin breed had still moved to new levels of attainment and growth in the year. Commenting she said; “the importance of this point is that in tough economic times breeders, suckler producers, feeders, processors and retailers, recognise and endorse the Limousin breed and brand for its quality, production and efficiency. Above all it continues to prove itself as the benchmark for reliability and essential profitability,” she said.
Mrs Reynolds reported to the meeting a summary of the main points of the financial year that reflected the Society’s strong performance.
- Total income for the period ended 31st December 2010 was £930,120, up by £69,987 on the year.
- Total expenditure was £724,167, up by £10,223 on the year which resulted in a positive surplus of income over expenditure for the year of £205,953 up by £59,764.
- Income from birth registration fees leveled at £626,446, up £57,755 and a record figure.
- Sale commission rose by 9%, up by £5,499, to a record total of £66,193.
- The total net movement in funds on the year was £312,172, an increase of £102,347 on the year.
In addition to the positive surplus of income over expenditure for the year, a figure of £106,219 in recognised gains on investment assets has led to the total net movement in funds on the year of £312,172. Mrs Reynolds noted that Semenstore Ltd, and Taurus AgriDirect Ltd, both wholly owned subsidiaries of Limousin Solutions Ltd had continued to trade strongly with profits being moved over and shown within the Society’s accounts.
The Chairman noted that the 40th anniversary year must serve to concentrate minds on the opportunities that lay ahead over the next decade and beyond. Investment in the £1.8Million carcase traits project along with Anglo Beef Processors and the Scottish Agricultural College would aim to improve carcase traits in cattle and deliver significant and increased returns to beef producers. This project, he stated, would also move the Society into the ‘new world’ of genetic sequencing and genomic estimated breeding values. These new tools such as DNA genotyping, had the potential to advance the rate of genetic improvement in cattle particularly in the most economically relevant performance traits. Mr. Bloom highlighted Feed Conversion Efficiency as a key ‘efficiency’ trait alone that delivered increased margin to producers who were looking at performance against costs. He noted that the BLCS Council would be continuing to develop its long range Breed Development Plan that would represent a major investment in the breed’s future and that would be an ‘absolute fit’ with the Society’s ongoing core purpose.
The 40th British Limousin Cattle Society AGM was held at the Society’s Stoneleigh based office after having moved around the UK regions in the preceding three years.
