A club formed in 1946 to get the latest research into farmers’ hands is still doing exactly that. Matt Gue, Chair of the British Cattle Breeders Club (BCBC), joined Andrew and Sarah to explain what the club stands for and why beef and dairy breeders keep learning from each other. Matt is a vet whose family are behind the well-known Huddlestone Holsteins in West Sussex, and he was clear that the conference is for farmers: research that can be used on farm now, not pie in the sky.

The 2027 conference, Breeding for a Brighter Future, runs from 25 to 27 January at the Telford Hotel & Golf Resort. Matt previewed a Beef Day focused on feed efficiency, with Lee Leachman coming over from the US to talk about Stabilizer cattle. Dairy Day is built around breeding for better cow outcomes, from heat stress in dairy housing to using trimming data to tackle lameness. This year’s Monday afternoon workshop is run by the British Embryo Transfer Association and covers getting started with embryo transfer and getting more from an existing programme. Matt makes the case that ET still carries a stigma as a tool for pedigree breeders, when it has a real commercial place.

The conversation also covers genetic diversity and creeping inbreeding, why phenotype data still matters, and Matt’s view that the next five years will blow the last fifteen out of the water, from gene editing to using TB test results as breeding data.

Conference details and booking are at www.cattlebreeders.org.uk/conference/

This episode was recorded remotely in September 2026, and all information was correct at the time of recording. Please note this transcript was generated using AI transcription software. Despite best efforts to ensure accuracy, there may be some errors in the final piece.

Would you consider embryo transfer for a commercial herd?

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