THE new president of the British Charolais Cattle Society is Billy Turner, the well-known breeder from Ripon.

One of his main priorities for his 12-month term of office is promotion of the breed and he plans to ensure British Charolais is firmly repositioned on the international and home front.

"British Charolais semen and embryo trading is at last being restored with some of the leading international producers of beef, thanks to the gradual lifting of our export bans," he said.

"I'm very focused on continuing to revive that interest in Charolais and I plan to travel in the coming 12 months to a number of countries, including Brazil, to open more doors, as well as being host to inward missions seeking out our quality cattle."

Mr Turner said British genetics were second to none and, despite the adversities of the last decade, Britain was still regarded as the stockyard of the world.

"And I sincerely believe Britain breeds the most correct Charolais," he said. "British Charolais have the ability to leave calves with that stylish quality and exceptional weight for age."

Mr Turner, who established the renowned Brampton herd more than 30 years ago, has long experience of exporting cattle, including to Brazil, South Africa and the Republic of Ireland, and then following their progress.

"I've visited agricultural shows in a number of countries and seen Brampton lines among the prize winning cattle," he said.

Back home at Skelton on Ure, the 100-cow pedigree Brampton herd has achieved a number of milestones. Apart from countless exported progeny, Brampton has bred the Perth champion on three different occasions and the supreme Royal award winner a handful of times. It has also successfully sent forward two entries to the MLC's young bull promotion scheme, including Brampton Chopper, which has had a profound effect on improving muscle traits within the breed.

Today the herd is managed on a day-to-day basis by Mr Turner's daughter, Sarah and it is the younger generation he also wants to encourage and support during his presidency.

"These youngsters are our future," he said. "We have a lot of young Charolais enthusiasts and I think they should have more recognition. I suggest we start by awarding a certificate to each one who makes it to the Royal and takes part in our annual judging competition."

He is convinced Charolais also face bright prospects on the home front. "For starters, there are changes to the OTMS on the horizon which, in the longer term, can only be good news for Charolais cattle," he said. "We are expecting the breed to return rapidly to its leading position in the cull market.

"Equally important will be CAP reform proposals and decoupling. They will give flexibility to commercial beef producers to market their cattle at the required finishing weight without keeping them on to receive the second BSP payment, which has proved necessary to improve their unit's margin. It's those highly efficient, fast maturing Charolais cross calves that will be guaranteed to reach target weight faster than any other crossbred animal."