New Elections at Holstein UK

On Wednesday 1^st July, at the Holstein UK Annual General Meeting (AGM), the Society elected a new President and two members to the Board of Trustees. Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions in place, it was not possible to hold the AGM as part of the annual Holstein UK Celebration as in previous years, therefore it was streamed online to registered members instead.

Robert Clare (Hawksmoor) Elected as Holstein UK President

As part of the meeting, we said a fond farewell to Bryan Thomas of the Gelliddu herd who stood down from his 12 month post as Holstein UK President. Holstein UK are delighted to welcome new President Robert Clare of the Hawksmoor herd to the Society.

Robert Clare is a highly respected member of the Shropshire Club and has been a dedicated member of the Society for over 50 years. At Club level, Robert has previously held the appointments of Shropshire Holstein Club President and Club Chairman.

Robert was born at Hawksmoor, near Market Drayton, Shropshire, where he grew up and took over the running of the Hawksmoor herd 52 years ago. Hawksmoor have been Champion Herd of the Shropshire Club for eight consecutive years, 2011 – 2018, and were reserve National Champion Herd in 2017. Robert has judged County Herd Competitions in Devon, Staffordshire, Cheshire, South Wales, Derbyshire, The Midlands and Scotland.

Commenting on the change of Presidency, Michael Smale, Holstein UK Chairman, said: “Thank you to our retiring President Bryan Thomas and all of his family for the considerable time they have given to the Society over the past 12 months. We have been honoured to have someone who is so highly respected as our President. I must also congratulate Robert on his new appointment and I would like to wish him all the best for the forthcoming year”.

Retiring from The Holstein UK Board

Following the end of their second terms on the Board of Trustees, Stephen Brough has stood down from representing the Northern region and Aled Jones has stood down from representing North Wales.

Commenting, Michael Smale said; “I would like to thank both Stephen and Aled for their work, expertise and experience they have given to the Board over the past eight years. Having both been elected on to the Board in 2011, they have now finalised two four year terms and have been fantastic advocates of both the breed and the Society”.

New Trustee Appointments

Andrew Williamson (Ingleden) for Northern region

Andrew farms in partnership with his wife and son in Cumbria. The Ingleden herd consists of 200 cows and 180 youngstock and has seen success in the show ring, most recently at last year’s ABAB Calf Show, where they won the Calf Championship. Andrew’s aim is to represent the membership in his area and he hopes to drive the Society forward in all areas of technical innovation whilst becoming more relevant to the commercial dairy farmer.

William Williams (Clwch) for North Wales region

Based in Anglesey, William established his Clwch herd in 1992 with 25 cows. The family now milk 200 cows and last year won Holstein UK’s Master Breeder award. William is passionate about developing and promoting the Holstein breed and is looking forward to maintaining good communication links between the Society and its members.

Peter Prior (Designer) and Wallace Gregg (Frocess) were re-elected into their second term of office.