This year will see the return of the Stars of the Future Calf Show to United Auctions, Stirling on Saturday the 11th of November. Carol Rettie sheds some light on the background and benefits of the Calf Show.
“Originally held at Forfar Auction Mart, the Stars of the Future Calf Show was first launched in 2009 before moving to the United Auctions, Stirling in 2014.
The initiative was set up to provide a show piece for cattle which couldn’t be shown in the summer due to age and has the added advantage that the next year’s show cattle are already broken in – once a calf is trained for a calf show, it’s haltered for life!
Aberdeen-Angus cattle are one of eight breeds that are showcased at the Stars of the Future Calf Show. This year the Aberdeen-Angus section will be judged by Dallas Allen an Aberdeen-Angus Council member and renowned stockbreeder from Alnwick, Northumberland.
The advantage of showing at calf shows for any breed is that it gives breeders the chance to showcase their animals and promote their herd. There are also no real extra costs as the calves are ready to show off their mothers.
As well as being a great opportunity for the breeds and breeders, the show is also a great place for Aberdeen-Angus members and young enthusiasts to learn how to show as calves are easier to break in and much easier to handle for first timers. There is a young handlers class within each breed section, where the winners of each section go head to head against each other, in either the junior or senior age group. The junior and senior champions of each breed then go on to compete in the native or continental senior and junior interbreeds.
An interbreed pairs competition was introduced in 2015 in memory of Joe Watson, an agricultural journalist, whereby a breeder can enter as many pairs as they like. It looks quite spectacular when they are all out in the ring together!
Calf shows also enable spectators to follow any young calves they have an interest in from a young age to sale and therefore acts as a great ‘shop window’ for Aberdeen-Angus breeders who may have an interest in selling or buying young stock. As a result, a number of breeders have sold animals for substantial sums.
These shows act as a great platform for the Aberdeen-Angus breed. People get a lot of fun out of showing calves and once they’re broken in they can then be entered for other calf shows, allowing even more people get to see what type of cattle you’re breeding.”
There is free entry for spectators at this year’s show, and the entry fee is £15 per calf entry, per class.
Entries close on the 20th October and entry forms & BVD forms are available to download from the Aberdeen-Angus website, under breeders resources.
We hope to see you at this year’s Stars of the Future Calf show and everyone is welcome!