Waikato Farmer at Helm of

World Hereford Council again

Jan Wills, from Matamata,
New Zealand

MATAMATA based Hereford breeder Jan Wills has been given a world wide vote of confidence, being re-elected the World Hereford Council secretary general for the second consecutive term.

The re-election occurred at the 15th World Hereford Council (WHC) conference held in Copenhagen in July.

Jan who has been at the helm of world Herefords for the past four years said she is proud and honoured to represent Herefords world wide.

Jan has three goals for her second term as secretary general. As chairman of the management committee of the Hereford Global Evaluation research project, she is very keen to see the research reach a conclusion which will ultimately benefit all Hereford breeders. The Animal Genetic Breeding Unit (AGBU) in Armidale Australia has been carrying out a feasibility study for global evaluation for the breed for the past four years and Jan must now ensure that the results can be converted into a user friendly programme for Hereford breeders. Jan’s other priorities will be to continue growing the profile of the WHC and further the involvement of young Hereford breeders in the WHC.

 She said the Hereford breed is flourishing globally, especially in Europe, but sadly many of those countries where numbers are expanding are not members of the WHC.
 
Jan attributes part of the growth in Hereford numbers to the fuel crisis. Many of the larger exotic breeds take a lot more feeding than the gentle and feed efficient Hereford.

 “This has played into the hands of Herefords because it is an efficient converter of any fodder to beef.”

“Numbers of registered Hereford cows is increasing in every WHC member country.”

“Efficiency and environmental factors are more prevalent. Traits Hereford are strong in,” said Jan.

Jan would like to see the involvement of young Hereford breeders in the WHC grow. Her desire to see more youth involved is driven by feedback she has received from young participating breeders.

“The young breeders that attended this year enjoyed it and couldn’t understand why more young people don’t go.” All WHC member countries have active youth programmes designed to groom the upcoming breeders and leaders of the breed and are active with their younger breeders.

The New Zealand Hereford community also stands to benefit from her time at the top of World Herefords.

“Inevitably where ever I go we talk about New Zealand and our Herefords, our association, what we are doing and how we are placed. NZ is constantly getting exposure throughout my travels.”

President of the New Zealand Hereford Association John Morrison says Jan is extremely popular among breeders the world over, a result of her ability to be able to communicate with everyone, despite the fact English is not the first language of many WHC countries.

“In her first term Jan put a lot of effort into developing communication links with the WHC member countries,” said John. A move that has seen her become the face of World Herefords.

“Certainly in the eyes of overseas Hereford breeders she is the face NZ Herefords and this is having a positive spin off for our cattle and tourism as people want to visit NZ to see for themselves,” said John.

Jan and husband Barrie, have bred Herefords since 1968, and were involved with the South Auckland Hereford club since its inception. She was elected the first female councilor to the board of the New Zealand Hereford Association and went on to be the first female president of the association as she was also first chairwoman (and only to date) of New Zealand Performance Beef Breeders and is currently a director of the  successful company Hereford Prime NZ Ltd.

The 15th World Hereford Conference was recently hosted in Copenhagen by four Scandinavian counties (Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark) and included a two day conference and delegates meeting in conjunction with pre and post farm tours.

“NZ is now very proactive on the Council which has 17 different member countries.” Jan said other participating countries were very interested in what NZ is doing particularly in an unsubsidised economy where Herefords play an important role in the beef industry.

Environmental issues are big in Europe and NZ is seen as having made great progress and making every endeavour to comply with environmental issues without subsidies and without extensive legislation being enforced.

“We were applauded for our sustainable farming with environmental demands and doing it without subsidies.”

The conference was littered with guest speakers from New Zealand including, Ballance Farm Environment Award Winner and farming advocate John Aspinall of Mt Aspiring Station, Bill Gallagher from the Gallagher Group, Nick Beeby from Meat and Wool NZ, John McEwan of AgResearch and Laurie Paterson Gore Hereford breeder and chairman of New Zealand Hereford Prime.

Thirty-five NZ breeders attended the conference along with the pre and post tours taking in farms and other agricultural events.

Jan said the address given by John Aspinall, backed up by Alec Jack (a former Ballance Farm Environment Award winner from Northland) was very well received along with the addresses made by Bill Gallagher on world trade and the common agricultural policy and John McEwan on DNA developments

Internationally, an address by a UK based Nuffield scholar Robert Parker who travelled examining beef breed production was enlightening. Two other international speakers spoke about research highlighting the Hereford strengths in temperament and longevity.

“I’m extremely proud that so many New Zealanders supported the pre and post tours and the hospitality we received was impressive,” said Jan. “And I feel a great deal of pride when I see NZ Hereford genetics in use around the world and I know my fellow Hereford breeders feel the same.”

Further coverage of the conference can be found on the World Hereford website www.herefords.com

* The WHC conference occurs once every four years and is scheduled for Calgary, Canada in 2012.

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