The Role of a World Hereford Council Secretary General

What does a Secretary General do?

This is a question I have been asked many times and I must admit the role has always been a little vague for most of us. The World Hereford Council exists to promote Hereford breed excellence and to encourage world-wide trade of Hereford genetics. It all began in 1951 when there was concern that some Herefords being traded between countries were not directly traceable to the English Herd Book. A meeting was convened in Hereford, England on July 13th 1951 and the New Zealand representative at that meeting was Mr. R. Mead from Wakefield in Nelson.

The three items on the agenda were the international pedigree Hereford registration and acceptance, the international veterinary conference and the formation of a permanent council of world Hereford breed societies and associations. The meeting decided to form a permanent council to be known as the World Hereford Council. The object of the World Hereford Council was, and still is, the promotion of the interests of the Hereford breed throughout the world and to provide a medium for the settlement of any problems that may arise between member countries. The headquarters of such council was to be situated at the Hereford Herd Book Society, Great Britain.

In 1956 the World Hereford Council met in Buenos Aires and one of the topics was the universal standardization of veterinary tests between exporting and importing countries. This is one subject that has never been resolved by Council and probably never will be as health requirements and regulations varied between all countries and altered frequently in those days and the situation remains the same today.

A general policy for polled and horned Hereford cattle was a big issue at that conference and our representatives at that meeting were Mr. G. Speedy and Mr. F. Humphreys. Polled Hereford cattle numbers were increasing rapidly at that time and their acceptance was the subject of a lengthy debate. Mr. Humphreys' perseverance, patience and diplomacy was largely responsible for an amicable outcome which was that both horned and polled Hereford cattle should be considered as one breed. For the sake of easy reference, however, it was recommended that both horned and polled Herefords be designated separately in the records of the member countries, leaving the method of action in the hands of the societies concerned.

At that time it was assumed that the Secretary of the Hereford Herd Book Society would act as the Secretary for the World Hereford Council and any expenses incurred would be paid by member countries. At succeeding conferences the role of the Secretary altered and the title for the position became Secretary General of the World Hereford Council. Mr. Tony Morrison of England was the first Secretary General and his counsel on Hereford matters was greatly respected by Hereford breeders from all parts of the world. Gradually rules and regulations governing the World Hereford Council and its members were formalized and the role of the Secretary General more clearly defined. In 1968 the rule regarding the location of the headquarters of the Council was altered to read that the registered offices shall be situated with the Hereford Herd Book Society in Great Britain or wherever deemed necessary.

The significance of the alteration to that rule did not become apparent until 1984 when Mr Morrison advised delegates at the New Zealand World Conference that he would be retiring after the tenth World Conference in Spain in 1988. Mr Duncan Porteous was subsequently appointed as the World Secretary General and all the historic records of the World Hereford Council were shipped to Canada. Duncan managed a dual role combining his position as General Manager of the Canadian Hereford Society with that of the Secretary General of the World Hereford Council. Duncan's contribution to Herefords in Canada and to Herefords around the world has been immense.

Hereford House, in Hereford, England

Over the years the emphasis has moved away from rules and regulations to matters of more economic value for Herefords. Branded Hereford Beef, performance recording and research items have been topics of interest at conferences. An annual subscription is paid by member countries of the World Hereford Council and that revenue covers all administration services. The Secretary General manages the finances and presents annual reports to a financial committee at meetings or conferences.

Volumes of conference minutes and proceedings have been carefully bound and are to be kept for posterity. They were shipped from Canada and are now stored in New Zealand. Shifting the historic records to a new locality was relatively easy but I am quite sure that before the days of electronic communication it would have been quite impractical for a Secretary General to reside in Australasia. It is the view of the New Zealand Hereford Council that the Secretary General should be elected every four years and perhaps the locality of that Secretary General should be regionally rotated. This recommendation was put to delegates at the last meeting and will be fully discussed and voted upon at the next conference.

Hereford marketing and promotion are obvious responsibilities for the Secretary General and a web site promoting as many sires as are available from all member countries is one of the objectives of the Council. Collating research projects, beneficial to Hereford breeders is another objective and during the next four years the World Hereford Council plans to complete a global evaluation program for the Hereford breed. A meeting was convened in Kansas City in October 2004 and the schedule for the amalgamation of all the regional performance programs will be another responsibility for the Secretary General.

DNA and other technical advances, including the Global Evaluation program will increase the choices for registered Hereford breeders in the future. I feel confident that the Hereford breed has a major role to play in the growth of the beef industry and I look forward to the challenge of completing planned projects during my tenure as Secretary General of the World Hereford Council.

STORY: Jan Wills

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