Welsh Blacks leave the green valleys

Sixteen pedigree Welsh Black Cattle have left the green green grass of home to join Denmark's first pedigree Welsh Black Cattle herd.

Last year 18 females and one bull were exported to the Bikubenfonden Foundation directed by Mr Henning Skovlund, forming the first pedigree herd of Welsh Black cattle in Denmark.  Mr Skovlund was so impressed with the cattle and their first crop of calves he returned in 2008 to purchase another 15 females and one bull.

Each year Denmark has chosen polled Welsh Black bulls from the Rhuddel Herd owned by Colin and Rhian Evans, Nant-y-Moch, Gwynfe, Llangadog, Carmarthenshire.  The females were purchased from the Castell Herd (10 heifers), the Graig-Goch Herd (four heifers) and the Rhuddel Herd (one heifer).

Four heifers are also set for new homes across the English channel. Three different farmers from Germany have bought three heifers from the Rhaeadr Herd and one heifer from the Rhuddel Herd.

Both countries are attracted to polled Welsh Black genetics and those cattle bred on organic holdings which have great emphasis on environmental grazing.

Charmian Middleton of the Rhaeadr herd said:

"Thirty four years on, three more descendants of our original major show-winning families have moved east to Germany. This includes the great, great, great, great granddaughter of Royal Welsh Show champion Welsh Queenie 6^th SR, whose daughter Rhaeadr Queenie and her young daughter Rhaeadr Candida, were exported to Canada in 1974.  I wish their new owners every success with them as they are from very prolific long-lived ancestors."

Chief Executive, Andrew James, said:

 'We're delighted to know that the cattle have served our European farmers well and they, in turn, have travelled to Wales to purchase more of our bloodlines'.