Stabiliser project aims to set an example

THE NORTH West Stabiliser Project, backed by £375,000 of grant aid, has been launched in the north-west of England to promote the Stabiliser as a sustainable suckler cow.

Within three years it will establish 15 nucleus Stabiliser herds across the counties of Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, with plans to develop the supply chain and branding opportunities.

The project was launched last Friday (Aug 5) at Low Foulshaw, Levens, Kendal, where project board chairman John Geldard runs 25 head of pure Stabilisers.

The unit will be used as a practical demonstration farm to illustrate opportunities to reduce production costs and improve outputs from the suckler herd.

Mr Geldard said while beef producers in the UK could not compete with the cheapest in the world, they could deliver top quality beef.

“It’s in the wake of CAP reforms that we as farmers have got to recognise the cost of production.

Now we have got the funding to help farmers at grass roots level to learn about the technology which has been invested in the USA and New Zealand into this composite beef breed,” he said.