French visitors cast their eyes over best of British genetics
French visitors cast their eyes over best of British genetics
By Shelley Wright
A PARTY of 12 visitors from the main dairy farming areas of France visited DairyScot in Edinburgh last week, hoping that they might, someday soon, again be able to import British genetics.
The dairy farmers, from Brittany, Normandy and the Champagne region, also used their time to visit dairy farms in the west of Scotland.
It was, said Brian Bolton of Sersia France – the export marketing arm of French co-op AI units – a chance for the farmers to see how things were done in Britain and to use that as a benchmark for their own production systems.
"The French will go anywhere in the world to bring the best genetics back to their own breeding programmes," Mr Bolton said.
Although not many embryos from British dairy cattle had been exported to France before the March 1996 export ban, there had been a lot of genetic progress in the UK since then and French breeders were now keen to import, he added. The identification and traceability systems now operating in the UK also met French buyers requirements.
But, unfortunately, there were few signs that the UK government had any plans to submit proposals to Brussels to seek a removal on the ban on semen and embryo exports, Mr Bolton added.
The producers at DairyScot emphasised that they wanted to see an end to the wranglings between London and Paris about British beef. "They recognise the importance of restoring a normal trade in beef," Mr Bolton said. "The political mêlée surrounding British beef is affecting them as much as it is producers in Britain. It damages trade for everyone."
French producers were also keen to start importing British dairy bull calves again. Calf rearers across the Channel had suffered as a result of the BSE-related ban on British exports, having to source their calves elsewhere only to be faced, then, with a total collapse in consumer confidence in veal and beef.
"That is another reason why these farmers want an end to the difficulties between UK and French governments," Mr Bolton said. "They recognise the important impact on consumer confidence that restoring free trade throughout Europe will have."
He said that details about BSE controls the UK industry had put in place since March 1996 were almost unknown across the rest of Europe. There was a need for government and industry to get the message across that every measure possible was in place to protect human health.