Crawfords strike major
deal with ASDA
07/06/2008
ASDA slashes the price of world-class semen
for its beef farmers
ASDA’s beef farmers are being offered semen
from one of the worlds most highly regarded Limousin
bulls, with a massive 62.5% discount on price.
 |
| Left to right; Stephen
Crawford, Jim Viggars ASDA's senior beef
buyer, Raymond Crawford and Pearce Hughes
ASDA's agricultural development manager |
Working in partnership with long term partners,
Anglo Beef Processors (ABP), ASDA is offering
semen from the renowned Limousin bull, Sauvignon,
owned by the highly reputable Northern Irish
pedigree cattle breeders, the Crawford Brothers,
who run the Rathkeeland herd of pedigree Limousin
cattle. At the Paris show last year, Sauvignon
was not only crowned European Limousin Male Champion
but also European Limousin Carcass Champion and
European Limousin Progeny Champion. Sauvignon
also picked up the 2007 ASDA Supreme Beef championship
at the Great Yorkshire Show.
Commenting, Peace Hughes, Agricultural Development
Manager at ASDA said: “Earlier this year
through our BeefLink scheme, ASDA set out clear
market signals regarding the criteria of beef
that we are ideally looking to obtain, E and
U grades, 2/3 fat class with a weight range of
300-380Kg, by rewarding suppliers with a new
10p/Kg ‘Extra Special’ bonus. This
latest, unique initiative will help our farmers
provide us with this quality of cattle.”
To date, Sauvignon has only been affordable to
pedigree breeders, but ASDA has now made the
bull’s semen realistically priced for its
commercial producers. A typical semen straw normally
costs £20, but through ASDA’s new
scheme, Sauvignon straws are available at the
reduced price of just £7.50.
This latest ASDA BeefLink initiative ties in
with the high welfare artificial insemination
training courses, being held by the supermarket
in conjunction with Cogent, during which ASDA
beef and dairy farmers are given a master class
in insemination using a new prosthetic cow from
Australia.
It also links to ASDA’s endorsement of
sexed semen - Sauvignon is the first Limousin
bull in the world, and the first beef bull in
the UK, from which sexed semen is available.
Sexing semen is a technology pioneered by Cogent
Breeding and a process now so accurate that it
can guarantee over 90% of all sperm in a straw
are female. ASDA has been promoting the technology
to its dairy farmers for some time, but is now
also encouraging its beef farmers to exploit
this technology to breed top quality replacements
for their herds. By using sexed semen over maiden
heifers beef farmers can help protect the welfare
of their herd. Heifer calves weigh on average
5 – 10Kg less than their male counterparts
and make for an easier first birth.
“Despite Sauvignon’s size and muscling,
farmers using him across their herds in Ireland
have been surprised at how easy calving he is,
with many using him successfully over heifers.
Having access to affordable semen from the current
European Carcass and Progeny Champion will give
our producers the chance to improve the quality,
efficiency and long term profitability of their
herds. It’s also great that we are able
to offer our farmers semen from the bull who
reigned supreme in the class sponsored by ASDA
at what we regard as our local event, the Great
Yorkshire Show.” said Pearce.
To place an order or for more information about
the scheme, farmers interested should phone the
ABP Livestock Department on 0121 717 2550 or
email livestockadmin@anglobeef.com
NB: The maximum order is 20 semen straws per order.
| Crawfords making a delivery
to Asda's Enniskillen branch under the guidance
of store manager Peter Beckett. |
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