President of British Limousin Cattle Society named as beef judge for College stockmanship competition

The chairman of the British Limousin Cattle Society, Yorkshire breeder Jim Bloom, has been selected as the beef judge at Bishop Burton Colleges 50^th Anniversary Stockmanship Competition.

The event wil be held at the College on Saturday 9th April and will give first and second year Further Education students the chance to prepare and show livestock as they would at a larger agricultural show.

Mr Bloom, who established a pedigree herd at Decoy Farm, Scorborough near Driffield, was delighted to accept the Colleges invitation.

He said: Its fantastic because its helping the new generation of farmers and as more experienced farmers its our duty to help them.

Im always interested in seeing how young farmers progress and I was always very grateful for the instruction I got when I was younger.

Mr Bloom began farming at Decoy over 50 years ago and has established a herd that has won many plaudits, including Carlisle Show & Sale Champion and a Reserve Supreme Champion at the Royal Show.

Jim has also sold bulls at Carlisle to over five figures. The Scorborough herd has approximately 40 breeding females and is currently run by Mr Blooms son Richard.

Jim was elected as chair of the British Limousin Cattle Society in 2008.

So what will Jim be looking for in the entrants on the day?

I will be looking to see how confident and skilful they are and how they approach the job, he said.

Handling livestock is largely about confidence. The animals can detect nerves so its not just about skill, its about confidence.

Agriculture lecturer Helen Martin believed My Bloom will bring an experts eye to the competition.

She said: Mr Bloom is a very well-respected beef farmer and showman and the students will definitely benefit from his advice and expertise.

Our newly erected beef unit means we have some very good animals to work with this year so it should be an excellent competition.