PORTRUSH beef and arable farmer James Taylor has been appointed to the AgriSearch Beef Advisory Committee as an independent member.
Currently serving as YFCU vice president James became a very active member of Coleraine Club in 2005 on completing an honours degree in agriculture at Harper Adams University College, Shropshire.
At home the family farming business uses 550 acres to
finish 600 beef cattle per year alongside potato and arable enterprises. There is also a suckler herd of 60 stabiliser cows contracted as a nucleus multiplier for the Stabiliser Cattle Company.
Welcoming James on to the beef advisory committee Harry Sinclair said the open minds and enthusiasm of youth are vital in any industry yet often lacking in the agricultural sector.
"Young minds are especially vital in the research needed to take Northern Ireland's most important industry forward.
"Those serving on dairy, sheep and beef advisory committees help the AgriSearch Board of Trustees decide which applied research projects to support. Opportunities to help keep our farms competitive simply cannot be missed nor wasted so the voluntary help of committee members is vital."
As chair of the YFCU Agri Affairs Committee since 2009 James is already well acquainted with the 15 beef research projects supported by the industry through AgriSearch.
While an undergraduate at Harper Adams University College he enjoyed a one year work placement on a large beef and sheep farm at Taranaki, New Zealand, a nation whose successful farming industry attracts large numbers of young people and invests heavily in R & D.
Having represented the YFCU at the Oxford Farming Conference this past two years James is now planning to attend Young Farmers international events this summer in Latvia and Sweden
More immediately he is looking forward to the suckler event at Glenwherry, the Greenmount College Hill Farm, on Thursday, July 1 from 2-8pm when farmers will see lessons learned during AgriSearch supported trials producing extra income from a suckler herd.
The Greenmount Hill Farm at 62c Glenhead Rd, Glenwherry BT42 4RF is sign posted off the Ballymena to Larne line.
Details of beef, sheep and dairy research projects part funded by AgriSearch can be accessed at www.agrisearch.org or by calling (028) 8778 9770.
