At the Holstein UK Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 26 th June, Holstein UK elected a new President, Nick Helyer, and a new trustee, Iain McLean. The AGM was held as
part of the Holstein UK Celebration event, at the Blunsdon House Hotel, Wiltshire.
Upon ending his twelve-month term, Holstein UK President Andrew Jones of the Rossett herd was given a fond farewell and thanked for his service. Nicholas Helyer of the Clampitt herd was elected to the position of President of Holstein UK, and it is with great pleasure that the society welcomes him on board.
For many years, Nick has been an avid and loyal member of Holstein UK, he has witnessed the society’s evolution into a strong, influential, and cohesive organisation.
Together with his family, Nick established the Clampitt herd in 1965 with the purchase of a few bulling heifers. Located within 561 hectares, the milking herd has since grown to 230 cows yielding 11,149 litres at 4.22% butterfat and 3.28% protein per year on twice-day milking. The cows are housed all year round and fed on a ration of maize, lucerne and grass silages.
Nick attended agricultural college in the sixties and has been a member of the black and white societies since 1965. In the past, Nick has been President and Chairman of the South and Wiltshire Holstein Club, as well as Chairman of Salisbury NFU and Salisbury Discussion Club. Nick was elected onto the Holstein UK Board of Trustees in 2004 serving his eight year term until 2012, Nick also sat on the CIS Board from 2007 to 2012, holding the position of Chairman in his last two years.
Nick has continued to be involved with the breed ever since, not only within the confines of his own herd but also within the breed society itself. Nick has always been a champion of the breed society and well known for helping others through his thoughts and ideas and knowledge sharing. With Nick’s passion for furthering the development of the breed, he always finds time to engage with his counterparts. Nick and his wife, Topsy, look forward to meeting members and devoting their time to the
society over the next twelve months.
As he reflected on the change of presidency, Wallace Gregg, outgoing Holstein UK Chairman, stated: “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Andrew Jones and his family for their time and dedication to Holstein UK over the past year. Throughout his tenure as President, Andrew has attended numerous society, club, and industry events with his wife Jenny. It has been a pleasure for all of us to have Andrew at the helm of the society. I would also like to wish Nick all the very best in his new role over the coming year.”
Retiring from the Holstein UK Board
Wallace Gregg has stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and representative of Northern Ireland after serving his second term on the board. Commenting, Steve Hill incoming Holstein UK Chairman said; “Wallace has been a tremendous asset to the Board and I appreciate the expertise and experience he has brought to the table. He has been an excellent advocate for the breed and the Society since he was elected to the Board in 2018, especially in his role as Chairman over the past year. On behalf of Holsteion UK and the board of trustees I would like to express our sincere gratitude to him.”
Trustee Appointments
Steve Hill has taken over as Holstein UK Chairman following Wallace Gregg’s departure from the Board. With his vision and leadership, Steve, who has represented the North Midlands region since 2019, will help the trustees to drive the Society forward. The North Wales representative William Williams (Clwch) and the Northern representative Andrew Williamson (Ingleden) have been re-elected for a second term.
Mr Iain McLean (Priestland) has been elected as a representative for Northern Ireland. Based on the north coast of Northern Ireland, near the Giant’s Causeway, Iain and his family own the Priestland herd which was established in 1911 and graded up to pedigree status in 1994. The herd is made up of 140 cows which milked twice a day through a 16:32 parlour, plus around 200 followers. Iain and his family have seen great success on the show circuit with a particular highlight being Priestland 5446 Shot J Rose taking the Champion Holstein title at the 2021 Balmoral Show. He hopes to explore ways in which the Society can help members utilise their information through the full range of services provided by the Society.
Holstein UK is a member-owned organisation aimed at assisting members in breeding profitable, robust and productive dairy cattle. Holstein UK is dedicated to innovation and quality and is driven to continuously improve the services offered. The charity is also the parent of two subsidiary companies, the Cattle Information Service (CIS) and the National Bovine Data Centre (NBDC) and is organiser of UK Dairy Day, an annual trade event for the dairy industry.
The CIS is the UK’s leading milk recording and health testing organisation operating a state-of-the-art laboratory. The National Bovine Data Centre (NBDC) exists to develop industry-leading analysis of data for the improvement of dairy production in the UK. UK Dairy Day is held annually in September, taking place at the International Centre, Telford on Wednesday September 11th, 2024.