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WelshBlack Cattle Society President for 2012
Mrs. Elizabeth Rees of Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd, Ruthin, Denbighshire was elected President of the Welsh Black Cattle Society at this year’s annual general meeting.  Beth, as she is known as by most people, and her husband, Tony, bought their first pedigree Welsh Black cow in 1984 and joined the Society in 1985 when their first pedigree calf was born. This was the beginning of the ‘Rhys’ herd. ‘It seemed the obvious choice when we were deciding which cattle to keep. It’s not just a coincidence that the Welsh Black is the only native breed of Wales. They have earned that accolade because they are the animal best suited to the climate, the terrain and the grassland of Wales, and we have never regretted that decision’ she said.
Beth and Tony had some success showing, but with Tony having a full time career apart from farming, it was not easy and so, to add value to the herd and because it never pays to hide ones head in the sand, when the Welsh Black Society decided to be the first Breed Society to tackle the problem of Johnes’ Disease by participating in the Premium Cattle Health Scheme, the Rhys herd was tested for all four major cattle diseases: Johnes, B.V.D., I.B.R. and Leptospira Hardjo and, in 2001, the Rhys herd was the first Welsh Black Herd to become ‘Elite’. It could now be the longest standing Elite herd in the country.
Beth has been a member of the Welsh Black Cattle Society Council for Denbighshire for nearly twelve years and is on several sub- committees. She is also the Bio-Security Officer of the Denbighshire and Flintshire Agricultural Show and a member of the Management and livestock committees of the show. She was also a member of the Organic Strategy Group, part of the Agri-Food Partnership in Wales, for five years until it was disbanded under the Welsh Government’s re-organisation.
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Photo available, contact welshblack@btclick.com or rhysWBC@aol.com