David Thomlinson appointed as honorary president of the British Limousin Cattle Society

Serving a two-year term of office, and becoming the society’s thirteenth honorary president in all, he takes over the reins from John Temple of Chase Farm, Roughley, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands who stepped down at the society’s AGM in September.

In a long association with the Limousin breed, David Thomlinson has been senior auctioneer at Borderway, Carlisle market where the BLCS hold Premier Society Sales along with numerous other production, reduction and dispersal sales. Starting as an office clerk, he quickly progressed through the ranks and has been with the company Harrison and Hetherington for some 54 years.

At a young age and with “limited funds”, David quickly saw that there was huge potential for the Limousin breed after seeing some of the cattle from the first importations in the 1970s. Managing to get the money together he bought his first old cow and registered his first pedigree calf in 1979 under the Beeches prefix, naming her Beeches Philomena. Working and breeding away with his wife Sheila, the herd is still very much active with 50 breeding females run on the 200 acre farm at Scaleby, Carlisle.

David Thomlinson has previously been an elected member of the BLCS council of management, a position he held for some nine years. He has also been heavily involved at various industry levels and is presently the chairman of the NBA (National Beef Association). Previously David has also served as chairman of the Livestock Auctioneers Association and in 2011 he was awarded the prestigious Blamire medal of honour in recognition of his services to agriculture in the Cumbria region. With his pedigree auctioneer’s hat on David Thomlinson has presided over many high flying Limousin sales, both pedigree and commercial, and in 2006 he became the first UK auctioneer to sell a bull at six figures when Haltcliffe Vermount sold for the then world record of £105,000.

Speaking of his appointment David Thomlinson said: “I am both delighted and honoured to take on the role of BLCS president. As soon as the breed came into the country I saw huge potential in Limousin both as a terminal sire and as a breeding female. It has been a privilege since then to see at first hand and be involved with the breed’s progression both as a breeder and as an auctioneer.”

When asked about the breeds current position and the challenges ahead for the breed, David replied by saying: “The breed has become firmly established as the UK’s number one due to a combination of its ease of calving, ease of management, and ability to produce high quality consistent carcases with top killing out percentages and high meat yield. If the breed can maintain those characteristics along with feed efficiency, gestation length, and milk production of the females then I have no doubt it will grow its position as the benchmark beef breed.”

In his new position as BLCS honorary president David Thomlinson is looking forward to meeting up with BLCS breeders and buyers at the upcoming autumn sales at Carlisle and Stirling, followed by the Borderway Agri Expo in November, and the various leading UK Winter Primestock events thereafter.