A NOTED County Durham Charolais breeder is to judge the entry at next week's breed society Christmas Cracker show at Carlisle.

Steve Nesbitt of Winston will judge 103 Charolais bulls and 43 females on Thursday, before they are auctioned next day.

He will look for sires with shape and size. "I'll select bulls that will appeal to the commercial producer; those with scale - one of the breed's key characteristics, good conformation and mobility, the type that will leave calves that are in real demand in future under the new CAP reform regime," he said.

Mr Nesbitt believes Charolais X calves, noted for their size, shape and weight for age, will make a significant contribution towards making up commercial producers' lost income from the current BSP payment system.

He has used the same selection criteria on his family's own noted Alwent pedigree Charolais herd of 30 breeding cows. The herd has successfully evolved over the last 20 years from a hobby to a serious commercial venture which makes up a significant part of overall farm income on their 200-acre mixed unit.

Baggrave Minstrel, the herd sire, has had a major influence at Alwent and left a number of top-flight progeny, including the Royal male champion and Great Yorkshire interbreed junior champion, Alwent Peregrin; the 13,000gns Royal Highland junior champion, Alwent Osprey; and Carlisle Christmas Cracker champion Alwent Orchid.

More recently, to maintain scale within the herd, the Nesbitts jointly bought the 28,000gns Perth champion, Maerdy Primeminister, and the investment is already paying off with one of his sons, Alwent Triad, taking the Carlisle senior championship in May, and last month, Alwent Ultimate lifted the Perth junior and overall reserve title.

Mr Nesbitt, the Yorkshire and North-East representative on the society's council of management, is a familiar face on the regional judging circuit.