The best of the best at UK Dairy Day 2023

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Record numbers of trade and cattle exhibitors were at UK Dairy Day last Wednesday, further cementing its reputation as the pinnacle event to attend in the UK for everything dairy related.

Across the exhibition areas, cattle lines and Sharing Knowledge Zone, the event provided the opportunity for dairy farmers to network and do business. Visitors created a real buzz around the show and enabled important face to face conversations to take place with trade exhibitors from across the UK that included feed manufacturers, animal health suppliers, vets, milk buyers, dairy and farm equipment suppliers, plus professional service providers and charities.

With Telford being located within a three hours’ drive of 98% of England and Wales, the International Centre’s central location is the perfect place for companies to do business with dairy farmers. The fantastic range of trade displays showcased products and services at their best, with trade stand awards presented to Wroot Water for the best Small Trade Stand Award, Easyfix for the best Medium Trade Stand Award, DairyMaster for the best Large Trade Stand Award and Hoofcount for the best External Trade Stand Award.

The New Product Competition featured 11 innovative products launched into the market since 1st August 2022. Semex UK was awarded the Best New Product Award for their Methane Efficiency Index.  The Highly Commended Award was presented to Kersia UK for their Octaklean System and a Judges Special Mention was awarded to Sylgen Animal Health for SlurryForSoil.

Industry panels focussed on ‘The Future of the Industry’ with the four panels drawing crowds who listened to the insight relating to the dairy cow, milk pricing and processing, and the dairy industry.  Leading industry professionals provided their views and advice on what the future may hold, sharing key take home messages with the audiences.  AHDB and NFU also used the event to launch this year’s GB Calf Week, opening the seminars with ‘GB Strategy, Where are we Now’.

The practical demonstrations were as popular as ever with Tim Carter showcasing his expertise on foot trimming, blocking and knife sharpening. Scarsdale Vets, led by Carolyn Bagley, presented their ‘Beneath the Black and White’ calf painting which included a starter for discussion about healthy feet in heifers.  In the Breed Village members of the National Bovine Data Centre’s (NBDC) Type Classification team demonstrated the merits of type classification and linear scoring.

This year saw the highest number of cattle to ever be exhibited at UK Dairy Day with exceptional quality throughout the classes in all six breeds, and was the largest show of in-milk cows seen this year in Britain.  In addition to the crowds around the ring, a worldwide audience of thousands watched via live streaming as the judges tapped out their winners, with a recording available to watch back on UK Dairy Day’s YouTube channel.

UK Dairy Day hosted the annual National Holstein, Ayrshire and Brown Swiss Shows along with Dairy Shorthorn, Guernsey and Jersey classes.  The cattle judges travelled from across the UK with Iwan Morgan judge of the National Holstein Show, Colin Christophers judge of the National Ayrshire Show and Brian Weatherup Jnr judge of the National Brown Swiss Show.

The Grand Champions were:

  • Holstein Grand Champion -Evening Sidekick Jennifer, James Wilson
  • Ayrshire Grand Champion - Allstar Ringer Joybell, E Tomlinson
  • Brown Swiss Grand Champion -Kedar Calvin Sanchia Maria, T Lochhead & Sons
  • Dairy Shorthorn Grand Champion -Churchroyd Bronte Wildeyes 62, IRG Collins & Partners
  • Guernsey Grand Champion -Greensfield Dandy Dan Butterfly, MJ & CE Greenslade
  • Jersey Grand Champion -Rivermead Verdi Pixie, The Davis Family

The Holstein UK Premier Exhibitor and Premier Breeder Awards were both won by Logan Holsteins.  The Best Tidy lines title was awarded to Panda Holsteins and Best Presented Lines title was given to Kedar.

The Howard Sneesby Memorial Trophy was presented to Lizzie Yates for her contribution to the National Holstein Show. Lizzie has worked for the Holstein UK Group since 2016 and is an integral member of the UK Dairy Day team in making the cattle show happen.

Hannah Williams, UK Dairy Day Event Manager, said; “The electric atmosphere that UK Dairy Day delivered this year is a true testament to the support from across the industry to what we believe has become the best dairy trade event in the UK.  Our thanks go to Principal sponsors Crystalyx, Lely, Holstein UK and NWF Agriculture, our media partners Farmers Guardian and Holstein International, along with all our associate and cattle class sponsors, trade exhibitors, and cattle exhibitors who all supported UK Dairy Day. We now look forward to planning for next year’s event when UK Dairy Day celebrates its 10th anniversary and once again will provide the opportunity to showcase products, services, advice and dairy breeds”.

Andrew Jones, Holstein UK Chairman, concludes; “An amazing display of dairy cows in the show ring was a proud moment for everyone involved with the event.  I would like to thank the cattle exhibitors for their breeding and showmanship with the presentation of every cow that was at this year’s event.  The six breeds have been showcased to UK and worldwide audiences.  Congratulations to the winners of all classes and the exhibitors crowned breed champions ”.

Save the Date for 2024.

UK Dairy Day will be held on Wednesday 11th September 2024 at The International Centre, Telford, Shropshire.

 

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Editors Notes:

UK Dairy Day, the UK’s leading free-to-attend dairy trade event, is held at the International Centre in Telford, Shropshire. It is the event to attend for anyone connected to the dairy industry providing an opportunity to network, share knowledge, learn and most importantly, do business.

 Photographs are available to view in the Gallery on the UK Dairy Day website:

https://www.ukdairyday.co.uk/welcome/photo-gallery-2023/
High-resolution jpeg files are available on request please quote the image reference from the gallery on email to marketing@ukdairyday.co.uk  

Applications for trade stand space will open in early 2024 for UK Dairy Day 2024 on Wednesday 11th September at the International Centre, Telford.