Livestock farmers are being urged to enter the inaugural Borderway Agri Expo Silage Competition, as part of the winter livestock showcase on 27 October.
One of the most important UK livestock shows in the annual calendar, Borderway Agri Expo is offering beef and sheep farmers in the North and Scotland a chance to demonstrate their highest standards in a critical area of the livestock farming skillset – grass production.
The Agri Expo silage competition will offer farmers the chance to enter one of 3 classes: Class 1: Beef Clamp; Class 2: Big Bale; Class 3: Whole Crop.
Entries are open now to register for a 3-stage judging process, starting with chemical analysis, followed by on-farm judging for shortlisted finalists, and culminating in the announcement of the Winners at Borderway on the day of the Agri Expo event.
The overall winner in each class will receive their choice of any Watson Seeds Castle Mixture for 8 acres, 2nd prize will receive 4 acres, and 2 acres for 3rd. All prizes will be available for 2024 despatch only.
Harrison & Heatherington (H&H) organiser, Laura Millar, said this competition added an important new dimension to Agri Expo at a critical time for the livestock farming industry.
She said: “Good silage-making has always been a key element of livestock farming and with such significant increases to input costs over the past year, it’s more important now than ever.
"Agri Expo is already a showcase for the best of livestock farming practice, and we know this competition will attract keen entries from across the North of England and the Borders, and that it will celebrate farmers producing silage to exceptional levels."
To take part in the competition, entrants must submit samples for the first stage analysis.
The top three will be shortlisted for a judges visit, where the famer will be interviewed, and a fresh sample taken for display at Agri Expo.
The judges will provide details of their visit and a background to each of the shortlisted farms for the Agri Expo winners’ announcement.
Entries are open now and entrants must submit their intention by email no later than 9 October to Andy Nelson at Watson Seeds: anelson@watsonseeds.com.
