HARRISON & Hetherington, organisers of the prestigious Borderway UK Dairy Expo, has announced a new supreme interbreed championship for the event to be held on March 13 and 14. This inaugural championship for the Youngstock show classes called the “Genus Supreme Heifer Championship” is sponsored by Genus, a leading provider of bovine genetics and reproduction services.

As a twist to the usual judging, in that it is the judge who chooses where the rosettes will be placed, the winner of “Genus Supreme Heifer Championship” will be decided by people within the dairy and wider farming communities via an innovative approach never used before at such an event.

An online voting system through the UK Dairy Expo website and social media platform pages will be used. This means that voting can be carried out from anywhere in the world, via online access. Votes can also be made through voting cards available from the Genus stand on the day.

The Youngstock classes are judged on Friday, March 13, with the Youngstock Championship Class winner to be announced on the afternoon of Saturday, March 14.

This new championship is the culmination for the judging from the 21 Youngstock classes in the seven individual breed sections, namely Ayrshire, Jersey, Shorthorns, British Friesians, Red and White and Brown Swiss.

Once the individual youngstock breed champions have been judged the images of the winners would be made available online, on the H&H web site and across social platforms for voting or for those present at the show to be able to go round the cattle lines and select their choice of champion.

This new class and approach are the brainchild of Heather Pritchard, event co-ordinator for Borderway UK Dairy Expo, who said: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to introduce this new championship class for the Youngstock and were keen to create interaction with dairy audiences globally.

"In launching this innovative voting system using digital and traditional mediums, we are ensuring that as an event, UK Dairy Expo further strengthens its presence within the dairy industry and leads the way in terms of audience participation.

“Borderway UK Dairy Expo continues to grow year-on-year and its reputation precedes it, so it is always good to look at new opportunities and ways of doing things. A personal request from myself and everyone involved in the day is please vote!”

The finalists will be announced the evening of Friday, March 13, when voting will open at 8pm, and will end at 3pm Saturday, March 14. The winner will be announced at 3.30pm and will receive a cash prize of £500 along with the Genus Supreme Heifer Championship Sash and Award.

Explaining why they had decided to sponsor the event, Jason Kean, regional business manager for Genus, said: “I am thrilled to be able to be part of this exciting competition both in terms of its representation of the highest quality of seven key breeds, and its dynamic and innovative approach to judging. On the day, there will be a real buzz around the cattle lines as attendees are able to get involved in the final winner selection by casting their vote via our voting card or online.”

For more information on Borderway UK Dairy Expo visit www.harrisonandhetherington.co.uk