A PANEL of world class judges will take on the challenge of the 2024 Borderway UK Dairy Expo.

The four will judge over 700 cattle entries in front of the 7,000 visitors expected at this year’s Borderway UK Dairy Expo in Carlisle on Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16.

This year’s event will be one of the first in the UK to include a new Heifer Class in the Holstein Show for milking heifers under 24 months old, highlighting the trend in the market for earlier calving of young heifers.

Internationally respected Brown Swiss breeder and show winner, Ben Govett, will travel from Australia to judge the Holstein, Brown Swiss, and Dairy Shorthorn classes. Australian Jersey dairy farmer Daniel Bacon will also bring all his southern hemisphere experience and skill north to judge the Jersey, Red & White, and Ayrshire classes. Wisconsin based genetics expert Roger Turner will cross the Atlantic from the USA to judge the International Showmanship classes. And Holstein Master Breeder John Cousar will make the comparatively short journey south from Ayrshire to judge the British Friesian classes.

Harrison & Hetherington Dairy Sales Manager and Dairy Expo organiser Glyn Lucas said “Borderway UK Dairy Expo has grown into one of the most successful and hotly contested shows in the UK dairy cattle calendar. We attract a really exceptional calibre of entries from all over the UK, and it is a formidable challenge to pick the winners in every class. We are very grateful indeed that our four top judges have agreed to travel so far and take on this task. They bring an extra dimension of international credibility to a world class show here at Borderway.”

He added: “The standing of our international judges reflects the credibility of Dairy Expo as one of the most important dairy shows in the UK and beyond. The introduction of our new heifer class underlines our development as a showcase for industry trends and a platform for stakeholders to share the best of new ideas, technology and of course, dairy cattle breeds. We are very confident that Dairy Expo 2024 will be bigger and better than ever before, and we are looking forward to welcoming our judges, breeders, and particularly our young dairy cattle experts to Borderway this March.”