Beef Expo 2011 to Host Expanded Prime Spectacular
2011-03-07

Beef Expo 2011, organised by the National Beef Association with Lloyds TSB as the main sponsor, will this year play host to an expanded National Spring Spectacular Show (NSSS), with unhaltered prime cattle classes joining the usual haltered classes.

Beef Expo 2010

These additional unhaltered classes will take place at Newark Livestock Market on Wednesday 25 May, the same day as the Beef Expo 2011 farm tours will visit two local beef units. The haltered classes will be staged at Beef Expo 2011 at the Nottinghamshire and Newark Showground on Thursday 26 May, with a prize pot of in excess of £8000 on offer across the two days.

The new classes are designed to recognise the high quality cattle produced week in, week out by commercial producers across the UK, explains Newark Livestock Market auctioneer and NSSS chief steward Paul Gentry.

“There will be unhaltered classes for single steers, single heifers, single prime bulls and single barren cows, with no weight limit in any of the classes and an overall championship awarded.

“These cattle will then be offered for sale in our weekly prime beef sale, offering exhibitors the chance to trade at the UK’s leading prime beef centre.”

Classes on the Thursday will be split according to weight and breed, with sections for prime steers and heifers and also baby beef classes, explains Mr Gentry, with the championships sponsored by which are being sponsored by Caltech, manufacturers of Chrystalyx feed products,.

Judge for both the unhaltered classes on the Wednesday and the haltered classes on the Thursday will be well known Cumbrian beef producer Keith Harryman.

Mr Harryman farms more than 700 acres at Keswick in the Lake District with his wife Margaret and sons Mark and Shaun, with a herd of 80 commercial suckler cows and 1200 Swaledale ewes the mainstays of the farm. A total of about 450 cattle are finished every year, with the aim being to produce high quality butchers cattle from stores bought in from other local farmers.

The suckler herd has also had success in producing show calves, with a homebred Limousin sired steer, Ronaldo, picking up the Baby Beef championship at the East of England Winter Stock Festival in 2009 and the reserve Baby Beef title at the National Primestock Show in the same year.

A herd of pedigree Limousins are also run on the farm under the Keskadale prefix, with Limousin sires used exclusively in the commercial suckler herd.

Entries for the National Spring Spectacular Show close on Friday 8 April and schedules for the unhaltered classes are available from Newark Livestock Market Tel: 01636 676 741: Fax: 01636 611 190 or email enquiries@newarklivestocksales.co.uk, while schedules for the haltered classes are available from Euan Emslie Tel; 01430 441 870: Fax 01430 448432 or email euan@nationalbeefassociation.com

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