Success For Dairy Event And Livestock Show
UK - The Dairy Event and Livestock Show’s relocation to The NEC, Birmingham proved to be a resounding success. Both visitors and exhibitors to the two day event staged on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 September demonstrated their support for the organiser, the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers’ decision to move the UK’s largest livestock specialist event to its new venue.Furthermore, an upbeat mood prevailed throughout the two days as the industry enjoyed the new experience of doing business in the larger, modern and easy accessed facilities.
“Relocating the Dairy Event and Livestock Show to The NEC not only proved to be an exciting challenge but a massive success,” explained RABDF chief executive, Nick Everington. “The event was buzzing throughout; it attracted a record 480 trade exhibitors with over 20% taking additional space compared with the previous year, the Livestock Hall’s cattle stalls were booked out with 220 entries and visitors poured through the gates from throughout the UK and beyond. More than 10% of visitors on the first day flew in from Northern Ireland and Ireland while others travelled from as far afield as New Zealand and India.
“Both indoor and outdoor trade areas were very busy with activity throughout the two days as farmers appreciated the easier access by road, rail and air. They also found they were able to make better use of their time as all the exhibitors were located in a single hall and divided into colour coded zones according to product sector, while the outdoor trade stands were located in a compact area on hard standing which not only kept the exhibits clean, but also the people manning them and the visitors despite the heavy showers. In turn, exhibitors reported back good size orders placed and in many cases a record volume of quality enquiries were received.
“The event’s practical demonstrations – the mixer wagons and foot trimming, were introduced to The NEC and proved to be as popular as ever, while the Farm Health Planning and new Feed Science Forums offered take home information which could be readily applied to visitors’ farming systems the following day.
“Equally important, The NEC with its very modern facilities made a serious and important statement of professionalism on behalf of the UK livestock sector; the event certainly reflected the industry as up to date and progressive, in particular to retailers and processors, international visitors, the next generation and new recruits.”
He added: “After more than 15 months of planning, the industry’s hugely positive response confirmed our belief that RABDF has achieved a winning formula for the one stop ruminant event in its new location. Already we are looking forward to building on this year’s success at The NEC and positioning the Dairy Event and Livestock Show as the flagship not only for the UK industry, but also to rival its European counterparts.”
TheCattleSite News Desk