THE National Beef Association has announced that its Beef Expo 2015 will take place at York Auction Centre.

The annual flagship event will be on May 23 and will bring together the very best in British commercial and pedigree cattle, equipment, knowledge-sharing, and the National Spring Spectacular cattle show.

It is held in a different location each year — 2014 was at Hexham mart and attracted more than 6,500 visitors — and York was chosen as being at the heart of a renowned cattle finishing area and used to handling large shows.

The market holds weekly fat stock and store sales and is also a noted centre for machinery sales.

Scott Ferrie, auctioneer at York and chairman of next year’s event, said: “Beef Expo is a tremendous event and we are absolutely honoured to be hosting it in North Yorkshire.

“We are at the heart of a top beef producing area, and are looking forward to showing visitors what we do during the farm tours that play such an important part in the Beef Expo experience.

“Yorkshire has some of the finest pedigree herds in the country and this gives us a great opportunity to showcase them to the rest of the British beef industry.”

Beef Expo is a major showcase for pedigree and commercial breed societies which want to promote the quality of their cattle.

It is also the best place to see the calibre of British beef breeding and genetics all under one roof.

Chris Mallon, NBA chief executive, said: “It’s always difficult to choose a venue for Beef Expo because there is so much to take into consideration.

“We have chosen York Auction Centre because it ticks all the boxes for us: it’s in a great location, close to plenty of fantastic livestock, and will be easy for the thousands of visitors, trade stands and exhibitors to get to.

“The centre is also experienced at hosting large events like Beef Expo, and we are aiming to build on the success of the Hexham event where we had the biggest ever entry in our livestock classes and welcomed exhibitors from all over the UK.”