THE organisers of a national dairy event have confirmed it will go ahead in the autumn.

UK Dairy Day will take place on September 15 with additional Covid-19 safety measures in place following the latest Government announcement.

The UK Dairy Day team is doing everything it can to stage the event responsibly with additional measures in place to ensure visitors, staff and exhibitors feel safe at the event. Theses include changes to layouts and expertise in crowd management to avoid build-up in popular areas; additional ventilation systems for internal exhibition areas and hand sanitiser available across the site.

A spokesperson said: "Trade stand bookings are now being finalised before publishing the full exhibitor listing and trade stand plan.

"The support from everyone has been fantastic and we are delighted to have the backing of our 2021 principal sponsors Holstein UK, NWF Agriculture, Crystalyx and Fullwood Packo along with media partners Farmers Guardian and Holstein International and our associate sponsors."

Practical demonstrations and seminars will return to the event providing an opportunity to hear from the experts and take home great insight and learnings. Leading speakers will cover key topics related to farming without subsidies, climate change, market conditions and breeding the right dairy cow.

Dairy cattle will return to the event, which will host the national shows for Ayrshire, Brown Swiss and Holstein breeds, along with classes for Dairy Shorthorn, Guernsey and Jersey.

The stall booking deadline for cattle exhibitors is Friday, August 6, and the cattle entry deadline is Friday, September 3. There is a leading line-up of judges, who will cast their professional eye over the show ring: the National Ayrshire Show judge is John Suffern; the National Brown Swiss Show judge is Stuart Williams; the National Holstein Show judge is David Booth; the Dairy Shorthorn Show judge is Mr Owain Harries; the Guernsey Show judge is Dawn Coryn; and the Jersey Show judge is Ben Etteridge.

UK Dairy Day event director, Sue Cope, said: “We have been overwhelmed with positive support and reaction from the industry to make the event happen.

"The team has already planned and implemented additional measures to safeguard and reassure our exhibitors and visitors.

"It is unmistakably clear the vaccines are working and the sheer scale of the vaccine roll-out has supported the freedom to enable the event to happen.

"We can’t wait to welcome everyone back to UK Dairy Day at Telford on Wednesday, September 15.”