UK Dairy Day 2019 brings together all facets of the dairy industry together at the International Centre in Telford.

The sixth annual event dedicated to dairy on Wednesday, September 11 is an opportunity for anyone connected to the dairy industry to network, share knowledge, learn, and most importantly make business decisions ahead of the winter.

Hosting the National Holstein Show, UK Dairy Day welcomes Patrick Rüttimann to judge a leading line up of Holstein cattle.

Since 2010, Patrick has managed the family business in Switzerland, Ruegruet Holsteins, with his brother. He has judged competitions all over Europe, as well as competing himself in the show ring at prestigious events.

Commenting ahead of the event, Patrick said: “It is a huge honour to have been asked to judge The National Holstein Show at UK Dairy Day 2019. I am excited to have the opportunity to judge the best cows from across the UK, meet the breeders and see how the cows compare with their European counterparts.”

The event will also welcome the return of the National Ayrshire Show and National Brown Swiss Show along with classes for Dairy Shorthorn, Guernsey and Jersey. The packed schedule for the centre stage show ring in Hall 2 will see breeders compete for a share of the £25,000 prize fund.

Entry is free with thanks to cattle infrastructure sponsor NWF Agriculture and the cattle entry deadline is Friday, August 30.

Gilmour Lawrie has been announced as National Ayrshire Judge, Robbie Radel from Queensland, Australia as National Brown Swiss Judge, Seimon Thomas (Dairy Shorthorn Judge), Colin Gleed (Guernsey Judge) and Matt Pye (Jersey Judge).

Across internal and external exhibition areas will be more than 300 trade stands representing UK, European and international businesses where visitors have the opportunity to learn about new products, services and technologies on the market to enhance their dairy business performance and efficiency.

The first floor sees the return of the Sharing Knowledge Zone with professional service providers, charities and colleges on hand to offer advice and support. The seminars sponsored by XL Vets with feature presentations covering informative relevant subjects and a careers board will advertise current opportunities within the dairy industry.

One of the highlights is the practical demonstrations taking place throughout the day. Tim Carter and his team return to the external trade stand area where they will demonstrate foot trimming and knife sharpening demonstrations, including block work. Inside the Hall 3 foyer, adjacent to the cattle lines, will be the NBDC breed village with Type Classification and Linear Scoring demonstrations. New for 2019 this area will also feature a Genomic Clinic sponsored by Neogen where experts will be on hand to offer advice on how to interpret genomic reports and results.

Scarsdale Vets return for the popular ‘Beneath the Black and White Calf' anatomy painting demonstration located externally in the Calf Rearing Zone which will be covered by a calf house sponsored and supplied by Northern Polytunnels Ltd. The calf rearing zone, sponsored by Volac, will feature businesses offering advice on all aspects for calf rearing, health, hygiene, feeding and management.