Royal Bath & West Dairy Show to be held this October

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Dairy Show at The Royal Bath & West Showground.

Instead of cancelling the event, this year will be organised similarly to the show held during the foot-and-mouth outbreak - without the cows.

Allen Cotton OBE, vice president of the Royal Bath & West Society, said: “Without the cattle we have more space to spread the trade stands out so that could be an advantage.”

A lot has changed over the years, and even though the cattle won’t be there this year, Mr Cotton remarks on the fact that the breeds are constantly changing.

“The breeds have changed a lot – the numbers of Holstein Friesians have reduced and have been replaced by Jerseys and Guernseys,” he said.

“The Holstein Friesians are also bigger, and the udders on the animals have improved – which is reflected by the higher yields that farmers are achieving.

“We used to produce around 6,000 litres a cow – a 9,000 litre cow was quite exceptional really; now some people’s herds average that.

“When the show began many people were still milking into buckets – now we have robots milking cows.”

Visitors enjoying last years event at the Royal Bath & West Showground

The Dairy Show will be on Wednesday, October 7.

For track and trace reasons, visitors to the show will need to book online. Tickets cost £15.

To book visit bathandwest.com/the-dairy-show