The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
‘Wow’ factor needed at Lanark
CATTLE: LiveScot judges on what they will look for at event
A prize fund of £9,000 is up for grabs for the top cattle at this year’s LiveScot event at Lanark Market on November 24.
The sheep lines attract another £3,000 of awards, and other competitions at the show include potatoes, grain and silage, poultry, crooks, baking and crafts.
The event, which is in its fifth year, has a line-up of judges from across the UK, including Jason Wareham who will take on the task of choosing the overall cattle champions while his wife Sarah judges the commercial calf and young handler sections.
The Warehams run their own abattoir, farm shop and butchery in Heathfield, East Sussex, and run a 100-strong suckler herd.
After showing together for 14 years, they have achieved significant success with prime cattle and lifted the junior inter-breed championship at the Royal Highland last year with a Galloway heifer.
Jason has previously judged at the Welsh Winter Fair and the Great Yorkshire, while Sarah has judged the calves at the Agri-Expo event.
Both are looking forward to their trip to Lanark in November, where they expect the standard of cattle to be strong.
Jason said: “I’ll be looking for an animal that’s full of meat, but with style and quality too – it’ll have to have the wow factor.”.
Brian MacTaggart, who has been farm manager for the past 40 years at Douganhill Farms, Castle Douglas, will be in charge of selecting the champions in the sheep section.
He has been a stalwart of prime lamb shows since the 1980s and has won championships at Smithfield, the Scottish Winter Fair and the Royal Highland.
He runs 200 suckler cows and 1,000 ewes, including North Country Cheviots, Cheviot Mules, Herdwicks and pedigree Texels and has judged at many of the key events including Countryside Live and the Scottish Winter Fair when it was held in Perth.
Brian said his lambs would be: “well fleshed, without being over-fat, and as near a pair as possible, with conformation to suit the breed or cross.”
New at LiveScot this year will be the Smithfield beef ribs and saddle of lamb competitions.
Entries for this section should come directly from the farmer and include the full specification sheets issued to the butcher or abattoir detailing the requirements for preparation of the entry.
The deadline for entering LiveScot is Friday October 12.
For more information contact the Scottish National Fat Stock Club at secretary@fatstockclub.co.uk