One of the biggest events in the agricultural calendar in Northern Ireland is underway today (Thursday, December 12) as elite dairy cattle breeders from across the island take their chances at the 38th Royal Ulster Winter Fair.
The show, organised by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS) and sponsored by Danske Bank, is expected to attract 5,000 visitors today to the Eikon Exhibition Centre, Lisburn.
There will be showing classes for Holstein, Ayrshire, Dairy Shorthorn and Jersey breeds and of course all eyes will be trained on the big event of the day – the much sought after Supreme Interbreed Championship title.
There is in the region of 216 cattle entries for this year’s show, which according to the organisers is an opportunity to “celebrate the strength and bright future ahead of our local dairy industry.”
Winter Fair
Just one man has the mammoth task of judging all the classes at the Winter Fair this year and that is Nathan Thomas from Triple T Holsteins, located in North Lewisburg in Ohio.
Triple-T’s herd consists of over 100 registered head of Holsteins and Jerseys and it has bred and owned more than 120 all-American and all-Canadian nominations – so competitors today are likely to see a demanding judge in action in Northern Ireland.
Roberta Miura from Danske Bank will also have the job of judging the dairy stall and trade stands today.
Agricultural census
Separately the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has today released the results from the June 2024 Agricultural Census.
It shows in June 2024 the number of dairy cows increased by 2% to 325,325, while the number of beef cows decreased by 4% to 226,000.
In June 2024 there were 26,190 farms in Northern Ireland and the total area farmed – excluding common land – was approximately one million hectares (1,040,392ha), similar to 26,131 farms and 1,042,318ha in 2023.
The statistics provide estimates of crop areas and numbers of livestock on active farm businesses on the survey date of June 1, 2024.
The June 2024 Agricultural Census also shows that there was a decrease of 4% in breeding ewes compared to 2023, with numbers falling to 930,447 while the total number of sheep recorded was 1,969,023, which was a 4% fall from June 2023.
Meanwhile total pig numbers recorded in June 2024 increased by 1% to 692,091 compared to June 2023 and total poultry numbers on farms at June 2024 decreased by 8% from 2023 levels with 23.7 million birds recorded.
The latest statistics also show the total area of crops grown in Northern Ireland in 2024 was approximately 46,795ha, a decrease of 2% from 2023.
