Harrison & Hetherington, in association with Watson Seeds, invites livestock farmers to enter the very best of their silage for the 2024 Borderway Agri Expo Silage Competition.

As part of their landmark UK livestock show, Borderway Agri Expo, being held on Friday 1st November,  is calling once again on beef and sheep farmers in the North and Scotland to bring the very best of their silage to the second annual running of the Borderway Agri Expo Silage Competition. Sponsored by leading independent UK seed suppliers, Watson Seeds, the Agri Expo silage competition is a showcase for the region's livestock farmers to demonstrate a critical area of the livestock farming skillset – grass production – and a chance to win a head start to next year's bumper forage crop.

The competition is divided into two classes:

• Class 1: Beef Clamp
• Class 2: Big Bale

Entries are open now to register for the judging process, which involves a Chemical Analysis before the winners, picked by judge Mr Andrew Best Snr., Secretary to the South West of Scotland Grassland Society, will be announced at Borderway on the day of the Agri Expo event. The overall winner in each class will receive their choice of any Watson Seeds Castle Mixture for 8 acres, 2^nd prize will receive 4 acres, and 2 acres for 3^rd. All prizes will be available for 2025 despatch only.

Harrison & Heatherington's Agri Expo organiser, Laura Millar, says the success of the first Silage Competition last year underlines just how important this aspect of farming is to the future of the region's livestock industry.

"We had a phenomenal response to the competition at last year's Agri Expo, and our farmers are quite rightly proud of the quality of the forage they are producing for their livestock. The competition shows how fundamentally important the quality of the silage they are making is to the sustainability of the industry, particularly at a time of cost inflation and reduced margins.

"Agri Expo has become a world class showcase for the very best of our livestock, and for innovation in breeding and technology in a crucial area of the region's economy. The Silage Competition completes the full picture, and we are very grateful indeed for the very generous prizes that Watson Seeds are offering to make winning economically, as well as reputationally, rewarding."

Dedicated to supplying seed of the highest possible quality, Watson Seeds is a long-established seed specialist based in Scotland supplying estates and farms across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

The business has strong links with leading plant breeders and variety trialling organisations, supporting its selection criteria of considering varieties for inclusion entirely on merit. This enables Watson Seeds to supply the latest grass varieties and the best advice to meet the tough challenges of today's farming environment.

Andy Nelson, Seed Specialist for Watson Seeds in the North and Scotland, says: "We're delighted to be able to sponsor this competition again after the wonderful success of last year's inaugural event. Borderway Agri Expo is a perfect platform for showing the best of every aspect of the livestock industry, and that includes the silage that livestock farmers produce to such exceptional standards of quality.

"At Watson Seeds we're researching and trialling better seeds and mixtures that will continue to help farmers make the best possible silage for optimum performance, and at the same time cut their cost and their carbon footprint. We're looking forward very much to seeing silage of the highest calibre in this year's competition, and it will be a welcome challenge to pick the winners from what we know will be a very high class field.

All entries must be made by email no later than Wednesday 16^th October to Andy Nelson at Watson Seeds: anelson@watsonseeds.com

"Before you enter any chemical forage analysis, please make sure you have the permission of the owner, and that the silage is available for a fresh sample should the entry reach the final selection for judging." Reiterates Andy.

Further details will be updated regularly on the event's dedicated web site – www.borderwayagriexpo.uk