Holstein UK and the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) have abandoned plans to hold a joint show for the industry in September next year, after talks about a new annual dairy event soured.

Holstein UK announced that plans for a joint showed had fallen through on Tuesday, after the two groups failed to reach a partnership agreement over the course of “protracted negotiations.” On Wednesday, RABDF branded the breakdown - and Holstein UK’s announcement - “very disappointing”.

The two organisations had discussed forming a joint-venture company to hold a joint annual dairy event. Holstein UK said talks began after it was approached by members of the industry who felt that July’s RABDF Livestock Event fell well short of expectations. However, according to Holstein UK, the company’s board decided not to enter into a partnership agreement with RABDF to deliver a joint event after an independent audit of RABDF’s accounts. Holstein UK cited RABDF’s “approach to negotiations” and the Association’s financial position as reasons for calling off further talks.

Richard Jones, CEO of Holstein UK, claimed RABDF had sought to raise show prices by 25%, despite milk prices only just recovering from multi-year reductions. He said Holstein UK “would not stand for any price increase when the industry has experienced such turmoil.”

On Tuesday, Jones said, “RABDF perform an invaluable service supporting the aspirations of the UK dairy industry by working with the government and in other forums for the advancement and benefit of dairy farmers. However, their decision to move [the Dairy Event] to September created the unfortunate situation of two shows being staged within a fortnight of each other, in roughly the same location. Clearly this is not ideal and as such, Holstein UK approached RABDF to work together to deliver a ‘National Flagship Event’, with the principal objective of supporting the whole of the UK dairy industry.

“Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, it has not been possible to forge such a relationship with RABDF. Throughout the course of the negotiations, we have found it difficult to work with RABDF and are concerned about the charity’s financial position.”

RABDF ‘confused’ by Holstein UK’s claims

On Wednesday, RABDF responded to Holstein UK’s announcement, with the charity’s leading council stating that it is “Confused by many of the assertions made by Holstein UK.”

In a statement, the Council said, “We… supported the proposal for the new event at an extraordinary meeting held yesterday afternoon. But it now appears that at the Holstein UK board meeting, held in parallel, members voted against the proposal, essentially sinking the deal for good. While we actually initiated discussions with Holstein UK over a year ago, the proposal itself, which has been put together by teams from both RABDF and Holstein UK in the past three months with significant support from the industry, would have seen a new national event run by a joint venture between the two organisations. The talks have been constructive and business-like throughout, and at no point have any of the issues alleged in Holstein UK’s statement been raised, which leaves us all the more baffled.”
 
The RABDF council said both groups had apparently recognised a joint venture as the best way to accommodate the different structures of the charity and Holstein UK, and protect both organisations from any financial impact from each other or the event, challenging Holstein UK’s assertions about RABDF’s financial position, and claimed, “While we would have been happy to have allowed auditors access to our full accounts, at no point was this requested by Holstein UK.”

The RABDF council also said, “Various pricing models were offered in the confidential final report, which certainly did not commit to any increases”
 
RABDF chair, Mike King added, “Both organisations made significant concessions to ensure the new event would meet a variety of needs. The Council now fears it’s going to be dairy farmers and the industry at large that will lose out at a time when the industry is recovering from an unprecedented recession.”
 
RABDF now plans hold its own National Dairy Event on 6 September 2017 at the NEC in Birmingham, while Holstein’s event, UK Dairy Day, will go ahead on Wednesday 13 September 2017 at The International Centre, Telford.

Commenting on the parting of ways, Holstein UK CEO Richard Jones added, “It is regrettable for our industry that we could not agree on a joint national show, but after carefully considering our position, it is clear it is not in the best interests of Holstein UK or its members to get into bed with RABDF. However, UK Dairy Day will go ahead and we will be planning from today to deliver the best ever dairy show in the UK, and we hope to see as many people from dairying in the UK attending.”