Donegal farmer announced as Borderway Agri Expo 2023 judge

The Borderway Agri Expo, which will be held on Friday 27 October, has established a reputation for attracting the highest quality of livestock to compete in cattle and sheep classes and will be livestreamed to an audience of thousands across the world.

The event celebrates the best of cattle and sheep breeds, champions of the industry and future stars. It provides a platform for the promotion of the UK’s full range of commercial breeds, for new technology and innovation, products and professional services.

Baby beef will be judged by Pearse McNamee, one of Ireland’s most successful and respected producers of pedigree Limousin and commercial show cattle, calves and embryos.

Pearse has supported Agri Expo every year from its inception and, in 2018, he took Reserve Overall Champion with a home-bred Limousin heifer.

“It is without doubt the best show of commercial cattle in the UK and Ireland,” Pearse commented.

“Agri Expo has set a benchmark where the best of the very best are on show for all to see, and I am over the moon to have been invited to judge the ‘baby beef’.

“I will be looking for something with style, correctness, show quality, a good head and legs, and lots of character! It will be a challenge, but I am looking forward to it.”

Cattle this year will be judged by farmer and breeder Gwyn Edwards.

Highly respected on the show circuit as a winning breeder and as a judge, Gwyn farms 200 head of beef cattle and 600 ewes on 700 acres in North Wales, recently achieving pedigree herd status for his home-bred Limousins.

Gwyn said: “It is such an honour to have been invite to judge. I think everyone who knows me will know what I am looking for.

“My ideal would be meaty and very correct, but the standard at Agri Expo will be exceptional and the winner at Borderway is the envy of all the winter shows, so judging them will be a very challenging task.”

Sheep this year will be judged by John Sinnett, who in a lifetime of farming on the Welsh Borders established a reputation as one of the UK’s outstanding producers of pedigree and commercial sheep, finishing some 20,000 lambs a year by the mid 1990s.

A leading breeder of pedigree Suffolk rams, John was the first in the UK to breed cross-bred rams, specialising on developing a winning combination of good genetics from the most successful terminal sires - Charolais, Suffolk, Beltex and Texel.

Now retired from farming, John remains a dedicated supporter of the sheep industry and its principal showcases such as Agri Expo.

John stated: “I felt I had completed my judging duties, but I am really honoured to be invited to judge here this autumn.

“When it comes to picking the best commercial traits, one size clearly does not fit all, but in this case, I will be looking for an easily fleshed, quality article, and judging based on the current demands and criteria of the main commercial finishers and processers.”

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