Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Upload your best specimens: Time running out to enter this year’s virtual Scottish Agricultural Show

Post Thumbnail

The clock is ticking to get cattle entries in for next month’s online Scottish Agricultural Show.

The virtual show, which takes place on July 3-4, will give cattle breeders the chance to show off their best stock and be in with the chance of winning a champion rosette – and the opportunity to compete for the show’s coveted champion of champions title.

The event, which is being hosted by The Press and Journal and The Courier, aims to fill the void left by the cancellation of summer agricultural shows due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Sponsored by EQ Accountants and organised in partnership with the Royal Highland Show, the show will feature livestock competitions, as well as trade stands, a food and drink section, and much more.

The cattle section of the show includes classes for beef and dairy cattle, and a quartet of judges are lined up to cast their expert eyes over the stock on offer.

The classes, which will have sections for both male and female cattle, are: Aberdeen-Angus; Beef Shorthorn; Highland; any other native beef breed; Charolais; commercial cattle; Limousin; any other continental beef breed; Holstein; Ayrshire; and any other dairy breed.

There will also be a young handlers contest split into two sections – one for entrants aged 10 and under, and one for those aged 11-18 years old.

The dairy cattle classes are sponsored by Duncan’s of Banchory, while the beef section is sponsored by ANM Group.

The dairy section will be judged by Fife farmer Adam Lawson, who says he is looking for cattle with good legs and feet, a good overall balance, but mainly a cow “that will last”.

The beef section judges are: Arbroath farmer Audrey Anderson for Aberdeen-Angus, Beef Shorthorn and any other native breed; Glenlivet farmer Michael Durno for Charolais, Limousin, any other continental breed and commercial cattle; and Fife breeder Donald MacNaughton for Highland cattle.

Ms Anderson, who runs herds of Hereford and Charolais cattle, said good locomotion and an animal with a “good, strong bone” were important to her.

Mr Durno, who has bred pedigree Simmental bulls up to 20,000gn, said animals needed to be able to walk well, have a nice head on them, and be practical.

He said: “A cattle beast needs to be able to forage on the side of the hill.”

Mr MacNaughton, who runs the Rannoch fold of Highlanders in Kelty, said he will be looking for cattle that walk well, have a straight back and “look the part”.

The show costs £5 per animal to enter and all entry fees will be donated to the Royal Highland Education Trust – the rural education charity run by the Highland Show’s organisers, the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland.

The society’s chairman, Bill Gray, said: “The 2020 show isn’t going ahead, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t see the incredible livestock that Scotland’s farmers have produced.

“I would encourage as many breeders to take part so that we can shine a light on our resilient industry.”

Details, including videos from the judges outlining what they are looking for, are on the website at www.scottishagriculturalshow.co.uk.

Entries close on June 19, so get your heifer spruced, your bull combed and your halters at the ready. It’s show time!