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Westmorland County Agricultural Society Silage Competition 2008

A record forty-one entries were received for this year's silage competiton - quadrupling the number received in 2005. "Given the weather conditions of last summer this was well in excess of what could have been expected" reported Christine Knipe, Chief Executive of the Westmorland Agricultural Society. Competition was particularly keen amongst the twenty-eight individual farms taking part and the final results were very close indeed - just one and a quarter marks separated the top four in the dairy class

This year's competition featured four sections - dairy clamp, beef clamp, maize and big bale - all of which were well supported and attracted a number of new exhibitors from around the region.

The competition, sponsored by BOCM Pauls, was judged in two sections, one for analytical/nutrient content and the other on visual assessment. Following the analysis, shortlisted farms were visited by the judges with the results being announced at a presentation dinner in the evening.

Peter Storr from Lancaster was the visual judge for the dairy and maize sections, whilst Brian Atkinson from Plumpton judged the beef and big bales. They were particularly impressed with the quality of silage produced, as well as the enthusiasm and knowledge of the finalists

"We are especially grateful to BOCM Pauls for their continued sponsorship of the competition" explained Christine, "not only did they take and analyse all the samples, but each farm was also given a fleece jacket."

The evening meal and presentation proved a very popular social occasion. Everyone had a chance to accompany the judges' party when photos, which had been taken from all the shortlisted farms, were shown.

Silage Competition Results 2008