22-01-2016
Producers defend their titles at 2016 Carcase Competition
On 21st of January, over 100 producers, Dovecote park employees and Waitrose representatives gathered to our Skellingthorpe plant to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Dovecote Park Carcase competition.
PICTURED: Will Brocklehurst accepts the Champion Native prize.
On the 21st of January we welcomed 120 of our producers
and their families along with a number of Waitrose representatives and industry
partners to our Skellinthorpe site for the 10th annual Carcase
Competition.
This year’s competition continued with the change in format
implemented last year which saw steers and heifers competing against one
another and we were delighted to see such a high level of participation with
over 130 carcases entered across the five categories. This year also marked the last
occasion that the event will be held annually, moving to a biannual event which
will from 2017 onwards be alternated with our producer Open Days.
Richard Canvin, Joint Chief Executive represented Dovecote Park on this year’s
judging panel joined by Rob Hues,
Waitrose Buying Manager for Meat and Buyer for Pre-Packed Beef, Veal and
Venison who represented Waitrose for the first time. The guest judge for
this year was Richard Cracknell, former managing director of ABP, who has had a lifetime of experience in the industry and whom we were privileged to welcome to this years event.
After much deliberation by the judges, the Champion
Continental Bred Carcase trophy was awarded to Robert
Robinson (pictured, along with wife Josie, with his winning carcase) from Stainforth, Doncaster, for his submission of a Limousin
cross heifer. Mr. Robinson took the prize for the second year in a row.
Neil Brocklehurst, from Derbyshire, was the recipient of the Champion
Native Bred Carcase award, for his home bred Aberdeen Angus heifer, which
was also awarded Champion Home Bred Carcase.
Describing his first experience of judging the show, Rob Hues states,
‘I’ve been a regular at the show for years,
and really enjoyed getting to judge it for the first time. I’ve always been
impressed by the standards of the carcases our producers submit, and this year
is no exception – congratulations to all the winning producers for their
outstanding efforts.’
Once the producers had seen
their entries in the maturation chiller, the group gathered for an excellent
three course dinner at Skellingthorpe Community Centre, where after a short
introduction from Livestock
Schemes Manager Rob Bunn, the prizes were awarded by Richard
Canvin and Rob Hues.
Rob
then spoke to the producers, addressing the difficult times in the industry and
discussing ongoing efforts within Waitrose to include our beef within
promotions and marketing. Commercial Director Laurie
Ibbotson concluded the evening, highlighting the high standards
of husbandry seen once again in this year’s event, and looking into the future
of the competition.
We would like thank our hardworking Livestock team for their tireless efforts
in coordinating this year’s competition and to the judges and Waitrose
representatives for taking the time to support the event. Lastly we would like
to re-iterate the outstanding quality of this years entries and offer our
congratulations to all of the winners.