The Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS) has announced that American livestock judge, Mike Duckett, and trade stand judge, Andrew Short from Omagh, will be officiating at the 37th Royal Ulster Winter Fair, sponsored by Danske Bank, taking place next Thursday, December 14.

Dairy cow judging is the headline event at the Royal Ulster Winter Fair and the showring will be filled with spectators as the judging programme builds up to the Supreme Championship award.

Mike Duckett will be travelling to the Show from Rudolph, Wisconsin, where he lives with his wife, Julie, and their two children, Logan and Chloe.

Their family farm, Duckett Holsteins, has exhibited three Supreme Champions at the World Dairy Expo, with Oakfield Solomon Footloose-ET EX-97 being the most recent.

These show winnings, amongst others, have helped the farm to earn more than 90 All-American Awards.

Mike’s expertise has enabled him to judge at a variety of renowned events, from the North East Fall Holstein Show and Quebec Spring Show, to the Jersey Spring Show, Eastern National Red & White Show, and the California Holstein & Jersey Spring Shows.

The Duckett family also own two agricultural businesses beyond the farm. Looking ahead towards the future of the dairy industry, both of their enterprises, Genetic Futures and Showbox Sires, specialise in reproduction and recipient services.

The various breed sections has prize money of between £150-£200 for first prize winners with the supreme inter-breed champion being awarded a trophy and £500 cash prize.

Judging the Trade Stands and Best Kept Dairy Stalls at this year’s Show is Andrew Short, Managing Director of AJS Promotions.

Having run events and exhibitions for more than 25 years, Andrew’s experience of meeting customer demands is very evident.

His recent success with the Spring Farm Machinery Show and Country Land Music Festival held at the Eikon Exhibition Centre, in addition to numerous other events throughout the UK and Ireland, make him the perfect man for the job.

Ahead of judging at this year’s Winter Fair, Andrew said: "Exhibitions are such an important showcase for many businesses, allowing them to display their products and engage with the public.

“This is certainly something I will look for when judging – those stands that encourage people onto them and that engage with them."