Tension in Shropshire as rival dairy group rejects plans for Birmingham moo-ve
Organisers of a major dairy conference in Shropshire have batted away attempts by a rival in Birmingham to create a single event in the second city.
Holstein UK, which organises the UK Dairy Day, confirmed earlier this year that it would continue at The International Centre in Telford despite a rival – the National Dairy Event – moving to the same month from next year.
It has now voted down a proposal from the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) to form a single event at Birmingham's NEC, leaving simmering tensions between the groups.
RABDF said it was "disappointed" and "baffled" that Holstein UK had rejected its latest plans, and it means that two of the country's most important dairy shows will be held just seven days and 40 miles apart.
The free-to-enter Telford event will take place on September 13 next year, and the NEC rival a week before.
The RABDF's council approved proposals to create a new single event on Tuesday, but at a meeting held by Holstein at the same time, the plans were torpedoed, with concerns over finances cited as a key reason.
The charity said the vote "essentially sinks the deal for good", and the decision has led to friction between the organisations.
Holstein chief executive Richard Jones said: "Throughout the course of the negotiations, we have found it difficult to work with RABDF and are concerned about the charity's financial position.
"In 2015, RABDF made a loss and they have not provided assurances that their performance will improve.
"Having undertaken a full, independent audit of RABDF's finances, our auditors concluded that any joint venture would not be in our members' interests and that they could not advise the board to enter into such a relationship with RABDF."
Mr Jones added that despite 18 months of plummeting milk prices, RABDF pressed for increasing show prices by 25 per cent – although RABDF said it had offered various pricing models which did not commit to any price increases.
He said: "It is regrettable for our industry that we could not agree on a joint national show, but after carefully considering our position, it is clear it is not in the best interests of Holstein UK or its members to get into bed with RABDF."
RABDF's statement said: "While we actually initiated discussions with Holstein UK over a year ago, the proposal itself, which has been put together by teams from both RABDF and Holstein UK in the past three months with significant support from the industry, would have seen a new national event run by a joint venture between the two organisations.
"The talks have been constructive and business-like throughout, and at no point have any of the issues alleged in Holstein UK's statement been raised, which leaves us all the more baffled."
