Four National Festival of Meat competitions will be staged by The Royal Smithfield Club this year for producers in three major livestock regions, starting with beef ribs and saddle of lamb competitions at The Yorkshire Agricultural Society's Countryside Live Food & Farming Fair at Harrogate on Saturday and Sunday, October 29 and 30.

This will be followed by beef ribs competitions at the Scottish Winter Fair's new Ingliston venue on Wednesday, November 23 and at The Welsh Winter Fair, Builth Wells on Monday and Tuesday, November 28 and 29.

Announcing the competitions, Brian Glaves, chairman of the organising committee, said: "At a time when many producers are looking for ways to improve their returns from beef and lamb, these three events offer the ideal opportunity to display to consumers the very best of British meat."

Judges at the three events are:

Countryside Live - Beef Ribs - David Wright, A. Wright & Son, The Abattoir, Nursery Road, Riverside Industrial Estate, Boston, Lincs.

Countryside Live - Saddles of Lamb - Alec Traves, Main Street, Escrick, York.

Scottish Winter Fair - Beef Ribs - Tom Hutchon, Penman Butchers, 38 High Street South, Crail,     Anstruther, Fife.

Welsh Winter Fair - Beef Ribs - W. Lloyd Williams, Dyfri Valley Butchers, Central Buildings, 5 Maengwyn Street, Machynlleth, Powys. 

Beef tasting panel

A new feature is also to be introduced at the Countryside Live event - a beef ribs tasting panel.

Planned for the Sunday afternoon, the Supreme and Reserve Champion beef ribs will be prepared and cooked by a local celebrity chef for a panel of judges to taste and give their opinions. 

At the same time YorkshireLife food and wine editor Elaine Lemm will discuss with Donald MacPherson, a prime beef producer from Berwick-upon-Tweed, the key factors consumers should look for when selecting their beef, particularly for special occasions.