Farmers tell of vital role of Great Yorkshire Show
Farmers have spoken about their pride and the importance of showcasing best practice at the Great Yorkshire Show.
Speaking ahead of the four-day event in July, Martyn Preston, who started showing at the event in 1989 with cattle and has since focused on Charollais and Zwartbles sheep, said he treasured memories of competing at the event.
Mr Preston, who has a 40-acre smallholding at Bingley, said the Harrogate event had been selected to host this year’s national Zwartbles show.
He said: “In 2008, during the first bluetongue outbreak, I had the only Zwartbles here, my son won the Young Handlers and we were lucky enough to meet the Queen. It’s a memory I will have forever. The show means a lot to us. It’s Yorkshire, so it’s friendly.
"There’s a lot of good friends and a bit of competitiveness, but we all smile and have a drink together afterwards and move on. I have won the breed championship, but a ticket here takes some getting. If there’s 30 in a class and you come in the top six or eight you’ve had a good do.”
A former police officer who has followed his grandfather into farming, Mr Preston said he had initially bought a pair of Zwartbles for his children, Harry and Sophie, but had found them easy to deal with and easy to lamb as well as breeding good cross-breds.
He said: “People say businesses make money and hobbies cost, so it is a hobby.”
Meanwhile, North Yorkshire farmer and podcaster Rebecca Wilson, whose family run a trial farm alongside agronomists, said she had been creating content ahead of the show, where she would also be filming to showcase the best of British farming.
She said: “While some shows have lost that, the Great Yorkshire Show hasn’t. It’s about amazing breeds and amazing farmers doing brilliant things.
"I come every year without fail. I’ve only missed one – I was six weeks old, so I think that’s allowed!”
Ms Wilson said she had already filmed with her dad who had only missed one show in his life as well as farmer Sam Barker, of Menwith Hill, who shows Texels and Beltex sheep.
She said: “It’s obviously about promoting ticket sales, but also it’s been quite nice to tell a bit of a story about some of the people and behind the scenes elements. Looking back a few years I would never have thought this would have been a route I went down, but there’s been consumer appetite for learning more about farming. People genuinely want to know and I’d rather it was myself and farmers like me telling the story of what really goes on as opposed to misinformation floating around. As farmers we probably haven’t been very good at communicating messages ourselves. Understandably, we’ve had our farm gates closed. I think farmers just want to get on with their job, whereas now farmers are thinking we really need to talk about our industry. Farming is in an age of massive innovation. Where there’s challenge there’s opportunity. Importing or factory-grown food is not going to solve all our problems.”
Farmer tickets to the show can be used to access any day of the show and the prices have been held at the same rate as last year.