Great Yorkshire Show: Weighty debates on resilience and how tourism links could build a strong future

Conferences and events at the Great Yorkshire Show, as England's largest agricultural showcase, have grown over decades to hold significant sway.

And as the second day got underway there were panel discussions on building resilience, minister visits to hear from experts, and project launches to build on great change.

As farming families shared their experiences of adapting with working practice and diversification at a panel debate, politicians spoke of links to tourism development.

With a new visitor economy strategy being drawn for part of the region, North Yorkshire Council's leader Carl Les said this was a "huge opportunity" for the agricultural sector.

The strategy - a first for the county - would shine a spotlight on hidden gems to market the region as a premier destination around the world.

For farmers and the agricultural sector he said, links with tourism were a golden chance to drive revenue streams and become more sustainable.

"What we are trying to do is encourage people who might come as a day tripper to stay for longer," he said. "This brings opportunities to diversify - holiday lets, or weddings. There's an awful lot of hidden gems, we've just got to lift the lid so people know they are there.

"And we need agriculture, we need farmers, to maintain the beauty of this countryside. There is a recognition of what they already do."

North Yorkshire's visitor economy is worth £1.5bn annually, employing 41,200 workers. The new 'destination management plan' will focus on anchor brands for places like the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors, Harrogate and Scarborough. It could involve promoting climbing areas, or camping spots, surfing beaches, or small cheese makers.

Coun Derek Bastiman, North Yorkshire Council's executive member for the visitor economy, said he had heard from one farmer sharing the success of his diversification projects with hosting weddings in the family barn.

"A lot of people don't realise the beauty of what we've got," he added. "It's incumbent upon us to look possibilities as best we can. That is what this strategy will do."

Further afield on the Harrogate showground there were networking events for women in farming and animal welfare.

And amid swirling headwinds with a challenging economic climate, changes to payments and post-Brexit and Covid, there were discussions on how the sector can boost its resilience.

A packed Future Farmers of North Yorkshire conference heard from rural champions who have moved creatively to bolster business ventures, sharing their experience and guidance.

Host Caroline Horn of George F. White, said with so many external factors that "we simply cannot control", this was about positive options for change.

Issues around skills, recruitment and retention all featured, while leading farmers from North Yorkshire joined the panel to share their experience.

Fifth-generation farmer Chris Harrison, with arable land and 64,000 free range layers, had adapted generations of working practice to come up with new ways, the panel heard.

With up to 60 per cent of production costs coming down to feed, they had started milling their own, also resulting in less soya. Then they worked to reduce the length of contracts, switching to renewable energy sources with solar, and crafting sustainable solutions.

"It can be a bit overwhelming at times," he admitted, when asked about external factors. "It's about asking 'what can we control?'. To be the driver, not the passenger."

And when it came to crafting solutions, he stressed: "It's not always less cost - it's less risk. And it's important sometimes to get somebody from outside just to challenge your ideas."

The panel was sponsored by AHDB and Oxbury Bank Plc, with speakers including Becki Leach from Kite Consulting and Philip Halhead, director of Cumbria-based Norbreck Genetics.

Adam Palmer, an arable and sheep farmer from Thixendale, had diversified into cold pressing rapeseed oil with Breckenholme Trading Company to build a sustainable future.

The "key" to success was always to plan, he said, and then to deviate if needs be. He said: "Creativity comes in many forms. One thing that farmers are very good at is solving problems and fixing things when they go wrong.”