Great Yorkshire Show: Crowds bathed in sunshine for opening day with a wedding and farming showcase
The mental and physical health of farmers is a key focus for this year's 166th Great Yorkshire Show which got underway yesterday bathed in sunshine and with a sell-out crowd.
It is hoped the show will highlight the plight of farmers to the 140,000 people set to descend on the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate as well as politicians and dignitaries attending over this week.
Rachel Coates, taking the helm as show director, said from the camaraderie of the cattle sheds, living from a suitcase for a few busy days, to more serious debate in political briefings, the show is a great platform.
It's also, to many, become a "family", she added. A way to connect, and for rural people to come together as a community.
England’s premier agricultural event saw national livestock championships on its opening day, international and celebrity guests, and even a wedding.
And there were weighty debates around mental health, rural resilience, and building growth – as well as strong voices levelled at Parliament in calls around inheritance tax.
The Countryside Land and Business Association (CLA), under a sustained campaign over the controversial decision to drop inheritance tax relief, has long voiced its appeals.
The body is now to report the Government to the Ombudsman and Parliamentary Commission over refusal to answer Freedom of Information requests relating to tax changes, it revealed.
At a breakfast debate on the opening day, the CLA hosted the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith as well as an expert panel discussing ‘Growth of the Rural Economy’.
When quizzed by the audience if he thought the government would U-turn, as it had on other policies such as winter fuel payments, Mr Skaith replied, “I don’t think they will”.
But Jonathan Roberts, the CLA’s external policy director, said the organisation was lobbying backbenchers into a rebellion. Mr Roberts said Prime Minister Kier Starmer had backtracked on other policies, with the CLA claiming it has close to 30 MPs on board.
“We have created an opportunity but need to build it up to make whips nervous," he said.
A report from Mr Skaith had revealed earlier this week that more than half of farms are failing to make a profit, raising further concerns for rural families.
And in a later briefing debate, NFU President Tom Bradshaw warned over a dark cloud of inheritance tax that hangs heavy over the sector.
Sector leaders echoed calls for a recognition over the impact, with Richard Simpson, of Ripon Farm Services, speaking of the ripple effect that spreads to suppliers and the economy.
“Every business owner says the same,” he outlined. “It’s putting plans on hold, making them reshape their business plans. That is a travesty.”
And Mr Bradshaw, reiterating a phrase to say that “when farming sneezes the whole rural economy catches a cold,” added that it was critical to acknowledge this impact.
Just a year ago the industry was full of hope, said Mr Bradshaw. Now, that has turned to a “cloud” that hangs over the whole of the sector.
“It’s undermining confidence and the human impact is so very real,” he said of inheritance tax.
He spoke of a 98-year-old woman fearful for her family’s future, and the children of an elderly man with dementia who are unable to change his will.
And, speaking after the briefing, he said his message to the Prime Minister would be around building a food and farming system that delivers for the country.
“For me, the Great Yorkshire Show (GYS) is a critical area to bring together industry and farming communities,” he said. “It’s far more than just farming, or food production.
“People in these communities are at the heart of the rural economy. Farming is at the heart of these thriving rural economies.
“It's ultimately what keeps the pubs and schools in the village open. If we lose that we lose what rural communities are built on.”
Mrs Coates' own father was a livestock marketer, working the auction marts. They hadn’t known then, she said, how important such links and daily meetings as these held at the GYS today are.
“The younger ones don't go so much any more,” she said. “This is how we know our problems are shared. It puts it all into perspective.”
Her own family hadn't planned on showing this year, but decided they had to. Their son would just miss it too much.
“We're all looking in the cattle sheds, for people we know, or the sheep pens. It’s a coming together,” she added.
“The show is a happy, joyful place – there's some serious stuff going on."