CELEBRITIES and government ministers turned out for the second day of the Great Yorkshire Show and competed against some of the most impressive animals in the country for attention.
Countryfile favourite Adam Henson said: “The Great Yorkshire Show is wonderful and this year has had record numbers of livestock. You really need to spend more than one day here and there is so much to see and do - all I have managed to do is scratch the surface.
“They have some of the finest cattle in the country - in fact in the world - so to win a first prize or a championship here is a huge bonus, to have that record would really boost a herd and help bring a premium for the cattle.
Read more: First day of the Great Yorkshire Show
"I don’t show myself as I don’t have much time now, I did and really enjoyed it, but it is hard work. A lot of the exhibitors here bring their family, and for many it is their summer holiday.
“It’s an indication of their passion and their for love farming and the countryside in the UK is very strong and needs to be encouraged and supported and people need to be encouraged to buy British.”
Environment Minister Therese Coffey visited the Great Yorkshire Show to meet leaders of the agriculture industry and insisted the Government is listening to farmers as they go through the biggest transition for decades.
After being asked to back the Buy British campaign she said they were keen to support British food but they could not tell people what to eat.
Following Brexit and the phasing out of subsidies of over £2.4bn for farmers the Department For Environment Food and Rural Affairs is halfway through the major shake up from paying farmers for land and growing crops to managing the land in more sustainable and eco friendly ways.
Dr Coffey said: “We are listening to farmers and reflecting and making changes that has been my mantra, there are changes that have been made. I would like to think some of the things we have already done are already having an impact.”
There are over 8,500 animals at the show, with a record 3,250 sheep, many of them rare breeds.
In the Wensleydale sheep section, winners of the championship were Harrison Spinks who use the exceptionally soft sheep wool to put into their handmade beds.
Run by Simon Spinks at the farm near Tadcaster they have been breeding Wensleydale sheep since 2016 and also carried off the championship last year.
High tech agricultural solutions have been celebrated with the presentation of the newly renamed GYS Innovation Award, sponsored by the Institution for Engineering and Technology (IET).
The award recognises new and innovative products that offer significant improvement to the farming industry, chosen from agricultural, machinery and farming exhibitors at the Great Yorkshire Show.
Taking the honour this year was Neil Fell of NR Fell, who has invented a mobile hydraulic sheep dipper that is delivering massive productivity gains whilst improving animal and farmer welfare and reducing the environmental impact of dipping.
Read next:
- Countryfile's Adam Henson enjoys meeting cattle at Great Yorkshire Show
- How to tell the difference between an adder, grass snake and smooth snake
- Awards for farmers flying the flag for conservation
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Fourth generation farmer Neil, of Nafferton Farm, County Durham first came up with the idea after a trip to a fish and chip shop and a couple of years of back-breaking work as a sheep dipping contractor.
Neil said: “I was dipping 75,000 sheep a year by conventional plunge dipping and thought there has to be an easier way than this.”
Conventional plunge dipping involves the farmer bending forward over and over as they work through a flock and coming within close proximity of chemicals.
The result was an invention that has dramatically increased Neil’s throughput of sheep to 500,000 sheep a year.
The GYS Innovation Award runners up were a folding bale spike which eliminates danger for road users, farmers and livestock designed by Bainbridge Engineering of Cold Kirby near Thirsk, and Sproxton-based Ag-drive’s all-in-one app for agricultural contractors.
Other GYS Innovation Award entries include New Holland’s T6 Methane Tractor, the world’s first ever 100 per cent methane powered production tractor exhibited by Russell’s Group.
Elsewhere on the showground, chief steward for pigeons Keith Robson was delighted for his bird to be named best in show.
Mr Robson, 67, from Hurworth, Darlington, first became interested in fancy pigeons aged 10 when on a school trip to the Great Yorkshire Show.
He said: “We lived in Middleton-in-Teesdale at the time, and a farmer nearby got me started with my own.
“It’s a time-intensive hobby – we don’t get many young people doing this now. They need 24/7 care, so my son is looking after my 50 birds while we are away with the show.”
His supreme champion-winning bird is a three-year-old adult hen, and Mr Robson said judges were impressed by her perfect condition.
Mr Robson said he was delighted to win at the show – his first win at the Great Yorkshire Show in ten years.
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