The finishing touches were being made to the 167th Great Yorkshire Show which prepares to open its gates tomorrow, to welcome 150,000 visitors over the next four days.
All tickets have now sold out for the Show, which runs from Tuesday 14 – Friday 17 July offering four days of agricultural excellence, including thousands of the best animals in the UK, celebrity appearances and spectacular entertainment.
With the stage now set, Yorkshire Agricultural Society Manager David Tite admired the world’s largest combine harvester, the New Holland CR11 from Russells on display on the President’s Lawn, while Show Director Rachel Coates met Georgia Bowman, who will be competing in the Dairy Young Handlers on Thursday.
Georgia, who has been showing cattle since she was three, was with calf Parkhouse Foggathorpe. The Show is a real family affair for the Bowmans, with Georgia’s elder sister, Sophie, mum Victoria, dad Michael and grandfather Dennis Craig all involved in prepping and showing six home-bred Dairy Shorthorn in-calf heifers and calves during the week. The family have bred Dairy Shorthorns in Weardale since 1812 and Victoria is about to launch a cheese business.
The focus on livestock is as strong as ever, with the Show hosting national shows for Charolais cattle and Zwartbles sheep.
Farmer and Content Creator Rebecca Wilson was at the Showground taking a look at the newly expanded Agri-Innovation Village which showcases groundbreaking and cutting-edge farming technology of the future. This includes a unique modular biomethane refuelling station and the new T7 280 New Holland biomethane powered tractor which is on display throughout the Show, courtesy of Bennamann.
The modular system, on display alongside the New Holland T7 280 for the first time – turns biogas made on farms into vehicle fuel for biomethane-powered tractors.
Also, on display for the first time at a UK farming show this week, will be the Toyota’s hydrogen powered Hilux prototype which is being developed with cutting-edge hydrogen fuel cell technology developed in the UK by Toyota.
The Agri-Innovation Village is hosted by the Farmer Scientist Network at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and sponsored by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and Greene Tree.
It is bigger and better than ever thanks to support from event partners Harrogate-based energy management company Energy Oasis, the Royal Agricultural Society’s Farm of the Future team.
The diversity of the rural sector also comes to the fore at the Show and Show Director Rachel Coates met Birds of Prey exhibitor Tori Goodall and her 17-year-old Harris Hawk, Big Red. The award-winning Walworth Birds of Prey are displayed daily in the Countryside Arena at 12noon and 4pm. This will be their sixth and final show appearance as Walworth are retiring from the agricultural show circuit this year after many years of crowd-pleasing, educational displays.
Alongside the Countryside Arena is the Countryside Voices stage, where discussions during the week will range from the health of our waterways to what we want the countryside to look like in 30 years.
Rachel Coates said:
The Show is the highlight of the year for many of our exhibitors and visitors, and I am very excited about sharing the wealth of farming, food and countryside features we have on offer.
While this is my second year as Show Director, I am looking forward to learning even more about the different parts of the jigsaw, from cheese to forestry.
We are indebted to the whole team who come together to help deliver a fantastic day out for our visitors.
There will celebrity chat shows hosted on the Ariat GYS Stage throughout the week. Kelvin and Liz Fletcher of ITV’s Fletchers on the Farm will appear on Tuesday, Peter Wright of Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet will appear on Wednesday, Jules Hudson of BBC’s Escape to the Country will appear on Thursday and Harriet Cowan who featured in Clarkson’s Farm will appear on Friday.
Models will be on the on the Ariat GYS Stage twice a day at 11am and 2pm in clothes from eight brands, all of which will be available on the Showground.
Free shuttle buses are operated by The Harrogate Bus Company every day of the Great Yorkshire Show. The buses run every 10 minutes from Harrogate Bus Station (next to the Railway Station) to the Showground’s White Gate, starting at 7.20am. The last bus departs the Showground at 7pm.
