A special visit, national cattle show and an inspiring photography exhibition marked the second day of the sold-out 167th Great Yorkshire Show today, as a host of prestigious trophies and rosettes were awarded to some of the very finest livestock, food producers and farming people.
The Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell visited the Charolais cattle where he met Show Director Rachel Coates and handler Barney O’Kane from Northern Ireland with his beast, Goldstar April. The breed’s national show took place at the Show today, with the championship won by heifer Brailes Violet owned by Mr and Mrs M Alford of Cullompton, Devon, and reserve going to Mr T Atkinson’s bull, Goldstar Ulysses.
Wednesday offered the first opportunity for visitors to see the Hardy and Free photography exhibition at the Show. Created by award-winning photographer Carolyn Mendelsohn, it was originally commissioned by the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth as part of its contemporary arts programme and then a new series of portraits was created for Bradford 2025, UK City of Culture. Exploring the relationship between 12 contemporary women and the natural world, the exhibition features Show Director Rachel Coates and runs until Friday.
The Future Farmers of Yorkshire network’s Breakfast Meeting, supported by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, looked at ‘Facts or Fads: What Food Trends Mean for Farmers’. The discussion looked at the impact of food trends on farmers, from the use of GLP-1 medications for weight loss leading to higher demand for high protein foods to the demand for quick-cook convenience foods and a return to cooking from scratch, and how they could plan for the future.
Panellists were Rufus Pilgrim, MD of RS Cockerill, tenant farmer Eden Hill who sells meat direct to the public, Vanessa Adamson, AHDB’s Retail and Consumer Insight Manager and George Roach, third-generation poultry farmer and Director of Oakland Farms Ltd who shared their own experiences of how longer-term trends could be addressed.
Show Director Rachel Coates said:
It’s been a fantastic second day, celebrating excellence across farming, food and the countryside. We’ve shone a light on the educational side of the Show and its impact on young people who took part so brilliantly in the veg box competition.
Today, we’ve also highlighted the wider work of farmers and people who manage our landscapes to conserve and enhance the environment, whilst producing first class food – celebrated in the Cheese and Dairy Show, the Tye Trophy and John Boddy awards and beyond.
Excitement reached fever pitch at the Garden Show Stage where the winning schools in the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s annual Veg Box Competition were revealed to a sea of expectant young visitors. A record 31 primary schools across Yorkshire entered the competition, embracing the theme Waste to Grow to produce flourishing veg boxes grown from seed, built from scratch and decorated with care.
Chapel Haddlesey School near Selby, a small school of 80 pupils, was named the Champion growers for their entry which featured lettuce, tomatoes, micro-greens, sweet peas and more. Their entry was led by a dedicated garden club group made up of pupils from Years 2, 5 and 6. After being revealed as winners, their pupils serenaded the audience with a song they wrote about the competition theme, to encourage recycling.
Candice Sykes, Higher Level Teaching Assistant at Chapel Haddlesey said:
This is the sixth year we’ve entered and we’d never finished higher than sixth before, so it means so much to us. The confidence the children have got from getting involved has been amazing.
The competition is headline sponsored by Asda, with further support from MYGroup, Wormganix, Grow to School, Yorganics, Cone Exchange and Pink Pig. RHS Harlow Carr’s Suzie Orger and Tom Wiltshire judged the 10 finalists whose veg boxes remain on display for visitors to see in the family-friendly Discovery Zone.
Other veg box prize winners included Farsley Springbank Primary School, Leeds, who won Best Diary for the care they had taken to document their growing journey. Richard Taylor Primary School, Harrogate won Best Decorated Box and had the extra boost of a visit from Peter Wright from Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet, earlier in the day.
Having enjoyed a close look at the veg box entries, Peter appeared on the Garden Show Stage for a talk and demo with Chief Garden Show Steward Martin Fish, before having a go at a hand-tie posy with internationally celebrated floral designer Jonathan Moseley.
Peter starred at the Ariat GYS Stage where he talked about his veterinary and broadcasting careers, and his love for farming and the Great Yorkshire Show with TV presenter Christine Talbot, before meeting his fans.
In the packed Cheese & Dairy Show inside the Food Hall, The David Hartley Memorial Trophy for Supreme Champion Dairy Product was Longley Farm’s Luxury Jersey Butter, which was also awarded Best Yorkshire Product. It capped a remarkable haul for the independent Holmfirth-based company who picked up six top prize rosettes – including a Supreme Champion double with their Crème Fraîche Epaisse named Reserve Champion Dairy Product and winning Best Cream.
Jimmy Dickinson, Longley Farm owner, said:
I don’t think people realise how much work and effort goes into these products so when you get a result like this out of the other side, it’s very gratifying.
The Judy Bell Memorial Trophy for Supreme Champion Cheese had a fitting winner as history repeated itself after intense scrutiny from judges.
Shepherds Purse, the multi-award-winning family business set up by the late Judy Bell, regained the Supreme Champion title they had last won in 2024 – with the same product again, two years later, their Organic Yorkshire Blue. It was one of four top honours won by the artisan cheesemakers whose 30-strong team are based near Thirsk.
Katie Matten, daughter of Judy and joint MD of Shepherds Purse said:
It’s absolutely incredible to win it for the second time, and with the cheese we were successful with two years ago. It’s testament to our cheese-making and a fantastic product – we’re absolutely thrilled.
A show debutant triumphed in the Best Display of Cheese, which was the culmination of three first-ever digital cheese classes introduced to the Show this year, for cheese celebration cake, grazing platter and cheeseboard. The winner was Jess Waterton Bailey of Leeds and mother-in-law Pam Knighton of Bedale whose cheese celebration cake was a recreation of the same multi-tiered cake that Pam made for Jess and her son Josh’s wedding two years ago. It showcased seven cheeses: Yorkshire Summerfields-Botton, Ribblesdale Blue Goat, Appleby’s Red Cheshire, Yoredale Wensleydale, Yorkshire Blue, Cornish Yarg and a Godminster Organic Cheddar Heart.
Jess, of Graze by Posh Cheese said:
When it was announced we had won it was quite overwhelming. It’s great that we get to share something so special to us with everyone else.
Many of the rosette-winning cheeses will feature in tomorrow’s (Thursday) cheese auction at 3pm which is expected to raise thousands of pounds for charity.
The Tye Trophy which recognises conservation and environmental work on commercial farms across the North of England was presented to Cumbrian farmers Ian Bell and Rebecca Dickens of Brampton, who work closely with the RSPB on their own land and nearby fell, having created more than 30 ponds.
The John Boddy Award for Forestry celebrates and rewards excellence in forestry creation, design and management in Yorkshire with a different theme each year and this year focused on management for resilient woodland.
The Award is organised and judged by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, Royal Forestry Society and the Forestry Commission and the 2026 title has been won by Bramham Park near Wetherby. Full details here
A soldier who has delivered an “exceptional contribution” to the 1st Battalion of the Royal Yorkshire Regiment was named as Best Soldier. The Best Soldier Award is made annually to member of the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, with a presentation in the Main Ring, and this year’s Award went to Pte Lewis Andrewartha who has delivered “an exceptional contribution to the operational effectiveness of the 1st Battalion The Royal Yorkshire Regiment during a critical period of NATO high readiness”.
