2016-06-22 |
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Agricultural Innovation in the Spotlight at Great Yorkshire Show
For the first time each day England's premier agricultural show will host speakers, including practitioners, to share best practice and inspire forward thinking producers to make the most of the changing world of the food chain.
Show
Director Charles Mills said:
“One of our key aims as an
agricultural society is to encourage and promote innovation and
efficiency in the British farming industry. Amongst our 130,000
or so visitors are tens of thousands of farmers who are passionate
about what they do and who are keen to drive their businesses
forward. Yes we care for the countryside, but to survive we have
to be profitable and the two are most definitely not mutually
exclusive.
Visitors browsing the machinery stands at the Great Yorkshire Show
Under the heading “Agricultural Innovation in the North of England,” the daily seminar programme will bring together those keen to share their ideas, knowledge and experiences with those who are focused on ensuring that British agriculture remains at the cutting edge of world's producers. It's a global market now and we have to make the most of that.”
The venue for the seminars is within the Yorkshire Agricultural Society's new exhibition hall which opened this month. “It couldn't be more appropriate that the Great Yorkshire Show is the first public event to use our £11.5m hall. We strive to be at the forefront of everything we do and this hall is state of the art. It is a substantial investment – our largest ever - and is aimed at increasing revenue so we can keep ploughing back support to the rural industry. These seminars are just one example of how we deliver that aim.”
The wide ranging programme includes a look at the future without pesticides, which is particularly topical for arable farmers which will be presented by the Society's Farmer Scientist Network. The problems of rural crime will come under the spotlight when North Yorkshire Police Commissioner, Julia Mulligan will unveil results of new research, in her role as Chair of the National Rural Crime Network and Jo Speed, a North East dairy farmer, will give her perspective on being a Nuffield Scholar.
Opportunities to expand into foreign markets will be to the fore as for one of its seminars, the UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is bringing a delegation from Serbia to talk about how British producers can tap into Serbian consumer needs. Health and safety issues on the farm will be discussed by the Health Safety Executive and the NFU, and the threat of cybercrime will be the hot topic of Yorkshire rural insurance brokers, McClarrons. The role of research will feature in talks by the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL) and centre for Crop Health And Protection (CHAP) as they look at innovation in the industry. There are also talks by Bioval, N8 Agrifood and Newcastle University.
