Great Yorkshire Show: Food, fashion, work and conservation has its place in rural celebration

With the importance of quality food at the top of the agenda, the Cheese and Dairy section showcased the best of British produce.

This year saw two new memorial trophies to mark the massive contribution made to the show by two significant figures in the world of cheese and dairy, David Hartley and Judy Bell.

David from Wensleydale Creamery, who passed away in 2020 was influential in the Cheese and Dairy Show being established at the Great Yorkshire Show. Judy Bell MBE was Chief Steward for many years and a passionate supporter of the show and the industry. Her position as Chief Steward was filled by her daughter, Caroline, following her death last year.

The Judy Bell Supreme Champion Cheese title went to Dewlay Cheesemakers of Garstang for their Creamy Lancashire. Managing Director Nick Kenyon said: “I knew Judy Bell very well. She was an inspiration to us and to many people. She was a powerhouse in the industry and to receive this award is an absolute honour.”

The David Hartley Supreme Champion Dairy Product Trophy went to Longley Farm, in Holmfirth, for its blackcurrant yoghurt. Owner Jimmy Dickinson said: “David Hartley was a very prestigious person who was very much behind this show alongside Judy Bell. It is a real honour to win this award. This is for the staff at Longley who are doing a great job.”

When the Great Yorkshire Show organisers put out a call for wannabe amateur models to join the professional team for this year’s new-look fashion show, they were astonished at the response.

More than 70 people, from teenagers through to 60-somethings, applied from across Yorkshire and the UK to take part in the return of the Great Yorkshire Show’s much-loved catwalk event. Almost all were from farming and rural communities or had links to agriculture.

The Sheep to Chic Fashion Show has been taking place on the Sheep Shearing Stage all week with various guests, including TV vet Peter Wright, and promotes British Wool and the journey it takes from the sheep to the shop.

Co-ordinator Bernadette Gledhill said: “We’ve really struck a chord, and across all ages and backgrounds – from sheep farmers to gamekeepers to dancers and a fitness expert. What they all have in common is a link with farming and love of the countryside.”

The environment and conservation features heavily in the show programme this year and the inaugural Farmland Curlew award, developed by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and Nidderdale AONB to reward famers who make a significant contribution to curlew conservation, was also announced. Again, there were seven region winners from across the north, with the overall title going to Rebecca Dickens and Ian Bell who farm sheep and beef cattle near Brampton in Cumbria.

For some people who have spent their lives working in Yorkshire’s countryside, they were recognised with Long Service Awards.

The Award criteria requires those recognised to have worked for the same employer for a minimum of 35 years and the employer must be a member of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

Presented with their awards by president Simon Theakston after clocking up a grand total of 314 years were: Anthony Norman Bate, from F J Durdy and Company, who has given 41 years’ service as a general farm worker.

William Calvert from A J Spilman and Son with 41 years as an agricultural worker; Michael John Hanslip, working at the Bolton Estate as a Woodman for 43 years; Andrew John Lishman, of BHE Agricultural Contractors, with 37 years as a farm worker and tractor driver; Stephen Philips, of Birdsall Estates, as head stockman for 36 years; Michael Raper, of J W and J Ryder. with 35 years’ service as a stock manager; Paul Stevenson, also of The Bolton Estate, who has worked as a woodman for 42 years; Angela Irene Wilson, of A J Spilman and Son as a farm secretary for 39 years.

Charles Mills, Show Director, said: “It is a real celebration of a great variety of different aspects of rural life, from food production to forestry, and we heard some great stories about the conservation initiatives from farmers across the north.”