4 CUMBRIA FARMER June 2009FarmingNews
Show organisers hope
for a larger turn-out
BY ANNA BURDETT
O
rganisers of the
Cumberland Show
are hoping for a
better year after
attendance figures in 2008
dropped to their lowest in a
decade.
Visitor numbers dipped to
13,000 last year from a peak of
17,000 thanks to poor weather
and livestock movement
restrictions.
But farmers' enthusiasm
for the Rickerby Park event
on Saturday, July 18 is show-
ing no sign of waning.
The National Galloway
Show will be held to coincide
with Cumbria's biggest agri-
cultural event. Around 70 Gal-
loway cattle are expected at
the show and they are likely
to be one of the biggest attrac-
tions of the day.
Aberdeen Angus will return
to the show after the local
breed society asked for a class
to be reinstated following an
absence of several years.
The North of England Goat
show will be held in the park
on July 17 and exhibitors will
stay on for Saturday's event.
Show secretary Donella
Rozario said: "I think it is
harder and harder for farm-
ers to find the time to get
their animals ready and show
them. But farmers' enthusi-
asm for agricultural shows is
as strong as ever."
The closing date for most
livestock entries is Thursday,
although the dog competition
closes for entries on Monday .
Poultry and rabbits must be
registered by July 11 and the
industrial section will close
for entries on June 29.
Mrs Rozario said she was
particularly keen to develop
the young handlers' event
that was introduced last year.
Anyone interested in taking
part can enter the competi-
tion on show day.
The recession does not
appear to have had an impact
on the number of trade stands
booked this year.
Mrs Rozario said: "Some of
the professional businesses
are taking bigger stands and
some organisations like the
National Trust are attending
for the first time. I dare say
there will be some who don't
come this year."
The food hall and model
farm have been growing in
popularity over recent years.
She added: "One of our
problems last year was that,
because so many other events
were cancelled, people
thought the Cumberland
Show was cancelled.
"We keep telling people we
would not cancel."
1,800 attend
silage event
ABOUT 1,800 farmers and contractors
attended a demonstration of silage
and slurry equipment last month.
The event, at Chrichton Royal
Farm, Dumfries, was organised by
machinery dealers Gordens in south
west Scotland and Carlisle-based
Rickerby Ltd.
There was a demonstration of
injection, trailing shoe and umbil-
ical slurry systems.
Cumbria Farmer reported in
April that new machinery prices
had risen 35 per cent since Septem-
ber because of the strong Euro. Mar-
tyn Henderson from Rickerby said
sales of farm machinery were
steady for the time of year.
Cumbria is guinea pig
for coast access plans
Countdown to
county event
Popular: Left, crowds enjoying a previous Cumberland Show and, right, last year's young handlers' competition
Demonstration: A Claas silage rake on show at Chrichton Royal Farm last month
BY STEPH JOHNSONCUMBRIA has been chosen to test
plans to give walkers access to the
entire English coast.
The Cumbrian secretary of the
NFU is awaiting detailed informa-
tion about the pilot route, which
would run from the county border
at Gretna to Whitehaven.
But Nick Utting is not unduly con-
cerned about the affect on local
landowners if the proposals become
reality. "We already have the Cum-
brian Coastal Way, the cycle route
along the coast and the Hadrian's
Wall route," he said. "We already
accommodate a considerable amount
of traffic from walkers and tourists.
"It is yet to be seen what greater
impact this might have upon farms
in the area."
The trial will not involve creating
a new path; it will be more of a dry
run for ground surveys, fact-finding
missions and forums for landown-
ers and other interested parties.
Natural England will use the
results of the study to formulate a
national policy, which would be
adopted by local authorities if the
Marine and Coastal Access Bill is
passed by Parliament.
Meanwhile, in response to con-
cerns raised by the farming lobby,
the Government has tabled an
amendment to the bill to give
landowners the right to appeal
against a coastal route if it threat-
ens their businesses.
NFU deputy president Meurig Ray-
mond welcomed the u-turn and said
the NFU would continue in its efforts
to improve the bill for members.
Lords back
LFA reforms
THE House of Lords EU Commit-
tee has called for the swift
adoption of reforms to the Less
Favoured Areas (LFA) scheme.
Its report stresses that the
justification for the LFA scheme is
to maintain farming in marginal
areas where farming activity
generates benefits for the environ-
ment and landscape, rather than
to compensate for regional
economic hardship.
The committee says other EU
funds are available to address
socio-economic problems faced by
disadvantaged agricultural
regions.
It supports recent proposals by
the European Commission to estab-
lish a set of EU-wide guidelines to
identify disadvantaged areas.

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