Devon County Show - Devon is a farmers' County Show

One of the great mysteries of West Country farming is why it should be that, whereas Cornish farmers regard attending the Royal Cornwall Show each year almost as an article of faith, a similar sense of loyalty appears to be conspicuous largely by its absence among their counterparts in Devon when it comes to their county show, writes Anthony Gibson.

It isn’t as if Devonians lack a sense of pride in their county, or in their calling. How does the song go?

 “When Adam and Eve were dispossessed in a garden hard by heaven,

They planted another one, down in the West,

‘Twas Devon,

‘Twas Devon, glorious Devon.”

Nor – despite protestations to the contrary – can it genuinely be down to a lack of farming content in the show itself. Yes, Cornwall has more farm machinery, because the agricultural supply trade is structured differently down there.  But the livestock classes are as well supported at the Devon County Showground as they are at Wadebridge, the opportunities to debate the issues of the day with the big names of the farming world are just as numerous and if the agricultural trade stands at the Devon County lose out in quantity to the Royal Cornwall, they often make up for it in quality.

It comes down, I suspect, to perception.  Ever since the Devon County moved from Whipton to Westpoint, the perception in the farming community has been that the Show has lost something of its farming flavour.  Coupled with the fact that it often coincides with the first cut of silage, that has served to provide an excuse for staying at home; whilst the fact that the farmers of Devon do not attend their Show in the same numbers as they do in Cornwall has of itself changed the atmosphere of the event.

But the great thing about perceptions is that they can be changed, and changing the perception that the Devon County Show is no longer “a proper farming Show” is precisely the mission that this year’s Show President, Major Ranulf Rayner, has set himself.

“Farming is at the heart of Devon and I’ve been determined in my year as President to do everything I can to make sure that it is seen to be at the heart of the Show”, he said.

He starts, of course, with the reality, because if that’s not right, you stand no chance of changing the perception.  But the reality is, with this year’s Devon County Show, that we – and I use the pronoun advisedly, because as a proud Devonian myself, the Devon County Show is very much my Show - have brought together a panel of top-notch speakers to debate the big farming issues at the CLA/DCAA breakfast on the opening morning, we’ve got the most famous farmer in Britain, Adam Henson, visiting on the Friday, we’ve got an even better line-up of agricultural trade stands than last year, including some serious farm machinery, and the Devon Red Rubies are staging their National Show alongside the livestock classes, which themselves are as strong as ever.

As Ranulf Rayner says:  “We’ve got the trade stands, the industry leaders and the livestock, but what we really need now are the farmers and their families to come along and support their Show and farming in their county.  It makes all the difference in the world to the atmosphere of the Show, and it’s also the surest guarantee of strengthening the agricultural content of the Show, because if the farmers are there, the trade stands will follow.”

The dates of this year’s Devon County Show are May 19-21, and they are dates that every self-respecting farmer in the county ought to have inked in their diaries.  Whether it’s for the farming business, or for a great day out with the family or simply as a powerful statement of where you are from, what you are proud of and what you stand for, the Devon County Show is where you ought to be. It is part of what being a Devon farmer is all about.

Article written by Anthony Gibson