2021 has continued to present the rural community with many challenges. During the summer and winter it was great for our Out in the Field team to be back at several outside shows during the year:
- The year started with Thame Sheep Fair in August. A warm but very windy two days saw the team meet clients old and new with many commenting how great it was to be back. A staple in the sheep calender, this show also gave us the chance to start gaining entries for our Grand Prize Draw which lasted throughout the summer
- Following a great two days we then traveled to Blakesley Show on Saturday 7th August. Our third year in attendance with an ever increasing footfall onto our stand. The team, many of whom had been at Thame the days prior, worked hard to really make it a special day for stand visitors.
- Our next show was Moreton in Marsh with a return both to our usual stand and a presence within the Hereford Poll Show marquee. We even had a Gerald from Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm visit our stand and have a go at our competition quiz.
- The final summer show was the Fairford, Faringdon, Filkins & Burford (FFFB) Ploughing Match, one of the country’s largest competitions of it’s type. A true masterclass in ploughing and field management, farmers from across several counties competed with a variety of ploughing methods.
With a short break over October, many of our team returned to the road during November & December and supported several prime stock and business shows.
- At the beginning of November we attended the Farm Business Innovation Show with one of our partner insurers, Victor Insurance. The event sees farmers looking for diversification ideas get inspiration from visiting success stories and associated rural companies.
- Later in the month our first Fatstock show was at Uppingham. More celebrity spotting with Adam Henson filming for an episode of Countryfile (see 18th December 2021 on BBC1). The true famous face, though, was our own Will who expertly carved the beef at the traditional lunch after the show (pictured below).
- Our final show was the Cirencester Christmas Show which Lisa & Tish attended. Drawing a large number of farmers from across Gloucestershire & beyond, County and it’s team celebrated the end of the show season in style with bidding on and winning the 1st Prize chocolate cake from the food & produce auction.