Weather brings out thousands at Ingliston
● Organisers hail interest in farming, food and rural life
While the overall figure might have been a couple of busloads behind last year’s record breaking attendance, the organisers of the Royal Highland show – which finished its four-day run yesterday in sweltering temperatures – said the high levels of attendance reflected the growing appeal of Scotland’s biggest celebration of farming, food and rural life.
The final entry figures from the show’s four-day run stood at 189,851, only a fraction behind last year’s figure of 190,128 – with Saturday proving to be the most popular day when almost 56,000 flooded into the showground.
But the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) said that the event – which delivers £65 million of economic benefit to the UK – wasn’t only providing a shop window for the farming industry but had also displayed its green credentials.
RHASS chief executive Alan Laidlaw said that there had been an estimated 160,000 journeys made by public transport over the four days, double the previous year’s number. He said a carefully co-ordinated approach had helped ensure that onward journeys from all the nearest train stations ran smoothly.
These journeys had also helped ease pressure for those who did come by car, reducing the volume of traffic on the roads and hence the likebut of congestion, despite the higher attendance.
Recent investment in showground infrastructure had also helped the 178th show announcethatitwas “flushed with success” on the water front, claiming that 1.75 million litres of fresh water had been replaced by the recycled equivalent in the showground toilet systems, while 160 tonnes of the waste normally produced at such events was environmentally processed.
Society chairman Jimmy Warnock also stressed the attraction which the show had held for political big-hitters, keen to take the opportunity to raise their profile in the farming world.
Among this year’s visitors, said Mr Warnock, were key leaders from across the political spectrum, including Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Scottish Secretary David Mundell, Fergus Ewing, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity and Ruth Davidson, leader of the Conservative party in Scotland.
Mr Warnock was also keen to emphasise the importance of ensuring that youngsters attended the show: “The Royal Highland Education Trust, the educational arm of RHASS, had another successful show with over 6,000 children visiting on Thursday and Friday – and an estimated 30,000 youngsters are expected to have visited over the four days, with children 15 and admitted to the show for free.” “The feedback on this year’s show has been incredible – yes, the weather played its part but overwhelmingly visilihood tors are amazed with the scale and size of the event with every part of the showground brimming with things to see and do for the whole family.” He said that by pushing the use of public transport much of the stress had been removed for many – and arriving seamlessly to the event added to the overall enjoyment of the day: “This is a once-in-a-year opportunity to get face-to-face with the countryside and we hope we will leave a legacy for families to go out and discover what rural Scotland has to offer beyond the four days of the Show,” said Warnock.
While there’s no doubting that the Royal Highland Show is a pretty good barometer by which to judge the mood of Scotland’s farming industry, it can be difficult – if not downright dangerous – to draw too many conclusions when you spend the show stuck in the artificial atmosphere of set-piece political engagements and hastily arranged press huddles.
But while it might simply have been the decent spell of weather – combined with the fact that most farmers had had the chance to catch up with the work after such a grim first half of the year – there did seem to be more of a relaxed air than we’ve maybe seen at the show in recent years.
Whether this had also been fuelled by the release of Fergus Ewing’s thoughts on the transition arrangements for farm support measures – which showed up on the very eve of the show – might be debatable, but it did help dispel the growing clamour for some official recognition that the industry needed to do some forward planning.
Despite the obvious underlying question of “transition to what?” remaining unanswered, the prospect of at least an element of breathing space did seem to help quell some of the anxieties which had been building over the apparent lack of any movement to address the issue.
For the singular absence of any announcements was beginning to look like the political equivalent of sticking your fingers in you rear sand chanting“la la-la-la ”– and the protracted period of Brexit bickering overpower grabs, during which it looked like no headway was being made, was undoubtedly adding to industry nervousness over the growing multitude uncertainties.
So, the consultation document, for all its flaws and late delivery did at least go some way to satisfying a long felt want.
However, despite this general feeling of an inflation in the air of wellbeing, there was also a ground hog day element to the show, as the hoary old chestnut of the EU’S convergence uplift funding once again moved centre stage.
In one of the more difficult concepts for journalists to describe briefly, the issue dates back to the prescottish independence referendum days. Basically, the EU aimed to even up area payments across the whole of Europe – and as those paid out to Scotland were amongst the lowest in the Europe, some additional cash was awarded to the UK to address this shortfall.
However, rather than passing this cash – worth around £160 million – on to Scottish farmers in its entirety it was instead divvied out across the whole of the UK, meaning Scotland’s coffers received only small portion of the funds.
Cue uproar over this from the SNP government – but such was the obvious justice of their case that they received cross party support from the Scottish Parliament when they called for a rethink on the way in which the funds had been allocated.
The political furore which followed did eventually lead to the promise that there would be a review of the share-out – and, while almost every UK environment secretary and farming minister (and there have been many) from David Heath up to today’s Michael Gove have promised to see the review carried out –all have quietly kicked the issue into the long grass and failed to deliver.
But if the post-brexit share-out of domestic farm policy and support funds are to be based on what was drawn down before, the issue has gained a new relevance as the convergence shortfall would be carried forward into the future.
And while it looked like real progress was being made on the issue last autumn, with names chosen for who would conduct an independent review, efforts stalled when the Treasury became involved and called the issue in.
However, despite environment secretary Michael Gove’s flat refusal to confirm or deny that the review would go ahead when he spoke to the press at the Highland – the game is, apparently, once again afoot.
With a meeting with chief secretary to the Treasury (and former Defra secretary) Liz Truss slated for early July, expectations have once again been raised.