At Jacksons Law Firm we are very proud of our diverse and specialist client base. For many years now we have been NFU panel solicitors providing legal advice to their members. One of the pleasures of this is we are invited each year to join the NFU in their members tent at the Great Yorkshire Show. For this week’s blog Adrienne Patterson, who is the co-ordinator of our panel membership, talks about attending the event and this year’s show.
As Jacksons are the NFU Legal Panel firm for the North East of England, we are invited to join the NFU and NFU Mutual on their stand at the show in Harrogate each year. This is now our 17th year at the show.
The show lasts for three days and attracts thousands of visitors and exhibitors from all over the country, and has become far more than an agricultural show. For Jacksons, attending the show is a great opportunity to meet up with NFU staff and officeholders from both the region and NFU Headquarters, to catch up with our farming clients and hopefully meet some new ones.
On a personal level, having worked for the NFU for 10 years before joining Jacksons, it is good to see old farming friends and former colleagues again. This is the 26th year that I have attended the show.
The NFU stand was busier than ever this year, with a new and open layout and new caterers; a good base for NFU members to grab a coffee and some lunch before heading back out on to the show ground, and to shelter from the persistent rain on day one of the show!
For many people, a day at the Yorkshire show is simply a fun day out – have a look at the livestock, watch some show jumping and a wander round the various stands, paying particular attention to the food hall and the retail marquees.
For the NFU however, the show is a significant business event in their calendar. It is an opportunity for them to talk to their members and demonstrate to them what they get as part of their membership- including access to legal advice from Jacksons. This year Jacksons hosted a number of Seminars for NFU members, covering Tenancy Succession Planning, Wills and Powers of Attorney and Dealing with Regulatory Prosecution.
There is also a series of meetings with various MPs and other agricultural dignitaries. There was a fleeting visit by Michael Gove, the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and a meeting with Sue Hayman, the Shadow Minister.
The main topic of conversation was of course Brexit and how it will affect the farming community.
One new addition to the show this year was the significant increase in security, including a number of armed police patrolling the show ground. Word must have got round that the NFU had new caterers and were serving good coffee, as there was a steady stream of police officers arriving on the stand to claim their complementary coffees or teas!
On the Wednesday evening, the NFU hosted a BBQ and drinks reception for the Farmers Community Network – a voluntary organisation and charity that supports farmers and families within the farming community through difficult times, including help with financial difficulties, animal disease, mental health and family disputes. The event was really well supported and the food, as you would expect at a farming event, was excellent.
By 5pm on Thursday (day 3), the show is starting to wind down. The gold medal winning NFU Horticulture Stand is being dismantled and the contents (fruit, veg and flowers) are being auctioned off to the public, as are enormous blocks of award winning cheese!
