Credit: Border Union, Kelso
The success of the annual Border Union Show is often measured in the number of entries to the various competitions and size of the crowds, but the show’s ability to be a hub for nationwide debate on farming and rural issues is potentially more important.
Douglas Stephen, the Chair of the Border Union Trustees, welcomed the attendance of a number of Scottish and UK government speakers at the show’s relatively new business breakfast, stating that the quality of discussion and debate was vital to helping local farmers to plot a way through the recent uncertainty.
”We’ve put this on for a number of years now and it’s migrated into the Members’ tent, and we had a great array of speakers this year which made it very informative
Douglas StephenChair of the Border Union Trustees
“Farming can be a relatively lonely industry and if you can gather together the farming community to listen to speakers like this it can make it a very worthwhile experience. Like all businesses, there are times when you need to take time out of the business to help develop the business, and while it’s tough for farmers getting the balance right, with one eye on the weather at this time of year, there has been positive feedback about the value of events like the breakfast this year.
“The position in agriculture is changing as quick as politics at the moment,” Douglas continued, “so we have to keep abreast of that and it’s events like this that help you focus and form an action plan going forward.
“Without having too much of a political bias there hasn’t been a lot of focus on the direction of agriculture with the incoming government. But, in saying that, one of the discussions was around the changes we can expect to agriculture exporting if Donald Trump gets into power in America, again, with a speaker making clear that the American borders will just close. And that is potentially a far bigger problem for us than what’s happening on our doorstep.
“We also talked about a variety of issues related to food production and how we need to improve things, which I think we’re all on board with, but to be quite honest it’s not the farming community that is producing salted chips and cheeseburgers. We produce the raw ingredients. And again that discussion just underlined how much the whole education process needs to be enhanced.
“We have a fantastic initiative of the Schools Day with the Border Union Agricultural Society, but we need to educate more than just schoolchildren; we need to educate the entire population about where our food comes from.”
He was quick to add, however, that the higher entries and impressive crowds, on the Saturday particularly, added to the healthy debates for an event that is finding its feet again after the challenges of the Covid pandemic.
“Yes, all these things we’re discussing, the farmers coming together, people coming to Kelso from all across Borders society and their families, and people from much further afield coming to the Borders for important competitions – the Aberdeen Angus national show was a big coup this year – all plays a part in creating a rich, valuable event for the Borders economy.
“That’s the beauty of the Border Union Show. It brings so many people together, for serious issues and socialising, and that is every bit as important to our health and the success of our businesses. It is great to see people buzzing again about agriculture.”
Credit: Border Union, Kelso
