The Festival is replacing the usual Bath & West Show for 2021 and takes place from 27 to 29 August in Shepton Mallet. It will include a new food hall where visitors will be able to browse an enormous range of locally produced delicacies.
Renowned speciality products like cheese and cider will also be on display, with this year’s British Cider Championships taking place at the Festival.
According to inward investment service Into Somerset, food production is worth more than £500 million to the county, which has a network of more than 8,500 farmers and food producers – the highest number of any UK county. Together these businesses, many of them family-run farms, directly employ more than 19,000 people as well as supporting the many other businesses that form part of the supply chain.
NFU Somerset chair Tom Kimber, a dairy and livestock farmer from Charlton Musgrove near Wincanton, said: “We have so much food and drink produced in our county. I never cease to be amazed by the number of food processing businesses and the breadth of these businesses.
“Food is produced by multinational corporations, sole traders and everything in between. Why have all these businesses found themselves in Somerset? Close proximity to the raw ingredients, which are grown by farmers.”
The upheaval caused by the coronavirus lockdown highlighted the important role that farm shops play in their local community. The Kimber family’s popular shop was temporarily converted into a delivery hub, supplying local produce to those unable to get out to the shops.
“We were able to act quickly to make sure our customers got the food they needed, and many other farm shops were able to do the same. This shows how important it is that we have secure, resilient, local supply chains that can come to the fore when there is an emergency,” said Mr Kimber.
Research by the NFU and not-for-profit think tank Onward has found that 65% of all farm businesses in England run other enterprises such as farm shops and food producers, alongside wider hospitality-based concerns like camp sites, wedding venues and B&Bs that in turn provide trade for their suppliers.
These businesses are extremely valuable to the economy, generating more than £740 million in 2019, and have the potential to deliver more as part of the Government’s levelling-up agenda.
As part of this process, the NFU is calling on the Government to ensure policies are ‘rural-proofed’ to make sure they do not disadvantage rural communities, that there is better provision of rural broadband and that there is investment in farm diversification.
• NFU President Minette Batters will be at the Festival on 27 August. She will be attending a reception at the NFU stand, which is on Fifth Avenue near the main ring, at 3pm when members will have the opportunity to hear from Minette and ask questions.