Second day of the Great Yorkshire Show celebrates champions, cheesemakers and young growers

Among the day's special guests was the Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell, who visited the Charolais cattle lines where he met Great Yorkshire Show Director Rachel Coates and Northern Ireland handler Barney O'Kane alongside his animal, Goldstar April.

The visit coincided with the Charolais breed's national show, where the championship title was awarded to the heifer Brailes Violet, owned by Mr and Mrs M Alford.

Reserve champion went to Goldstar Ulysses, a bull owned by Mr T Atkinson.

Visitors also had their first chance to explore the Hardy and Free photography exhibition, created by award-winning photographer Carolyn Mendelsohn.

Originally commissioned by the Brontë Parsonage Museum before being expanded for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, the exhibition celebrates the relationship between 12 contemporary women and the natural world.

It features Great Yorkshire Show Director Rachel Coates and remains on display until Friday.

The future of British farming was also firmly in the spotlight during the Future Farmers of Yorkshire breakfast meeting, where industry experts discussed how changing consumer habits could shape agriculture in the years ahead.

The panel explored everything from the impact of weight-loss medications driving demand for high-protein foods to the growing popularity of convenience meals and the return of home cooking, examining what these trends could mean for farmers planning for the future.

Rachel Coates, Show Director, said: “It's been a fantastic second day, celebrating excellence across farming, food and the countryside.

"We've shone a light on the educational side of the show and its impact on young people who took part so brilliantly in the veg box competition.

“We've also highlighted the wider work of farmers and people who manage our landscapes to conserve and enhance the environment, whilst producing first class food – celebrated in the Cheese and Dairy Show, the Tye Trophy and John Boddy awards and beyond.”

One of the biggest celebrations of the day came during the Yorkshire Agricultural Society's annual Veg Box Competition, where a record 31 primary schools from across Yorkshire showcased creative vegetable-growing projects based around this year's theme, Waste to Grow.

Chapel Haddlesey School, near Selby, was crowned champion grower after impressing judges with a flourishing display featuring lettuce, tomatoes, microgreens, sweet peas and more.

The school's pupils marked their victory by performing a song they had written about recycling for the packed audience.

Candice Sykes, Higher Level Teaching Assistant at Chapel Haddlesey School, said: "This is the sixth year we've entered and we'd never finished higher than sixth before, so it means so much to us.

"The confidence the children have got from getting involved has been amazing."

Harrogate also had reason to celebrate as Richard Taylor Primary School won the award for Best Decorated Box, with pupils enjoying an earlier visit from Channel 5's The Yorkshire Vet star Peter Wright.

Later, Peter Wright entertained packed audiences with appearances on both the Garden Show Stage and the Ariat GYS Stage, where he spoke about his veterinary career, television work and lifelong passion for farming.

Food producers were also celebrating major success in the Cheese and Dairy Show.

Holmfirth-based Longley Farm claimed the prestigious David Hartley Memorial Trophy for Supreme Champion Dairy Product with its Luxury Jersey Butter, which was also named Best Yorkshire Product.

The family business collected six top awards during an impressive day of judging.

Jimmy Dickinson, Owner of Longley Farm, said: "I don't think people realise how much work and effort goes into these products so when you get a result like this out of the other side – it's very gratifying."

Another familiar Yorkshire name, Shepherds Purse near Thirsk, regained the Judy Bell Memorial Trophy for Supreme Champion Cheese with its Organic Yorkshire Blue, repeating its success from 2024.

Katie Matten, joint managing director at Shepherds Purse, said: "It's absolutely incredible to win it for the second time.

"It's testament to our cheese-making and a fantastic product."

The competition also welcomed a first-time winner in the Best Display of Cheese category, with Jess Waterton Bailey and her mother-in-law Pam Knighton taking the title for an elaborate cheese celebration cake inspired by a wedding cake they created two years ago.

Elsewhere, the Tye Trophy, recognising outstanding conservation work on commercial farms across the North of England, was presented to Ian Bell and Rebecca Dickens for their environmental work, including the creation of more than 30 ponds.

The John Boddy Award for Forestry was awarded to Bramham Park near Wetherby for excellence in resilient woodland management.

Meanwhile, Private Lewis Andrewartha of the 1st Battalion The Royal Yorkshire Regiment received the Best Soldier Award in recognition of what judges described as his "exceptional contribution" to the battalion during a critical period of NATO high readiness.

The 167th Great Yorkshire Show continues until Friday and is completely sold out, with a record-breaking 150,000 visitors expected over the four-day event and more than 8,500 livestock competing for championship honours.

For more information about the Great Yorkshire Show, visit https://greatyorkshireshow.co.uk/