On Wednesday, Sarah and I exhibited at the annual Farm Expo based at the Detling Showground. The sky was dreary, but that filled us with an enthusiasm that farmers would be left unable to do any farm work, and would be seeking any excuse to avoid the ever mounting pile of paperwork in the office. We were located a little differently this year, but this gave us a good opportunity view the show, usually we are facing the windows and you’re never quite sure how busy everything is behind you.
Sarah and I were looking forward to our first show of the year, as we have recently upgraded our display flags and have been honing our DIY skills on an A-frame board we found buried at the back of the storeroom. So, once set up we sat back (with a cup of coffee courtesy of Coffee Buzz) and eagerly anticipated the response.
We could never have predicted quite how successful the new additions would be as we both commented we could not recall a trade stand where we had ever been this busy. It seemed members had travelled from all across the South East to attend, and it was lovely to put some names to faces we wouldn’t usually meet. Equally, we met a large number of prospective members all keen to learn about the benefits of Southern Farmers for their companies. It is for this reason that my photographs are lacking somewhat, there just wasn’t time to take any!
The hot topics were obvious, fuel, fertiliser, Putin and quite what on earth this season holds for us all. What I found the most interesting was the real sense of fortitude within our community, despite the adverse times ahead. The understanding that we must all take the rough with the smooth was paramount, we can only hope it won’t be too rough for too much longer. There was of course, a few members that happened to jump when the market was reasonable, saving hundreds of pounds a tonne on fertiliser alone but these were few and far between.
In all, a busy but very successful day, that certainly made all the hard work worthwhile. We’d like to thank all our members that took the time to drop in on Wednesday, and we hope to see you all soon. Next stop: Heathfield Show!
Abi
