The Ginger Pig 'Hog Blog': The Great Yorkshire Show

Agricultural shows are to farming and rural communities what music festivals are to, well, everybody else. On the surface they're an opportunity to get together with old friends and make new, see animals in their prime in the show ring, and - of course - enjoy the odd drink or three. For those who aren't necessarily involved directly in farming, agricultural shows provide a snapshot of rural life as well as a great day out for the family, with food halls, ferris wheels, markets stalls and games.

But the purpose of the agricultural show runs much deeper than the fun stuff, fulfilling an important role in keeping alive farming tradition as well as developing and encouraging the next generation of farmers and animals. People don't simply show animals out of pride, but to strengthen the bloodlines of each breed, to try and ensure a long and strong future for our native animals as well a few continental imports such as British Limousin and Simmental. Pedigree livestock is often bought and sold on the strength the performance at an agricultural show, and this is something we're keen to do more of to grow our farming practices.

Each day this week, we'll be giving you a little taster of our week at the Great Yorkshire Show, starting with...a little taster of the show. With over 2,000 animals and 130,000 visitors, there's an awful lot to take in - here are a few snaps from our week, enjoy.