By Ewan Pate, farming editor

THE PROSPECT of a single winter agricultural show in Scotland is tantalising but so far any solution has proved elusive.

There are, at present, two events held on consecutive Wednesdays in November, both at the same Ingliston venue.

Agriscot, a comprehensive business and dairy show, precedes the Scottish National Fatstock Club’s winter fair by a week.

Both events succeed at what they do but there has been an oft-voiced frustration that both public and exhibitors either have to choose between the two or make the journey to Edinburgh twice in quick succession.

Talks have been held between the directors of the two shows but no real progress has ever been made.

The atmosphere has swung between cordiality and acrimony but at the root of the problem there are structural and practical differences which make a joint event difficult.

The SNFC is a club and is run to provide a venue for as many of its members as possible to show their livestock and it charges admission.

Agriscot is a limited company with a business focus and seeks to attract a large number of stand- holders while still providing facilities for an elite dairy cattle show, but offers free admission.

Now a third player has entered the arena.

It emerged yesterday that the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), which owns the Ingliston showground, has been in preliminary discussions with SNFC with the intention of jointly staging a Scottish Winter Fair in November this year.

RHASS says that it has been approached by SNFC and has now appointed two directors—chairman designate John Dykes and development and general purposes committee chairman Bill Gray—to take the idea forward with club officials.

In a statement RHASS chief executive Ray Jones said, “The talks are very much exploratory and only involve ourselves and the fatstock club.

“Agriscot management, however, has been made aware of the situation.

“The initial idea is for an event appealing to the farming and general public, featuring livestock, food and other attractions.

“We will be discussing what is and what is not feasible.”

SNFC chairman George McFadzean said, “These are exploratory talks but they are going well.

“We have another meeting with RHASS on Monday.

“It can only be to the benefit of Scottish agriculture that the two bodies work together.

“As far as the proposed event is concerned I can say that it will be similar to the existing winter fair but bigger and better and should add value for visitors. It would be good to see the event moving further along the food chain and see food companies and the public becoming more involved.”

It might seem that Agriscot is in danger of being frozen out but re-elected chairman, Robin Young, last night welcomed the news that the RHASS and SNFC are holding talks.

“Agriscot has developed as a specialist trade event providing a business platform for farmers and the supply trade, however we would be supportive of the type of event that RHASS and SNFC are considering and believe it could prove to be a winning formula for the two organisations.”

“Despite the enforced absence of livestock we have just held our biggest ever event and independent research carried out on visitors has provided a tremendous endorsement for the business-to-business format.

“We have previously offered the SNFC facilities for beef cattle and sheep classes and to participate in the management of the event but livestock, in the numbers required to satisfy the SNFC members, would mean the exclusion of an unacceptable number of trade stands rendering a joint event financially non-viable.

“Agriscot occupies all the permanent exhibition halls available at Ingliston and changing the balance between livestock and trade would fundamentally alter the principles upon which our event has built its success.”

Mr Young confirmed that livestock would be back at the 2008 event He also emphasised that the events could come together but only when circumstances change, particularly if the Royal Highland Centre’s proposed relocation to an enhanced facility at Norton Park comes to fruition or if the SNFC were to limit its livestock numbers.