This year hasn’t been much better, with news this week its AgriLive Smithfield event had been cancelled, and the decision by the RABDF to move August’s Dairy Event and Livestock show away from the National Agriculture Centre at Stoneleigh Park.

The failure of the society’s shows has raised questions over its future direction – this is after all an organisation most famous among farmers for its events.

Cancelling the Royal Show in 2009 was not an easy decision for the society. Despite criticism it had lost its way and had failed to connect with consumers, the show itself was an institution.

But that institution was costing the society money and can take a lot of the blame for its poor financial performance last year. The show lost in excess of £1 million according to RASE’s accounts for the financial year ending December 2009 and so the decision to close it could, in the long run, be one that saves the society.

AgriLive

The decision to cancel AgriLive Smithfield will come as another blow, but with the show failing to cover costs, it is little wonder, having carried the loss making Royal on its books for so long, that the society took the decision to axe it.

RASE’s deputy director of technical events Alice Bell said the problem was not with the show itself, but that it had fallen victim to the financial pressures facing companies throughout the sector.

“We knew when we started talking about the show two years ago that it was going to be a challenge. We budgeted to make a loss in the first year – something which is not unusual for a show trying to get off the ground in it first year.

“But we anticipated getting more trade support in the second year and unfortunately that hasn’t happened, and so we and our partners at the Royal Smithfield Club, took the decision to cancel it.”

The show was popular with exhibitors and visitors, she said, but with recession taking its toll on other companies in the sector many found their own budgets cut meaning they could ill afford to take space at a new show.

Other events such as the Dairy Event are already well established, and trade exhibitors took the decision to exhibit there rather than at AgriLive, leaving RASE facing the prospect of another loss-making show on its books.

“It was a shame to lose the Royal Show and we are disappointed to have lost AgriLive Smithfield,” said RASE secretary Simon-Frere Cook. “But we are confident those decisions have been made for the right reasons.

“We still have successful business-to-business shows in Grassland and Muck as well as Pig and Poultry Live. But what people have to remember is we are a society with a show, not a show society.”

Re-evaluating

Shows held by RASE have, in the past, been their biggest income stream, using the profits to fund its charitable work. But with the events proving difficult to turn into a profit, the society has since been forced to re-evalute how it operates.

2010 has seen some big changes put in place to address that, with its subsidiary charities the Arthur Rank Centre and Farming and Countryside Education (FACE) both given their independence while redundancies in the wake of the Royal Show’s collapse have left RASE a much leaner organisation.

And without the loss-making shows on its books, Mr Frere-Cook is confident there is now ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ following last year’s performance.

“Our finances are fine,” he said. “We have our cash flow sorted out and we have undergone a number of changes to make sure we are an organisation fit for purpose going forward.

“There is no escaping the fact it was a difficult year. We are aware of that and we have put measures in place to address that.
“It has not been easy, but I think people will see a revived RASE. We have made some changes and reviewed what we do and I am confident we will come out of this a leaner, more effective society focused on our core purpose of supporting agriculture in England.”

Commercial focus

More focus will now be placed on RASE’s commercial arm – Stoneleigh Park Limited, which owns the National Agriculture Centre at Stoneleigh. With high profile tenants including the NFU, FWAG, Lantra and a host of equestrian organisations it now plays landlord to the good and the great of the industry.

Stoneleigh Park too has suffered setbacks, no more so than last week’s announcement from the Government that its new High Speed Rail line is to cut through the park. Added to that was the news plans for AHDB’s new headquarters at the site have been scrapped after the Treasury refused to back the plans.

But the site still pulls in more than £1 million a year for the society and now plays host to events outside of the farming industry from weddings and conferences to big events like the Great Exhibition planned for 2012.

This, rather than shows, is now the lifeblood of RASE.

“Stoneleigh Park is a fantastic asset to have,” said Mr Frere-Cook, “and we are trying to maximise the income from the park in support of the charitable work we do.

“It is a fantastic site and we have some excellent facilities here so we are happy to talk to anyone, from whatever industry about hosting their events here.”

He admits RASE has had to change dramatically in order to maintain its work, and while some farmers may mourn the loss of the society they recognise from years gone by, Mr Frere-Cook is adamant that without change, the society’s struggles could have been much greater.

“We can’t run a modern business on values from 20 years ago. The industry has moved on since then and we know we have to do the same.

“We have been arrogant in the past, but we can’t afford to do that anymore. I hope now we are much more approachable, more focused and closer to our partners in the industry.

“Our core aim remains to support the industry and we will continue to do that and I am confident we are now much better placed to do it.”

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