July/August 2023
Farmer Michael Fooks is President of the 2023 Melplash Show, which takes place at the West Bay Show Grounds on Thursday 24 August. We caught up with him at his North Poorton home to find out what the role – and farming – means to him…
The Bridge: The President role is an annual appointment and is held by a different person each year. What exactly does the job involve?
Michael Fooks: Really it’s a figurehead role, and it’s a huge honour to have been asked. Before the show itself, there are lots of farming competitions held in June and July under the Melplash Show banner, and I’ve been going round all of them. There’s also a ploughing match in September that I’ll attend. And of course I’ll visit the judging areas on the day, too. I’m really looking forward to it – I’ll be able to see everything and meet everyone!
TB: We can’t believe you haven’t been President before!
MF: Actually the committee have asked me before, but I couldn’t accept because I was just too busy with the farm and the routine of milking. Now I’m semi-retired and I have more time. I was Chairman in 1984 and I’ve been involved with the show pretty much my whole life, one way or another. When I was at school, it was always the last day out before the new term started. I left school at 15 to work on the farm, and started helping at the show. I don’t think I’ve ever missed one.
TB: Why is the show so important?
MF: As farmers, it’s our ‘shop window’, a chance for us to explain farming to the wider community, and to visitors from elsewhere, too. We show them where their food comes from. Although the President isn’t always a farmer, the show is run mostly by farming people who really understand what’s important.
The show has grown and grown over the years – back in the day we used one field at West Bay, now we have several – but its aim is the same as ever: to showcase farming.
TB: What’s your favourite attraction at the show?
MF: Actually I’d say it’s the food hall. It’s brilliant, and shows the end product of all the hard work by the farmers and growers. That’s what it’s all about – and all local, too. I also love the Grand Parade, with everyone lined up. So many people give up their time to make the show happen – the Young Farmers get involved, our sponsors give financial support or lend machinery, and we have a great committee. Lucy Hart has been Show Secretary since 2010 and she’s top-notch, absolutely wonderful. It’s great that they all get to join in the parade.
TB: Tell us a bit about your farm.
MF: We have 800 acres in North Poorton. My grandfather took on the farm in the 1920s and it’s still a family business – me and my three brothers, David, Jeffrey and Francis. We have a dairy herd of 150 Holsteins, a flock of 250 Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset ewes plus about 85 acres of arable. Two of my nephews have also come to work here, and that has allowed me to semi-retire – these days I only have to milk the cows once a week!
Of course, none of this would happen without the support and hard work of my wife, Pam. We have two daughters, Helen and Julia, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
I’m proud to say that most of my family is involved in the Melplash Show. Pam produces lunches for hedgelaying and ploughing competitors; Julia is involved with the handicrafts section; Helen’s husband, Kevin, is Chair of the dairy section, where Helen helps out, too; and Julia’s daughter Abigail has been helping me with the Jacob sheep classes for a few years – this year she’ll be doing it on her own.
TB: What do you think are the greatest issues facing farmers today?
MF: Food has been too cheap for many years and it’s getting harder to make a living from farming. Milk, for instance, is often sold to consumers for less than it costs the farmer to produce it – it’s impossible to make a profit like this. And we’re only about 60% self-sufficient for food in this country – the rest has to be imported. I don’t agree with the current push for ‘rewilding’ while food’s not plentiful. We need to use the land for food production, and rewilding needs to be managed carefully.
Day to day, our biggest challenge is simple: the weather. It governs everything we do for the whole year. And a fine day for the Melplash Show makes a huge difference too!
Farming has changed so much in my lifetime – perhaps the biggest change is how machinery has taken over from manual labour. But our aim is still to feed the people of this country. I want everyone to understand what’s involved in producing their food. This can start young, with school visits to farms like ours, Open Farm Sunday events for families, and of course there’s plenty to interest young people at agricultural shows like Melplash. It’s so important for all our futures.
www.melplashshow.co.uk