ORGANISERS of the largest agricultural show in the North of England are looking forward to next year’s event.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Machinery Show (YAMS) will take place at York auction centre in Murton, near York, on Wednesday, February 7. Entry is free.

The show launched five years ago and became an instant hit growing to more than 200 trade stands and attracting between 7,000 and 10,000 visitors a year.

Always a no-nonsense machinery event it features everything from tractors to combine harvesters, telescopic handlers to ploughs, balers to livestock handling equipment and literally anything that helps on the farm.

Organiser Richard Tasker is determined it will always remain true to its roots.

He said: “Visitors and stand holders come because trade is done at the show and having the right machinery is so important.

“It also gives visitors the opportunity to see familiar faces from their local dealerships and to view unique, exciting new products and machines from a growing number of small artisan engineering companies.

“Our feedback has shown that many now regard it as their premier event of the year for leads and sales. What visitors also like is that it has a buzz and they can get around the show in a day.”

A new indoor exhibition area has proved a massive hit and Mr Tasker is particularly pleased with the offsite parking and park and ride facilities now available through York City Council.

“Visitors are able to get straight in to the show without encountering congestion problems around the auction centre and showfield site,” he said. “We have availability for 1,000 cars at the ‘park and ride’ just the other side of the A64. The bus runs all day and brings everyone to our entrance.

“We had a fantastic show in 2017 and we’re all looking forward to another great day. In addition to the farm machinery trade stands we will also host a series of seminars including latest developments from leading companies, the on-going development and take-up of technology in precision farming; and health and safety awareness.

“We were taking bookings for 2018 while the 2017 show was in progress. That’s how much everyone wants to be here and it’s also very much indicative of the trade that is conducted. Nobody wants to miss out.

“It’s for farm machinery and everything we are told by farmers and those who have trade stands tells us it should not be about anything else. There are many new farm machinery businesses still approaching us and we have several first timers that will be making their YAMS debut in 2018.”

North Yorkshire and County Durham, including the Upper Dales and North York Moors area, is represented by farm machinery and implement manufacturers and dealership outlets with trade stands.

For information, see yams.uk.com.