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Cheese auction raises £70,000 for charities at Great Yorkshire Show

athryn Philips and Richard Schofield of Field Nurse, GYS Chief Cheese & Dairy Steward Caroline Bell and Lucy Wiltshire of St Michael's Hospice.

Cheese-loving visitors to the Great Yorkshire Show have now helped raise £70,000 for good causes through the event's annual Cheese Auction.

The milestone was reached after this year's auction raised £8,315, with proceeds set to benefit Field Nurse and Harrogate-based Saint Michael's Hospice.

The popular auction takes place after judging in the Cheese and Dairy Show has finished, giving visitors the chance to bid for prize-winning cheeses donated by producers.

Cheeses sold for up to £400 this year, with Ted Ogden and Sam Bradley overseeing the auction in the Great Yorkshire Food Hall.

The Cheese and Dairy Show attracted more than 500 entries across over 160 competitive classes this year, alongside cheesemaking demonstrations and tastings.

Caroline Bell, Chief Steward of the Great Yorkshire Show's Cheese and Dairy Section, said:

“For the Cheese Auction at the Great Yorkshire Show to have raised £70,000 over the last 14 years is quite simply phenomenal!

“A huge thank you to show visitors for their generosity and to all the brilliantly talented independent cheesemakers across the UK whose cheese was kindly donated for the auction.”

Field Nurse, which is celebrating its tenth year, provides physical and mental health and wellbeing advice to farmers and people living in rural communities.

Its nurses carried out more than 300 free health checks during this year's Great Yorkshire Show.

Kathryn Philips, Trustee of Field Nurse, said:

“We are so very pleased and surprised to receive such an amazing amount raised by this year’s Cheese Auction.

“This will go directly to fund Field Nurse drop-in sessions in livestock auctions, enabling us to continue to support our farmers during such challenging times.”

Saint Michael's Hospice provides care and support to people affected by terminal illness across the Harrogate district.

Linsey Trower, Head of Fundraising & Marketing at Saint Michael's Hospice, said:

“The Great Yorkshire Show’s annual Cheese Auction is a wonderful example of how our local community comes together to make a real difference.

“Every pound raised helps ensure we can continue providing expert care, compassion and support to local people living with terminal illness, as well as their families and those facing bereavement.

“We are incredibly grateful to everyone who takes part, bids so generously and supports this much-loved tradition.”

Previous beneficiaries of the Cheese Auction have included Herriot Hospice Homecare, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Samaritans, the Addington Fund and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution.

The auction will return at the 168th Great Yorkshire Show, which takes place from Tuesday 13th to Friday 16th July 2027.

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