With just over a week to go until the showground in Llanelwedd is full of visitors, exhibitors and superb livestock, preparations for the annual Royal Welsh Winter Fair are well advanced.

This year’s Winter Fair will be held on Monday and Tuesday, November 26 and 27.

First staged in 1990 and originally just a modest one-day event, the Royal Welsh Winter Fair has become well established as one of the most popular attractions on the British agricultural show calendar.

With thousands of cattle, sheep, pigs and horses entries and over £25,000 in prize money on offer, the stakes are set for a great couple of days’ worth of competitions.

This year’s event will be officially opened by Maurice Jones, a successful farmer and businessman whose roots lie deep within this year’s feature county of Montgomeryshire.

In partnership with his son, Fraser, Maurice currently farms over 2,000 acres in the heart of Montgomeryshire. Back in 1926, when his grandfather moved to the farm, Court Calmore was a 300 acre holding, which has grown significantly into a successful mixed farming enterprise comprises of beef, sheep, cereal, maize and dairy units.

The large Calcourt Pedigree Holstein dairy herd, originally founded in 1950 as a British Friesian herd, is spread across three holdings. The family business is renowned for its high levels of production and quality, with Maurice being the recipient of many awards, including Farmer of the Year, indicative of the high standards achieved at Court Calmore.

In addition to managing a very successful large scale farming operation, Maurice makes an active contribution to the industry off the farm, holding many positions of distinction, now and in the past, including; director of Clynderwen and Cardiganshire Farmers, Bank of England Welsh Agricultural Advisor, chairman of Powys Grassland Society, chairman of Montgomeryshire Farm Management Association, NFU Cymru Arable Committee, vice chairman and chairman of the NFU Cymru Milk Board, NFU HQ Dairy Produce Committee and Milk Board, NFU Cymru Board of Management, chairman for Montgomeryshire National Milk Records, council member for Dairy Farmers of Britain and a member of the House of Lords Dairy Forum, to name just a few.

The opening ceremony will be held upstairs in the International Pavilion at the slightly earlier time of 10am on Monday, November 26.

Following the official opening will be the presentations of the John Gittins Memorial Award, the RWAS Oxford Farming Conference Bursary and the Children’s Art and Design Competition (the winner of the 2018 Christmas card design).

Along with the usual packed schedule of competitions, classes, exhibitions and displays the two-day event will be packed full of festive celebrations including free late night shopping and a fireworks display on the Monday evening.

Away from the judging rings the very best Welsh food producers showcase their produce and Christmas shoppers will be able to explore hundreds of tradestands, demonstrations, exhibitions and displays.

Buy your e-tickets for the Winter Fair online now. For more information visit www.rwas.wales