Rachel Coates confirmed as Great Yorkshire Show's first female director as Charles Mills prepares to step down

Dairy farmer Rachel Coates has been revealed as the new director of the Great Yorkshire Show (GYS), to take over from Charles Mills this summer after nearly a decade's service.

And as she confirms her appointment she has spoken of her hopes for the future, with a new generation of young farmers coming through.

Ms Coates, from Shipley in West Yorkshire, said it was an "honour" to take on the position from Mr Mills after his "amazing" service.

"I have been coming to the show since I was 18 which is when I got the bug for it," she said. "My aim will be to promote the show to the younger generations so that it continues to flourish and grow.”

The GYS is England’s premier agricultural event, organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS) as a charity supporting rural Yorkshire.

Ms Coates, a member of both the YAS council and GYS cattle committee, farms a mix of tenanted and owned land on the edge of Baildon Moor and the urban fringe.

With a background in advertising, retail, education and agriculture, she is also director of a Community Interest Company (CIC) which runs her local farmer’s market. She also volunteers at the society's Countryside Days for schoolchildren at the Harrogate showground, and is a member of the Women in Farming Network.

Her family have shown dairy cattle at the show for 15 years, taking Holstein Champion for two years running in 2023 and 2022.

Ms Coates will now take up the position of show director immediately after this year's event, the 165th show, which runs from July 9 to 12th.

She has been welcomed by YAS chief executive Allister Nixon while Mr Mills, who was first appointed as show director in 2016, said: “I can’t think of a better candidate to hand over the reins to and I know Rachel will take the show from strength to strength.”