Balmoral Show Day 1

News Letter

14/05/2025

Balmoral Show Day 1 2025 Balmoral Park

Transcript

00:00Never, never, never, never, never knew

00:04Good one!

00:05We'll see you next time.

00:35No, this is not Jurassic Park.

00:53This is the Balmoral Show 2025, and we're at the Dino World Stand with four full-scale

01:00dinosaur replicas that all move, and they've got motion sensors.

01:04So if you walk near them, they will roar and shake their heads about.

01:08And here we have the owner of Glen Park Estates, which is running Dino World, Richard Beattie.

01:16You're due to open this soon at your estate, but you brought four of your favorite dinosaurs

01:20down for the day.

01:21What has the public reaction been so far, Richard?

01:23Well, the public reaction today is absolutely brilliant.

01:26There's something new, something people don't expect to see here at the Balmoral Show, and

01:31for ourselves, Glen Park Estates, just outside Oma, there's something new for ourselves.

01:35We're on a 43-acre site, which is a caravan site, and we do kids' parties, and we do a

01:41wedding venue.

01:42So we have a part of the park, which is sitting through the lovely woodland trees.

01:46So we've planned to put all the dinosaurs in the park.

01:48And how many of the models have you bought?

01:50We have 21.

01:5121?

01:5121 altogether.

01:52Okay.

01:53So by the 1st of July, we hope to open the 1st of July, open to the public for Glen Park

01:59Dino World.

02:01Super.

02:02And tell us, have any people been startled at all by this, Glen, so far?

02:07A lot of people come down to see the move, some of them move their heads, one's blink,

02:11and different movements, so every one of them has a different thing.

02:15The other ones we have, the other ones, there's a complete different selection, ranges of sounds,

02:18with birds, we have actually a different sort of dinosaurs, we're right through into crocodiles,

02:24we're two complete lizards, which is completely different.

02:27You don't get them anywhere else than Northern Ireland.

02:29Right, so 1st of July, mark it in your diary for Glen Park Estates, Oma.

02:33So, very welcome to see you there, so if it's something you can bring the family to,

02:38spend the day, come to see them the full day, we have our packers, open farm, come and

02:43see it, then Parker Estates, Oma.

02:45Thank you very much.

02:46And sure enough, Richard, they are team, as you say.

03:04This is Richard Beatty, and from Glen Park Estates, these are your alpacas here,

03:08and just as they've said, they're completely team.

03:10These alpacas we have here, eight alpacas, they've got eight boy alpacas, we do actually

03:16fun days, come, pick your alpaca, go for a walk around the Glen Park Estates with it.

03:23Actually, these are actually, no problem at all, these are actually so quiet, we can take

03:28them into hospitals, nursing homes, wherever you want to go to.

03:31Are you seriously telling me you've had them in hospitals?

03:34We have them in hospitals in the local nursing homes this year.

03:36We have a lot of special needs kids, which are absolutely attached to the packers and

03:43great way, and actually a lot of people are coming to see, they're very through them, towards

03:49the people, so we're natural, we've had a halter, lead them, wherever you want to go

03:55at Glen Park Estates, no problem at all.

03:57Okay, so anyone who wants to see them, they can take a wee trip down, either the Balmoral

04:00Show here this week, or at Glen Park Estates.

04:02Thank you, thank you, come to Glen Park Estates, take your packer for the hang, and make

04:07the days, make it complete for the day, Edwin.

04:10Edwin Poots, MLS, Speaker of the House, you're taking the day off from the Assembly, Edwin?

04:16Well, we have an Assembly stand here, so we're actually down in official business.

04:19Oh, okay, oh, you're still at work, okay.

04:21So we've been, hopefully, getting lots of people coming through the doors and finding out

04:25a bit more about the Assembly, about the legislation, of course, what's passed, and perhaps give us

04:30some ideas as to the legislation that people think should be passed.

04:33Okay, but I noticed as a long-time beef farmer, you've managed to situate the Assembly stand

04:38right beside the cattle rings, Edwin, was that accident or design?

04:40Well, I don't know, it's very fortunate in any event, because behind me, I always say

04:46this is amongst the best cattle displays you will get anywhere in the world.

04:50Northern Ireland is so good at producing beef and deep dairy, and the cattle that you'll

04:56see in this lawn are premium, and, you know, that's the example of what we have to sell

05:02to the rest of the world, and that's why Northern Ireland is such a popular place to buy agri-food

05:07products.

05:07Did any take your eye this morning?

05:09You didn't get the checkbook out?

05:10I don't know if I checked, but we're going to sell to some of these animals.

05:15We're looking at animals which could run into tens of thousands of pounds, because the blood

05:18lines are so good, and there is an international interest in what's going on here in terms

05:24of Northern Ireland breeding.

05:25Okay.

05:26I did, I think I saw a headline yesterday about MLS pay rises, but I will not go into that

05:31today because it's a light-hearted, fun day, Edwin, but thank you very much indeed for

05:36your time.

05:36No problem.

05:37This is Richard Beattie, President of the Young Farmers Clubs of Ulster.

05:41Richard, we're here on the first day of Balmoral 2025, and I'm just speaking to you about the

05:47issues that are on the hearts and minds of young farmers across Northern Ireland.

05:51You've got a membership of 3,500, is that right?

05:54Yes, there are 3,500 members across the province, so it's a very strong, within the largest rural

05:59organisation in Northern Ireland.

06:00So you're telling me that two of the issues uppermost in young farmers' minds these days

06:06are coming out of a significant issue of rural isolation since COVID, and also the inheritance

06:15tax issues that have been implemented by the Labour government.

06:18So if we could just talk to rural isolation, that has been a real issue, according to your

06:24members, but they're bouncing back?

06:26Yep.

06:26I think we're incredibly lucky the membership has bounced back well from COVID, and since

06:31even before COVID, it's increased significantly from that there.

06:35Young Farmers is the largest rural youth organisation.

06:38We offer a safe space and somewhere for young people to go to in rural areas.

06:44With that, they have a membership from 12 to 30, so it's a great place to mentor older members,

06:49help mentor younger members through the organisation.

06:53And within our structure, we have a club level, county, and then the whole way to province

06:58level, Northern Ireland.

06:59So it offers young people good opportunity along the way.

07:03And the tax issue, that's exercising the minds of your members who have got their eye on

07:09a career on the family farm, Richard?

07:11Yes, well, and thanks to everybody involved in farming, be it from the family farm through

07:15the whole agri-food industry.

07:17The changes in inheritance tax, it's been flagged as an issue from our membership, and we did

07:22carry out surveys from that, and over 90% of members seen it as a negative effect on their

07:27careers in agriculture, not just those inherent in family farms.

07:30So it's been, you know, as Young Farmers President and an organisation, we have worked, we tried

07:37to work with government to try and lobby that.

07:39They were recently given evidence in Westminster to sort of highlight the points from a young

07:44farmer's point of view, and it's just really the concern.

07:47Have you seen any sign of change coming down the line?

07:49The government seems to be quite resolute, don't they?

07:51They seem to be, but as we've learned in the last week or 10 days, I think things might

07:55be changing slightly over in Westminster, so hopefully we have a government that maybe

08:01is more willing to listen to the views of the young people.

08:04So realistically, what would you be hoping for if there is some change coming down the

08:09pipeline?

08:10Well, consultation, we'd like to, well, first and foremost, we'd like to see the inheritance

08:16tax removed in terms of agricultural property relief.

08:19So that was obviously the key aim for all members of the Young Farmers and for us the board,

08:24so hopefully they can come to that.

08:26These classes are all proudly sponsored by F-Centown, providing agricultural property solutions.

08:33And our judge, Adrian Parmzoli, from Wilkster today, has done a fantastic job.

08:36He has said that he's been bred.

08:38He's a great standard of breeders here for Dexter Cowell, with himself being the breeders of

08:44sword, actually a farlier coach, man.

08:59Hey, son.

09:02Good, huh?

09:06let's sticking from you, sir.

09:11Do you have a good timeSON?

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