YAS Team

Chairman of Yorkshire Agricultural Society

Robert Copley

Robert Copley is the owner of Pontefract based Farmer Copleys alongside his wife, Heather. With the desire for amazing food, fantastic local produce and a warm welcome, Farmer Copleys has also showcased through its Moo Café and award-winning farm shop, how Britain and especially Yorkshire can compete with the very best the culinary world has to offer. Rob previously worked in Dorset milking 300 cows, 3 times a day, before moving to an American Breeding Service, training farmers how to inseminate cattle & classifying cattle for a computer evaluation programme. He then became a nutritionist at HST Feeds and finally working for Thompsons of York. He has several other roles having recently been appointed Chairman of the Farm Retail Association (FRA), and has a passion for championing the people and businesses who grow and sell Great British produce.

Show Director

Charles Mills

Charles Mills farms arable crops and has a wedding venue business at Appleton Roebuck near York. Charles is Show Director of the Great Yorkshire Show and Trustee of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society. He has been a member of the Society’s Council for 21 years, was a Cattle Steward at the Great Yorkshire Show for 11 years and was appointed to the Show’s Cattle Committee in 2007.

Charles also sits on the Society’s other committees and is a member of the Future Farmers of Yorkshire group and both the NFU and CLA. Charles is a former President of Tadcaster and Wetherby Young Farmers, past Chairman of the Yorkshire Food, Farming and Rural Network and is currently Director of the Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA) and Technical and Environmental Committee Chair.

Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society

Allister Nixon

Allister Nixon joined the YAS as CEO in June 2022, replacing Nigel Pulling. Allister is a chartered accountant and a highly experienced, successful and well-regarded business leader. Previously the Chief Operating Officer at Castle Howard Estate Ltd for six years, he worked with the Howard family to drive the historic estate forward, helping to manage its portfolio of businesses including a holiday park, retail, catering, farming and forestry. Allister also has significant and varied experience working within large multinational PLCs, and his previous positions include Global COO and CFO at Kantar Media Audiences, where he helped in the setting up of new business and services in several countries. He moved from London six years ago and now lives with his family in North Yorkshire.

Managing Director of Yorkshire Event Centre and Deputy CEO of Yorkshire Agricultural Society

Heather Parry

Heather Parry has worked for the Yorkshire Agricultural Society since 1993, initially as Marketing Manager and subsequently as Managing Director of the Yorkshire Event Centre Ltd, alongside her role as Deputy Chief Executive. Heather was the mastermind behind building the Regional Agricultural Centre and onsite farm shop café Fodder as well as the £11 million development of Hall 1 of the Yorkshire Event Centre. Heather also launched the Harrogate Caravan Park in 2014 and all profits from these businesses go to help fund the work of the YAS.   She had previously worked in Earls Court Exhibition Centre organising and marketing The Royal Smithfield Show and The Royal Tournament.

President of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society

Martin Cockerill

Martin joined RS Cockerill York Ltd, with his father who established the family business in the 1930s. Their main activity was trading potatoes and farming began with a tenancy near Stamford Bridge in 1946.

In recent decades, they have concentrated on potato marketing and packing for retailers, while increasing the volume of potatoes for processing into crisps. They now farm around 500ha, grow a further 200ha of potatoes on rented land and Martin’s wife runs a suckler herd of Dexter cattle, supplying grass fed beef to London restaurants.

Following retirement as Managing Director in 2019, Martin lives on a small grassland farm on the edge of the North York Moors near Scarborough. He has been a Rotarian for many years and is also involved with the Samaritans.

President Elect of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society

Geoff Brown MBE

Geoff Brown MBE is co-founder and Managing Director of Ripon Farm Services, suppliers of agricultural machinery, equipment and support throughout Yorkshire and various neighbouring regions. Geoff worked as an agricultural contractor, then apprentice agricultural engineer at Glovers of Ripon. Glovers was acquired by Leeds-based Appleyard Group and Geoff went on to serve as the Ripon depot’s general manager.

When the group disposed of its agricultural division, Geoff teamed up with William Houseman MBE and Maurice Hymas to form Ripon Farm Services Ltd in 1982 and has overseen tremendous growth, recording annual revenues of £160m-plus. At the Great Yorkshire Show in 2019, Geoff was presented with a Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution award for outstanding contribution to agriculture. In June 2023, he was made an MBE for services to the rural economy.

YAS Council Members

DivisionNameCommittee
North YorkshireMichael Atkinson
James CooperTrustee and Remuneration
Guy Cowling
Neil Eastham
Fred Fairburn
Stuart Goldie
James Hopwood
Alice Liddle
Peter MolyneuxTrustee, Audit and Investment
Christine RyderYorkshire Event Centre Board (Chair) and Charitable Activities
Michael SmithTrustee, Charitable Activities and Remuneration
Christine ThompsonTrustee and Charitable Activities
East YorkshireDavina Fillingham
Ian Gilliat
Fay GraceCharitable Activities (Chair)
Jonathan Hodgson
Richard Morley
Geoff Riby
Rob CopleyTrustee (Chair) and Nomination
Nick Fawcett
David GreenCharitable Activities
Martin Preston
Tom Rawson
Bob Richmond
South YorkshireNick Grayson
Richard Hinchcliffe
Chloe Palmer
Co-OptedDuncan Berkshire
Paul RussellAudit & Investment
Rachel Coates
Ellie Durdy
Tim Easby
Martin Fish
Leanne Forde
James Johnson
Kate Moore
Elizabeth Nelson
John North
Molly Sadler
Tim Weatherhead
Ex-officioBill MeredithBishop Burton College
Tim WhittakerAskham Bryan College
North Yorkshire CouncilCllr Carl Les
Yorkshire Federation Of Young FarmersTim Weatherhead
Non-Council Committee MembersMark FarnsworthYorkshire Event Centre Ltd
Antionia ConsettAudit and Investment

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