In this update, Women In Farming Network Co-ordinator Laura Copeland introduces our next event – the Network’s very first Wellbeing Day at the Great Yorkshire Showground on Monday 11 May 2026.
With 2026 having been declared by United Nations as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, here at the Women In Farming Network, I’ve been looking beyond Yorkshire at countries that are leading the way in supporting women in agriculture.
In New Zealand, for example, farmer wellbeing is treated as essential infrastructure for the industry, not an afterthought.
With that in mind, I’m delighted to announce our inaugural Wellbeing Day for the Yorkshire Women in Farming network, taking place at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate on Monday 11 May between 10am and 2pm– an invitation to pause and reset in the company of other women who live and work in farming and the countryside.
Places at the event are available to book now, priced £15 plus a small booking fee and include lunch and refreshments.
Building community
The Women In Farming Network at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society has always been built on a sense of community, stretching right across the county.
We gather a couple of times each year and pick up exactly where we left off. The atmosphere is always uplifting, you hear stories from the past few months of the farming calendar, conversations of support and new connections are formed by women who find there is always common ground that binds us together.
Seeing smiling faces across the room gives me a huge sense of achievement. Many of those connections go far beyond the events we organise. In between gatherings we stay in touch through our community-led Facebook group.
Farming life can be relentless. Long days turn into long weeks and months, and many of us simply keep going without taking time to recover or do something that supports our own wellbeing.
Our wellbeing day in May aims to break down barriers around trying something new and I hope, is a welcome pass to take some time out to invest in yourself.
A fully inclusive day, it will include some light physical sessions, designed so anyone can take part whatever their ability, with no Lycra necessary!
For those who prefer, there will be the option of a guided walk around the Showground which, if you’ve never explored outside of the Great Yorkshire Show, is a really calming space with some hidden gems, such as the Yorkshire heritage orchard.
Wellbeing Day details
We’ll be joined by inspiring speakers with powerful messages and re-energising stories to share, and there will be time to connect with others who truly understand the realities of life in agriculture.
Pilates sessions will be led by Olivia Walls (pictured below), who has a real passion for supporting the farming community through movement and strength, while the team from Field Nurse and Farming Stronger 4 Longer will explain and demonstrate simple exercises that can be incorporated into any farming day.
We’ll reconnect with the land through a talk from Heather Copley of Farmer Copley’s, who will share their story of introducing beehives to the farm and how they now form part of the wider supply chain.
Resilience is an important part of the day and we’ll host a session focused on building practical tools to support mental strength and wellbeing. This part of the programme is supported by our event sponsor, Geo.
The day will be hosted at The Bee Pavilions overlooking the Showground, which is such a peaceful space with a brilliant view, plenty of open space and a short walk from the surrounding woodland.
Farming can sometimes feel like a solitary profession, but a day like this aims to remind us that none of us are doing it alone.
By taking time to invest in our wellbeing and in each other, we’re helping to build a stronger future for women in farming across Yorkshire.
I do hope you will consider joining us on 11 May.
Introducing the speakers
Heather Copley
Heather is the co‑founder and driving force behind Farmer Copleys, the award‑winning farm shop and café near Pontefract.
Returning to the family farm with her husband Rob, she helped transform a traditional arable business into one of the UK’s leading farm retail destinations.
Since opening in 2003, Heather has shaped the business’s reputation for quality, innovation and exceptional customer experience.
At the Wellbeing Day, Heather will share her journey of introducing beehives to the farm and how this has become more than just an environmental initiative.
She will explore how observing bees has inspired a strong “hive mentality” within the Farmer Copleys team – encouraging collaboration, shared responsibility and resilience during times of growth and challenge.
Heather will also offer bonus insights into ultra‑processed foods, reflecting on the connections between food production, consumer choices and wellbeing, and how farming businesses can play a positive role in shaping healthier futures.
Kate Bush
Kate, an ACII Chartered Insurer at Geo, married into farming and has supported her family through two decades of farm and estate management, transitions through on-farm diversifications and changes, and major family transitions off-farm, and into related industries.
With first-hand and hands-on insight and experience of the demands on farming and rural communities, Kate has a strong understanding of the impacts, and the highs and lows of the sector.
Falling into insurance through her love of horses, Kate spent her early insurance career handling technical equine and farm claims, progressing through claims leadership, moving then to underwriting operational leadership.
As Head of Agriculture, she led the business through integrations, consolidations, platform migrations and into the strong brand and team that Geo Agriculture has become, with big ambitions for the future.
Kate has now stepped into a Trading Director role, leading Specialist Lines business; Agriculture, Marine and Leisure and Mid-net worth.
Angela Kirkwood
Angela is a pig and arable farmer based in East Yorkshire, working in partnership with her parents, Peter and Caroline.
The family farm balances economic resilience with sustainability producing renewable energy.
Angela is NFU North Region Vice-Chair and York East Council Delegate, representing farmers across the North.
A Nuffield Farming Scholar and Worshipful Company of Farmers alumni, she is passionate about personal development and industry growth to produce affordable British food.
Angela also contributes to the Yorkshire Rural Support Network Steering Group at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.
At the Wellbeing Day, Angela will share insights on goal setting, mentoring and maintaining resilience through hobbies.
Debbie Airey
A farmer’s daughter by background, Debbie has worked in insurance since leaving school, building a career grounded in a deep understanding of agriculture and rural life.
In 2007, she founded her own brokerage business, specialising in farms and rural enterprises, carving out a strong niche through specialist knowledge and trusted client relationships.
Driven by a belief in collaboration and continuous learning, Debbie went on to establish FAB (Federation of Agriculture Brokers), a network designed to strengthen expertise, share best practice, and raise standards across the agricultural insurance sector.
In 2018, she completed a strategic deal with a larger organisation, supporting the next phase of growth.
Today, the business is owned by Brown & Brown, one of the UK’s largest agricultural insurance brokers, where Debbie leads and shapes the company’s agricultural specialism nationwide.
Philippa Gray
Philippa lives and works on her family farm in West Yorkshire, where she breeds pedigree livestock.
The farm developed an on‑farm butchers shop while Philippa was took maternity leave to help promote native and rare breeds.
She is involved in the wider sheep sector through her work with breed societies and in her role as a British Wool regional representative.
Philippa also works for the Yorkshire Agricultural Society where she coordinates the Future Farmers of Yorkshire network, the Goodall Agri-Development Pathway and is developing the Society’s educational activities for secondary school pupils.
Grateful thanks to session sponsor
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