Wednesday, November 17, is the date for AgriScot 2021, directors of the farm business event confirmed following a recent board meeting.
“We were delighted with the response of our sponsors and trade stand holders in supporting our online AgriScot in November 2020. We were also blown away by the number of attendees; far in excess of our predictions,” commented AgriScot chairman, Robert Neill.
I am delighted with our first foray into the digital world and I thank everyone involved; however, it will always be our first choice to stage a live event.
“The success of our 2020 event, despite the very difficult circumstances and a faltering start to the year, gives us the confidence to say that AgriScot 2021 will definitely go ahead on Wednesday, November 17.
“Our preference is, naturally, for a physical event – welcoming everyone in person to a packed-out Royal Highland Centre.
“However, if lockdown restrictions prevent that happening, we are also very positive about the prospects for an online AgriScot on that date.”
‘Face-to-face is difficult to replace’
Neill continued:
“As I said last year: face-to-face is difficult to replace, but feedback from visitors following our online event suggests that they found the platform a great way to interact, glean new ideas and do business – which is what AgriScot has always been about, year-in year-out.”
For 2021, the AgriScot directors have also announced that the Farm of the Year Awards and the Business Skills Award, which were casualties of the pandemic in 2020, will make a welcome return.
“It is heart-breaking to be almost 12 months down the line from the first lockdown and now be seeing events elsewhere cancelled for the second calendar year.
“Unfortunately, not every event, especially those agricultural shows reliant on the attendance of the ticket buying general public, has been able to pivot into the online world.
The business-to-business nature of AgriScot has allowed us to do that, and I am so grateful that we now have a successful online fail-safe to ensure that we continue our unbroken run of AgriScot events.
“That said – if at all possible, we will hold a physical AgriScot this year! It will be great to once again welcome thousands of visitors, in-person, to Ingliston on Wednesday, November 17,” Neill concluded.
