IT WAS billed in the official programme as the Greatest Show on Earth, and there is no doubt that this year's Royal Highland Show more than exceeded that proclamation. It was simply fantastic. To use the terminology of Tina Turner, simply the best, better than all the rest.
The whole venue both rocked and rolled over the full four days of the show with a degree of long-term confidence for the wider food industry.
Sure, margins are tight for many producers, but they know that they collectively are charged with feedin
g an expanding global population.
Scotland is a relatively small player in this game, but well positioned at the top of the quality league. I remain convinced that the dividends will come rolling home and perhaps sooner than many expect.
The final attendance figures were an all-time record, it was revealed last night. The draw of the show was demonstrated by it pulling in 51,000 visitors on Saturday. That was some achievement; everyone appeared happy, despite less than sunny weather. That mood has been prevalent over the four days.
I am one, I suspect, of a diminishing band, who has attended every Highland Show since it settled at Ingliston in 1960, but this year's event was by a distance one that will live in the memory of even the most cynical.
The closing press conference with the show organisers is always an occasion for asking questions and trading opinions. I have known Ray Jones, the chief executive of the RHASS for many years. He is a shrewd operator, but seldom have I seen him so positive.
For a start, Jones and his board of directors no longer have the threat of BAA seeking to seize Ingliston to expand Edinburgh Airport hanging over them. The traffic lights have moved from amber to green. Jones, in his usual wistful mode, said: "There is no doubt that we are the major agricultural show in the UK. All the feed-back we are receiving from the trade stands more than confirms that assertion.
"No other event sees so many of the multinational machinery companies have such a presence. We intend to build on this still further because we know that we have their support."
I found that to be true on Friday morning during a short break from the myriad of presentations and conferences organised for the media.
I walked on to the Claas stand and surveyed a massive combine harvester. Within a few seconds I was approached by Tom Pine, the company's UK product manager, who was clearly keen to bend my ear. I didn't initially inform him that I was no longer an active farmer and asked him how much this monster would impinge on the bank account.
He said, very quickly: "You can have it for £200,000, and that is well below the official price list."
WE SOON had a laugh when it became clear that I was doing no more than fishing. The potential output of that leviathan is around 45 tonnes per hour.
That got me thinking back to 1959, when my father acquired his first combine at a cost of £1,150.
That small beast would be lucky to harvest 45 tonnes in a single day: the farming world has changed faster than many of us care to remember in little more than a generation.
Gone, too, are the days when farming existed in its own little bubble remote from consumers. Farmers in former times would take their wares to market and accept what was on offer. The entire scenario has now changed dramatically, with 80 per cent of all produce now retailed through the major multiples.
All the major supermarkets had a substantial presence at the show and were keen to engage with producers and consumers.
Last year, I was fortunate to have a one-to-one with Sir Stuart Rose of Marks & Spencer. I was impressed then and thought he was worthy of his considerable remuneration. My opinion has not wavered.
However, the power of the multiples needs watching and I most certainly favour the appointment of a supermarket ombudsman.
A long-time friend provided more than enough ammunition to bolster that view.
His company is involved chiefly in the potato business, but that has been to the cost of this family business until it took the decision to walk away and say enough is enough.
It is nothing short of banditry for some, but not all, of the large multiples to demand that their suppliers pay for shelf space and fund the two-for-one offers frequently found in many stores. I am pleased that an increasing number of suppliers are thinking along the same lines.
That is not before time: suppliers, not retailers, will increasingly hold the whip hand in the coming years.
BUT for me it was grand to escape from the seemingly incessant round of press conferences and slip down to the livestock lines. The Highland has always, with considerable justification, taken pride in the quality of cattle, sheep and horses on parade. This time around the flavour was even better.
It never ceases to cause me great wonderment at how many people support not just the Highland, but so many smaller events. The price they pay in terms of time and commitment is not inconsiderable, but I suspect a red ticket, or even a championship rosette, is worth far more to them than a week on the Costa Blanca.
I was never an expert in the sheep-shearing department, but I did manage a few moments yesterday to watch the real professionals in action. The wool may not be worth much, but the skill of those who part fleeces from sheep is unbelievable.
I admit to being a shade on the weary side as I left the showground yesterday heading for the bus back into Edinburgh. However, I did halt at the pavilion of the Scottish Association of Young Farmers. A group were on stage giving their all with the Abba signature song Thank you for the Music. It almost brought a tear to my eye: Scottish agriculture should sing thank you to the Royal Highland Show, it was simply wonderful.
The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, founded on 9 February, 1783 in an Edinburgh tavern, has consistently got the chemistry right.
This year's elixir mixed the best of farming and the food industry to match the perceptions of increasingly discerning consumers, who clearly care about the food they purchase.
