There's less than 36 hours to go before the 5th Farmers Weekly Awards get underway in the Great Room, Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London. This year, we have 1200 guests, 45 farmer finalists, 15 sponsored categories and, for the first time, the Secretary of State Hilary Benn and DEFRA minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP are coming along with their respective wives.
It should be quite a night of celebration if last year's event is anything to go by..... BBC presenter Julia Bradbury is the host for this year and the promotional blurb describes her as a woman who likes dirty jokes and can drink anyone under the table! So that bodes well for this year. The voiceover is Alan Dedicoat, otherwise known as the "voice of the balls" from the national lottery show.
There are a few surprises in the 2009 winners line up, so it will be interesting to see the reaction from the guests on the night and the industry afterwards. Full details of all the finalists and the category winners will be available on www.fwi.co.uk first thing Friday morning along with a video and pictures from the night.
The overall theme is one of farmers on the edge of a golden era and, with an election just around the corner, now is as good a time as ever to put agriculture at the heart of the Government's economic thinking. This year's Award winners are a fabulous example of farmers grabbing the opportunities.
When I joined Farmers Weekly as editor in January 2005, I was determined to help put more pride back into the industry and encourage a more positive, confident, upbeat vibe. The Awards have helped us do just that by recognising farmer excellence, innovation and achievement. It started as a humble affair with about 450 people attending a dinner and has escalated into the big night out of the year for the whole industry.
None of it would be possible without the fantastic support of our 15 category sponsors. It is a mark of how much the event has grown and its strategic importance that our sponsors now span the whole length of the food chain.