Scottish farmers will be raiding their piggy banks this autumn to fund the Royal Highland Show. The organisers of Scotland’s flagship farming event are asking its 16,000 members to donate £125 each. The “Save Your Show” appeal hopes to raise £2m to plug part of a £6m hole in the show finances.

It costs about £4m to put on the show with a good proportion of that already spent before COVID-19 cancelled this year’s event. The Royal Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHSS), has already had £2.5m from the UK Government Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme. It is a troubling time for the biggest farming event in Scotland and its 200th anniversary is just round the corner in 2022.