RABI attended Farm-Fest from Friday 22 May to Sunday 24 May as joint charity partner for one of the UK’s biggest celebrations of farming, food and rural life.
More than 55,000 people attended across the weekend, with the event combining a major agricultural show during the day and live music into the evening. For RABI, the weekend provided an important opportunity to connect directly with farming people, supporters and wider audiences engaging with agriculture and rural life.
Alongside being selected as joint charity partner for the event, RABI also chose to sponsor the Farm Heroes initiative, celebrating 50 remarkable individuals from across the farming community whose stories reflected resilience, dedication and service to others.
The Farm Heroes reflected an extraordinary cross-section of the farming community, from seven-year-old Archie through to individuals in their late 80s. Those recognised included people overcoming personal challenges, educators, livestock breeders, young farmers, community champions, advocates for inclusion, innovators, fundraisers and individuals dedicating their lives to supporting others across agriculture. Together, their stories reflected the resilience, generosity, determination and community spirit that exists throughout farming communities across the UK.
Throughout the weekend, RABI representatives exclusively joined the celebrations by The Hawkstone Music Arena as the Farm Heroes were introduced live on stage each evening, helping ensure they received the spotlight and recognition they deserved in front of thousands of people. The introductions were supported by well-known farming figures including friend of RABI, Adam Henson, and farming ambassador Bizza Walters, helping bring further visibility to the stories and achievements being celebrated across the weekend.
Lee Krawczyk, Head of Marketing & Communications at RABI, said:
“Sponsoring the Farm Heroes initiative at Farm-Fest gave us a fantastic opportunity to meet farming people, hear their stories and reflect the strength, resilience and community spirit that exists across agriculture.
“The decision to support Farm Heroes felt particularly important because the stories being shared genuinely captured the values that matter so deeply within farming communities – generosity, determination, kindness and commitment to others.
“We were proud to be part of the weekend and grateful to everyone who took the time to come and speak with us. So many people shared personal experiences of how RABI has supported them or their families over the years, and those conversations reinforced both why our work matters and why RABI continues to be recognised as both the Farmers Charity and the leading farming charity supporting farming and rural communities across England and Wales.”
Across the weekend, RABI teams spoke with visitors about the charity’s support services, ongoing wellbeing work and the importance of improving access to practical, emotional and financial support for farming people.
The event also provided an opportunity to showcase FarmersAid ahead of the official app launch on 4 June. Developed by RABI, FarmersAid is designed to support confident action during serious on-farm accidents, providing clear, real-time guidance while emergency services are on the way. On the Saturday, RABI recorded the first episode of an exclusive six-part podcast series with Farmers Guardian, hosted by Olivia Skeoch. The opening episode featured Professor Stuart Maitland-Knibb discussing the FarmersAid app, the development of the initiative and the importance of improving emergency preparedness across farming communities.
