Out on the Farm – September 2024

On 22nd September 2024, we hosted our first ‘Out on the Farm Day’ in memory of Mike Potter, a farmer in North Yorkshire. Mike was a highly popular and wise person who achieved many things for his local community, but who felt unable to be open about his sexuality. Mike didn’t tell his family and friends until he was in his early 70’s, when he was able to share with them the sadness he felt from not being able to share his life with a partner. Mike died in October 2022 aged 76.

In his own words “I didn’t come out until I did, because in an area like this you couldn’t. It can be a subject that some people in rural areas can find difficult to talk about.”

Mike became a huge supporter of Agrespect. The “Out on the Farm Day” was the launch of a collaboration between Mike’s estate, Agrespect and Out Together to use Mike’s story to help create a long lasting LGBTQ+ presence for the North Yorkshire rural community, with the aim of providing safe places for people to get together socially, and when this isn’t possible, to unite them in a virtual neighbourhood to help them stay connected.