One of the nation's favourite farmers, BBC Countryfile presenter Adam Henson, will be at the first day of this year's Kent County Show, organisers have announced.

Adam, who, along with his father Joe, was the first in the UK to open a farm as an attraction for visitors, has a growing collection of rare breeds.

He will be at the show, which is staged at the Kent Showground in Detling, near Maidstone, on Friday, July 10, as a guest speaker for the IOD Kent (Institute of Directors) breakfast.

Sponsored by Rural Plc (Kent), the breakfast for members and non members, starts at 7am.

He will be among a number of high profile agricultural guests attending the show, which runs on Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12.

Lords' spokesman for Defra, Lord Gardiner, himself a partner in a family farm, will also be there on the first day.

He will be joined on an official walk-round with Guy Smith, NFU vice-president.

Baroness Byford, who attended Northamptonshire Agricultural College after leaving school and moved on to be a poultry farmer, will also be a guest on the first day.

She is patron for a number of organisations and was this year elected to the Court of the Worshipful Company of Farmers, as well as being the founding president of LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming).

Kevin Attwood, Kent County Agricultural Society chairman, which organises the three-day county spectacular, said: "To have this group of guests for our opening day is outstanding. Farming in Kent contributes a large amount of income to the county and having some of the most important figures in the farming world visit will give us an opportunity to highlight the hard work from our agricultural community."

Tom Hart Dyke will be the guest speaker for the chairman’s official lunch at the show on the Saturday.

He lives with his family at Lullingstone Castle in Kent, but hit the headlines when he was kidnapped with a friend in 2000 while on a mission to find a rare orchid in the Colombian jungle.

During his nine months of captivity, he dreamed of creating a garden containing plants collected from all corners of the world, back at Lullingstone, some he has made a reality since he returned to the county.

The show's first day also includes a display by the world famous RAF Red Arrows, and flypasts by the Kent Spitfire on all three days.

The show has hundreds of stalls and sideshows, with livestock and showjumping, as well as free donkey rides and circus workshops, and a plethora of trade stands.

The Kent County Show starts at 8am and stays open until 6pm each day.

Tickets for the chairman’s lunch cost £50, plus cost of a members' entrance pass.

You can buy tickets for the show online. A family ticket costs £41 in advance or £48 on the gate, which is for two adults and two children between five and 15. Children under five go free and parking is free. Adult tickets cost £18.50 in advance and £22 on the gate, concessions are £13 online and £15 on the gate and a child's ticket is £5 in advance and £6 on the gate. For details visit http://kentshowground.co.uk/