The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) was founded in Edinburgh in 1784 as the Highland Society of Edinburgh. The Society had its root in 1723 when the Society of Improvers of the Knowledge of Agriculture in Scotland was created in Edinburgh. It was remodelled and renamed in 1784 largely in reaction to the subsistence crises of 1782/3 when many of the estates in the highlands and islands of Scotland were not producing enough food to feed tenants. The Society is responsible for organising the annual Royal Highland Show.