Royal A&P Show Returns to Canterbury: Record livestock entries and renewed prestige
The Royal A&P Show of New Zealand, hosted by the Canterbury A&P Association, is back next month, bigger and better after the uncertainty of last year.
Richard Lemon, who has been on the committee since 1990 and was president for the 150th anniversary show in 2012, has again stepped up this year following the sudden resignation of the operations manager who had to return to England because of a family illness.
He says cattle entries are up, especially dairy but also beef.
Biosecurity is being taken seriously, with the Mycoplasma bovis precautions introduced in 2018, such as disinfectant hoof baths, again in place.
Although Lemon is confident the disease is now well-contained in the quarantine area of Mid- Canterbury, he says show organisers have to be aware not just of M. bovis but also diseases such as brucellosis in sheep and even, potentially, foot and mouth.
“We are not doing things responsibly if we don’t make ourselves aware of those situations.”
Lemon says sheep entries are “back a wee bit” but that was expected with the slow decline of the sheep industry in Canterbury over the last seven or eight years.
Sheep breeders are getting older and young guys aren’t taking on stud sheep breeding, he notes.
Sustainability On Show
Show manager Tracy Ahern is promising a “swag of innovations” including a 15-module competition for secondary school teams over a variety of practical farming tasks.
“One of the big things we have done this year is work really hard on our sustainability.
“We’ll be reducing our footprint by 65% (based on 2019 figures) with the view to being totally sustainable by 2025.
“Materials will be measured, tracked, and reused or donated to community organisations and schools at the conclusion of the event.”
Ahern says they are also determined to highlight the many careers available to young people in the rural economy, not just milking cows but trades, technology, services and even art.
In America there are rural areas using art to draw visitors, she says.
Graffiti artists have gone through the show site painting the electrical boxes and the show will feature a “cows in the park” competition for children painting a number life-size cows dotted around the park.
Another initiative is a new interactive memorial garden honouring the “Show Saviours” whose support has kept the show alive over the years.
