Return of £8m show season (From Western Telegraph)

Return of £8m show season

WITH ONLY weeks to go before the expected countrywide lifting of foot and mouth restrictions on cattle, organisers are optimistic that Pem-brokeshires 2002 agricultural show scene will return to some degree of normality.

Although sheep and goats are unlikely to feature at local shows, there should be a strong showing of cattle and horses.

And it is hoped that the enforced vacuum last season will encourage showgoers and exhibitors to turn out in droves this summer.

The return of the shows will be a big relief to the local business world. Wales Tourist Board figures show that the three-day Pembrokeshire County Show generates an estimated £8 million in tourist revenue.

Despite the effects of the massive culling programme in many parts of the country, cattle classes should still be well represented. Some top breeders and exhibitors felt there should have been a show last year and that cattle could safely have been exhibited, provided classes were restricted to animals from clean areas only.

But the majority felt the risks were too high and that the effects of foot and mouth reaching the county would have been devastating and long term. At the recent annual conference of Agricultural Shows everyone was optimistic about the cattle showing prospects for 2002, said Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society secretary Barry Vaughan.

A representative of the Holstein Society said they were looking forward to a normal show season, but the position regarding both sheep and goats is debatable.

Prominent Welsh Black cattle breeder and exhibitor John Beynon of Penlan, St Davids, is full of optimism that the Pembrokeshire show will be back to normal, although there is a possibility that some of the smaller shows might still be suffering from the blow of last years cancellations.

There is a possibility we could be missing some exhibitors who may not feel inclined to come back after the gap this year, he said. But most of the cattle exhibited locally are from the clean areas and there is no reason why there should not be a good turn out.

Cardigan Show is going ahead on July 31st and the organisers are hoping that the usual 12,000 - 15,000 people will give their support at Briscwm Fields.

We are definitely holding a show and have set the date, but we will have to wait to see what the restrictions are with regard to cattle and sheep, said show secretary Jill Jones.

The Pembroke Farmers Club, too, is hopeful that at the clubs quarterly meeting early in the New Year a decision will be made to stage the show at Windsor Farm, Lamphey, on the traditional first Wednesday in August.