310 farmers will give it wellie as they plough furrow for national glory
Favoured by Indian summer weather, works teams put the finishing touches to the 200 acres of competition ground; 300 acres of car parking; 50 acres of trade exhibitions and a number of additional acres for practical machinery demonstrations. The site on the lands of David and Heather Lawlor and Robin and Ann Talbot will be ploughed by 310 competitors and the exhibition area will be occupied by 650 trade stands.
Some 25 miles of electric cable has been laid. Provision has also been made for a 50,000 gallon water supply. Phone lines have been installed; 100 toilet units put in place, and 30 catering units erected. To facilitate the movement of heavy machinery in and out of the site and to provide comfort for more than 100,000 visitors, the National Ploughing Association has laid five miles of steel trackway to supplement the excellent farm roads already in position at Ballacolla.
Movement of cars, people, machines and overseeing the competitions will be controlled by 500 stewards drawn from 26 counties, and there will be 40 judges for the 21 ploughing competitions, in which 310 men, women and underage competitors will take part. Gardaí will operate a major traffic plan. Trade exhibitors have travelled from as far away as New Zealand while ploughmen from Netherlands, Denmark, Isle of Man and Britain will compete. Irish contenders will include John Treacy, Carlow, who was the overall runner-up in the World Ploughing Championships in Switzerland earlier this month, as well as being the gold medal winner in grassland ploughing.
Agriculture and Food Minister Joe Walsh will officially open the championships, which have cost 1.5 million to stage. NPA managing director Mrs Anna May McHugh said the event was shaping up to be one of the best yet a claim that might appear somewhat weighty, considering that the year has been fraught with anxiety for all sectors of farming.
The industry, however, has continued to support the ploughing championships. All the exhibitors are to be commended for their steadfast loyalty to an event that has now been going for 71 years and is obviously as relevant as ever.
Mrs McHugh said the event would be highlighted by the ploughing competitions, while the exhibitions will centre on a huge display of farm machinery backed up by an increasingly significant livestock exhibition; a forestry "village;" and a growing emphasis on education and information, including a presentation of relevant technology.
"In a year when tourism faces challenges equal to those in agriculture, there is a marked growth in the number of hotels and other interests that will be showing their wares at Ballacolla.
"For the farming family, there will be a wide-ranging display of goods and services related to food, nutrition, healthcare and important elements of modern rural lifestyles, she added.
