SPRING has sprung, and so has the agricultural show season, with many societies across Victoria and southern NSW returning to normal after the challenges of the previous three years.
According to VAS Ltd's Executive Officer, Rod Bowles, "So far, the responses I have had is good attendances with some shows still yet to use their Kids go Free grants as they were deferred from last year due to some very wet showgrounds and in some cases flooded showgrounds."
"Outdoor events are very much weather dependent and there is a hesitation of how the economic times and cost of living will affect the families' attending shows," said Mr Bowles.
"I believe this was evident during the recent Melbourne Royal Show with some days very well attended and other days not to capacity with a good 10 days of weather on our side," he said.
Seymour was among several shows held in October on the 6th and 7th.
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Perfect weather conditions ensured a good turnout, especially on Friday night, which included a fireworks display.
According to the society's president, Anne Davidson, the committee was very pleased.
"We had a record number of entries right across all our pavilions," Ms Davidson said.
This year's Kate McLarty Award in honour of former Seymour A&P Society member was shared by committee member Coral Cole, who won it in 2022 and Kath Purchase for the most outstanding exhibitor in five sections.
The poultry section was much larger than last year and offered "pen sales".
There were also more fleeces this year, with Kevin Hynam from Loxley taking out the championship with his skirted merino ram's fleece.
The alpaca judging is a popular feature event within the Seymour Show and attracts quality entries. The yard dogs and the dog jump are always crowd-pleasers.
The VAS Junior Cattle Handling competitions were a highlight of the show and a learning opportunity for several young people to pick up some pointers from longtime judge Graeme (Darby) Norris from Rosewhite.
Mr Norris said, "I have failed if when they leave today, they haven't learned something new."
Seymour College ag teacher Amanda McClaren was thrilled with her four students' efforts in the ring, with three speckled park cattle in the beef section and four Guernsey dairy cows.
Mr Bowles emphasised a significant part of the VAS Ltd annual activities is for the encouragement of younger people with Junior and Rural Ambassador programs plus judging of sheep, cattle, poultry, and alpacas run at state and national levels.
This youth engagement is being built on with the recent inclusion of the Young Farmers Challenge as an activity at shows as a test of farm skills, plus a range of competitions for school-age children and families.
"The show world has a strong history of generations of involvement and many committee members are progeny of people that has been involved with the shows in the past or had a family connection," said Mr Bowles.
"Most times it takes someone to encourage a younger person to become involved and mentor them with working in a diverse range of ages on the committees," he added.
The various VAS competitions are always keenly contested at local agricultural shows, and many regular exhibitors vie for qualification to the group final and, ultimately, the state finals of the homecrafts.
Mr Bowles said, "The junior competitions are a pathway to state and national finals where there is great opportunities to enhance their skills and become our leaders in the future and hopefully committee members down the track to keep the annual shows alive for many more years to come as many of them are 100 plus years old."
On the equestrian side of VAS activities, he said, the rehomed thoroughbred program supported by Racing Victoria is a magnificent competition for the equine industry, with show winners eligible to compete in the state final at the VAS Ltd Saddle Horse Championships.
Attracting volunteers to any community group is always challenging, and agricultural show committees grapple with this issue.
Mr Bowles said the VAS board recognised that since COVID, a number of volunteers have possibly chosen to do other things or not be available to help with their local show for various reasons.
As VAS Ltd successfully got a grant from the federal government for the cancelled show activities, the board decided to run a campaign first to help promote local ag shows and secondly to build up some more resources to assist show societies.
Mr Bowles said there had been a good response to the regional television advertising, with several volunteers offering to assist with the various shows, become committee members, or just a general help on the day.
"Shows are community events and need community people to step up for their survival," he said.
November is a busy time on the show circuit with Whittlesea on November 4 & 5, followed by Heathcote on November 7, then the Ballarat Show from November 10 to 12, the Lilydale & Yarra Valley Show the weekend of November 18 and 19, and Yea on November 24 and 25.
The secretary of the Yea Agricultural, Pastoral & Horticultural Association, Kimm Noonan, is enthusiastic about the 2023 show riding on the back of last year's show, which she described as "awesome" despite no horses or cattle.
Ms Noonan said, "We look forward to welcoming them back and hoping for good numbers in both sections.
She appreciated the community's tremendous support last year and, so far, the same this year.
"We have a good sized committee with some new members that are bringing fresh ideas and great energy," said Ms Noonan.
"We are doing free entry for children under 12 again this year, in the hope that this makes it a little easier for families to come and enjoy our show," she said.
The woodchop competition is making a return after its huge success last year.
The organisers have decided to extend the show day until 6pm.
According to Ms Noonan, at the conclusion of horse events in the arena, the area in front of the grandstand will become the focus for various entertainment attractions.
Patrons can watch Stuart Bryant and family with their whip cracking show, and the dog high jump is always drawcard.
Ms Noonan said, "There will be the new Young Farmer Challenge, where mixed teams of four compete against each other in everyday farm challenges."
The pavilions will be open until 4pm before the crowd can sit back and enjoy the music of the Pete Miller Band until 6pm.
"Of course, there will be all the usual rides, showbags, farm machinery, animals, including yard dog trials and great creations in the pavilion," said Ms Noonan.
Final words from Rod Bowles, "COVID interruptions have impacted many organisations, and it is hope that life can get back to some normality without interruptions of other elements testing the survival of the annual shows".
