Sheep take pride of place on show’s first day

Press, 9 November 1978, Page 12

Sheep take pride of place on show’s first day

The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association opened its showgrounds yesterday for its 116th show, and the largest sheep exhibition in the world.

The association’s executives were smiling at the end of the first day yesterday; not quite as broadly as last year, but still smiling. Gate takings were $4097, and more people attended than in 1976: The takings were down on last year, which is no surprise; the gate in an ordinary year can never compar. with a Royal year.

Livestock entires were up, except for pigs. “The size and quality of the livestock classes make a show,” said the association’s secretarymanager, Mr T. M. Maskew. “Improvement of livestock through competition is vital.” he said. Several overseas interests were scrutinising stock yesterday: a team of Argentinians. 75 members of the Federation of Agricultural Producers. and several Japanese buying parties. “People say: ‘Aren’t A. and P. Associations part of a bygone era?” said Mr Maskew. "But the evidence indicates that they are increasing in popularity. I know of only one show in 30 district A. and P. shows in the last year that recorded decreased entries.” Total entries were marginally down on the last “ordinary” show — 4603, compared with 4751 in 1976. The drop is accounted for by the fall in the home-produce sections: cooking and wine, handcraft and wool. “These sections boom in the local shows, because all the mums and dads and kids have a crack at something,”, said an association officer. ’’But in a metropolitan show, competition is fiercer,, and people aren’t so forth-] coming in those categories.” ' Exhibitors this year come from as far as Invercargill In the south to Nelson in the north. ,

, The first day of the. Canterbury Show is always: open day for the children ■ and kindergartens. At least five thousand “enfants ter-1 rible” swarmed through the] I grounds, chewing hot dogs, candy floss, and ice creams,' and decimating supplies of] ■ the exhibitors’ pamphlets for, ..c'nool projects — “We’ve had to replenish our supply i twice, already,” said a I Queenstown Travel promoter . looking slightly incredulous. The machinery was not I exempt from infant assault. I “I’ve just sabotaged it so the I first person who sits in it ! blows up,” a primary school I lad shouted to his mate who was on the seat of a big tractor revving it hard. Exhibitors of big machin- ! ery were not too disturbed. ' “kids’ day today,” said one in explanation. Providence [ however, has her own way of: j executing judgment. One: youngster, tearing down between the cattle pens, fell: I head-first into some cow ,dung. He picked himself up, I his ebullience dissolved in [ tears.

His teacher threw her ieyes up and turned away. The Canterbury Show is the largest sheep exhibition in the world. “There are 18 breeds here,” said Mr Maskew, “You might find 21 breeds in the home country, j but you won’t find nearly as many entries in each class.” Mr Maskew said that the show had run out of livestock classes. “If we invented another livestock class, it would have to be for the cow with: the most crumpled horn,” he: said.

Attendants at machinery ■ stands said they had not 'noticed any drop in purchases of big machinery, in spite of the economic recession.

$50,000 sell twice as fast as the $41,000 models,” said an attendant. "We get into a different bracket of customer when we talk about the big four-wheel-drive combines for $Bl,OOO, but sales of those haven’t dropped either.”

Farmers were shopping around, said another attendant. “They are looking for new ideas. They come here, talk to us, then go to another stand, and compare notes. We have sold machines on the ground, but it’s pretty rare.” About 20 applicants had to be declined trade space.

“We did think that we would be hard put to find space for three pages for applications,” said an executive, “but we managed somehow' to site 75 per cent of them.” Canterbury Court again staged comprehensive educational displays Of the processes that take New Zealand’s raw materials through to the export stage. At regu-l lar intervals bystanders saw I shearing demonstrations,] and live boning and export meat packaging demonstrations.

“Oh, lovely,” said a female tourist, as the shearing demonstration was announced. A party of nine Japanese members of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers, was equally enamoured. Most had never seen a sheep shorn before, said the leader of the party.

The Canterbury Master Builders and Joiners’ Associ- | ation ran a door-hanging and ' framing competition. Four ' teams from four Christ- ! church firms competed in i their first heat yesterday. [The second heat will be held I today, and the finals on Friday. The winning team will ] compete in Hamilton next 'year.

Combine harvesters costing