A & P show struggles to attract entries

A & P Show's cattle co-ordinator Danny Gill says the section is in danger of falling over.

The prestige of winning a livestock ribbon at the A & P Show has lost its appeal as associations struggle to attract exhibitors. Entries have fallen by up to 60 per cent in some regions. Tauranga A & P Show cattle co-ordinator Danny Gill says organisers have to virtually beg people to come.

His involvement with the event spans 21 years and he says if he pulls out, the cattle section would fall over. The show is declining across its beef, heifer and dairy cow categories.

Last year, entries included seven cows, four yearlings and 11 calves with numbers bolstered by a strong contingent of about 20 Dexter cattle.

"Over the last three or four years we've had a good turnout of Dexter cattle and we will again," he says. "But we're going to struggle like hell with the beef section. The beef men are out there but they just don't show cattle."

Lower dairy numbers in the district have contributed to the dilemma, Gill says. At the Centenary Matamata A & P Show in October, numbers were down and it will be the last year for the Katikati A & P Show dairy section, he said.

Northern Wairoa A & P Show secretary Nicky Poyner says she does not know why people are not putting their stock in the show anymore. Maybe they are not interested, she suggests.

"It's a shame we get the same exhibitors every year and don't get the new ones," she says.

The cost of getting stock to the show could play a part, she says.

Rotorua A & P Show secretary Pat Corcoran says the NZ Dairy Event in Feilding, which starts on Wednesday, clashes with all the local shows.

However, there has been a definite decline and it is a sign of the times. Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty provisional president Rick Powdrell says modern farmers do not place any value on showing stock.

"If you look around the A & P Shows you'll get the real senior diehards and some of their children that have carried on the family tradition but it's very limited.

"I think it's more about lifestyle and people doing so many other things."

Technology also means animal statistics and records are readily available as opposed to showing animals to see where their breeding stock is in relation to others, he says.

Powdrell used to show his sheep at the Te Puke A & P Show but it became too much.

"Years ago I was making three trips in the morning to get all my sheep down."

Today people come for the entertainment instead of looking at animals, he says.