Sarah Thomas grooming a jersey cow in preparation for judging at Saturday's Kaitaia A&P show.
Sarah Thomas grooming a jersey cow in preparation for judging at Saturday's Kaitaia A&P show.
All but two A&P shows around the country have dropped their dairy and beef cattle classes this season, for fear of inadvertently spreading Mycoplasma bovis, but it was business as usual at the Kaitaia show on Saturday.
Kaitaia and Christchurch were the only shows that had welcomed cattle thisseason, dairy exhibitor Denise Finlayson said as she admired her jerseys, waiting patiently in their stalls as they waited for judging to begin.
Nearby Sarah Thomas was grooming more jerseys, all the way from Wellsford.
"All our animals have had contact with each other, so either they all have M. bovis or none of them have it," Denise said.
It wasn't the prospect of an outbreak of bovine disease that had the show organisers concerned on Friday, however, but the weather, forecasters predicting that the rain would become heavier, accompanied by strong winds on the Saturday.
That didn't eventuate; a shower or two on Saturday morning didn't bother anyone, and the heavy overcast actually provided pleasant conditions, if a little humid.
The grounds too were looking their best.
The weather forecast was blamed for some horse and beef scratchings, however, and some trade exhibitors failed to show up.
The crowd, which had been thin mid-morning, began to build as the day progressed, the highlight for many younger folk being the opportunity to tackle a Firefighter Challenge, courtesy of the Kaitaia Fire Brigade.
The only major disappointment was that the weather prevented the Far North FMX team from performing.
