30,287 copies distributed monthly – to every rural mailbox in Canterbury and the West Coast
November 2018 Edition
INSIDE It’s showtime THIS EDITION Stilgoe’s award
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p16 Feature lift-out Photo by Dean mackenzie
Ringmaster: Canterbury A&P Association’s Show president Tim black poses for a publicity shot for this month’s New Zealand Agricultural Show.
p23 IVF for dairy
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❚ by Kent Caddick A new name and new challenges for the Canterbury A&P Association as it heads into its 156th annual Show this month. Last year the Association decided to rename the event the New Zealand Agricultural Show and this year’s Show president Tim Black is more than comfortable with that. “Canterbury has the biggest A&P Show in the country but we needed to take it to the next stage,” Black said. “For the sake of our sponsors and exhibitors we had to look at the Show in terms of a national viewpoint not just a regional one. “I have just been up to the Royal A&P Show in the Hawkes Bay and it is comforting
to reflect on the fact that were are the biggest show in the country and that’s not taking anything away from all the other shows as each region has its own strengths. “We are not trying to compete with all the other shows, it’s just that we need to stand on our own two feet and promote what we are doing. “We also are not competing with field days either as we are a different entity as we have a focus on the animals.” Black said it had been a challenging lead up to the Show. “We have had a setback this year with the M.bovis disease, and just a few days out from entries closing we didn’t have any entries in the cattle section.
“However, we have been proactive along with MPI to ensure we have the systems in place to make it minimal risk to the exhibitors.” The relationship with MPI paid off and Black said they now have entries into the cattle section, about a third of what they normally would have. “But that’s pretty amazing given the environment we have been dealing with,” he said. “For a lot of the exhibitors the Show is their advertising where they showcase their animals and we are rapt they have made the decision that it’s important enough to come back to the show, so we want to make sure we do the best we can for those exhibitors.”