A visit to a local A & P show during the hot summer months is a rite of passage for New Zealand children.
Candy floss is a must, as is a tomato sauce-slathered hot dog while you join the lengthy queues for the merry-go-round or dodgem cars. For the townies, it is a chance to get up close and personal with sheep, cattle and horses – to smell what rural living is all about.
News that Christchurch’s New Zealand Agricultural Show will be postponed this year will have come as a shock to many. On the plus side, livestock judging and competitions will still be held, but it won’t be the show many people are used to.
The three-day event is considered the créme de la créme of A & P shows in this country. From humble beginnings in 1863, it has morphed into a show stopper, with hundreds of exhibitors and more than 100,000 visitors attending each year.
But with size come increased costs and demands, and those tasked with organising the event are well aware of the rising financial risk hosting such an event now carries.
Increased competition for sponsorship dollars and a rise in the cost of living raises questions over how well the event will be supported by spectators and exhibitors. There are also increased wages and rising compliance costs to take into account, all eating into the bottom line.
From an exhibitor perspective, there are now more options to display their wares through the various field days and events such as Agfest. The marketing dollar can only stretch so far.
New Zealand Agricultural Show Board chair Stewart Mitchell says the decision to postpone is disappointing, but after several challenging years it is an opportunity to rethink the event’s strategic direction.
“The association’s ongoing business model is under review to reflect the environment we now operate in, a challenge common to most businesses throughout New Zealand currently,” he says.
“Twelve months of costs and three days of revenue is not a great business model by anyone’s analysis.”
Like most events in this country – and around the world – the show’s momentum was impacted by covid in 2020 and 2021 and it has struggled to regain that lost ground.
That prompted a review of the show’s governance model, which should be completed this year.
But organisers can take heart from what is happening in Britain. The Guardian newspaper reported last year that agricultural shows were booming and record numbers of people were flocking to them, despite a growing number of farmers leaving the industry.
The Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations estimates about 7 million Brits visit agricultural shows every year. It is thought YouTube farming videos and shows such as Clarkson’s Farm have sparked new interest in the sector. People see agricultural shows as a way to get their rural fix.
What is happening in Britain shows A & P shows are far from a thing of the past, even if – depending on the review outcome – we may have seen the last of the New Zealand Agricultural Show in its current format.
Perhaps a scaled-back, farm-focused event could be the future. When it comes A & P shows, maybe bigger isn’t necessarily better.
