Over 72,000 people turned up at the World Ploughing Championships at Grangeford near Tullow in Co Carlow yesterday for the third day of the event which concludes today, writes Seán Mac Connell in Grangeford.
Hundreds turned out at the Irish plot at the international event where the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had been scheduled to start the competition at 11am
However, the 28 competitors and others had to wait for at least a half an hour for Mr Ahern's arrival.
When he flew in by helicopter brief words were exchanged with Eamon Treacey, the Carlowman ploughing for Ireland and even fewer words with the press. When asked if he would be talking to the press today, he replied: "I had enough of ye yesterday." Tánaiste Michael McDowell had arrived before the Taoiseach completed his tour which resulted in a media scrum but the two didn't meet.
On his walkabout Mr McDowell was as relaxed as the Taoiseach was tense while meeting and greeting supporters and on- lookers. While the politicians did their best to take over the event, it was business as usual on the 800 stands which were drenched in blazing sunshine, a marked contrast with the opening day when wind and rain washed the site down.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Brendan Smith urged farmers to avail of the new farm waste management scheme which has been put in place to help farmers meet the requirements of the nitrates directive.
He reminded them that the standard rate of grant had been increased from 40 per cent to 60 per cent with 70 per cent now being available in most of the country, and that it had been extended to pig and poultry farmers.
He said farmers should be aware that they only had to the end of December this year to make an application and they could apply for the grant as soon as they had applied for planning permission if it was required.
Green Party leader Trevor Sargent called on local authorities, organisers of farmers' markets and Government departments to help farmers' markets meet the needs of consumers. He said that the sad reality was that at present, in many of the so called farmers' markets in Ireland, there were few actual producers selling in them, with the majority of stalls belonging to traders.
"Farmers' markets have become, in some areas, a type of travelling circus. A genuine farmers' market would mean, for example, that for a person in Wexford, the market should be identifiable as the look, taste and smells of Wexford produce," he said. He said organisers of the markets should facilitate and encourage the participation of local producers and the need to ensure that there is a variety of unit or pitch sizes available.
"Local authorities need to open markets in towns where market rights exist. Some excellent examples of such initiatives are to be found in Midleton, Macroom and Galway," he said.
The National Ploughing Association has been promoting the sale of locally produced food at the event and special local food stalls are available around the site for the patrons of the event.
Traders have reported brisk trading over the week with a large number of machinery sales being recorded.The championships have also been lucky with its traffic management plan which has meant minimum delays getting on and off the site over the past three days.
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