Coveney opens Tullamore Show today
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, today officially opened the annual Tullamore and AIB National Livestock Show in Co. Offaly.
Speaking at the event, the Minister said “The show has grown very quickly since its relaunch in 1991 to become the largest one day agriculture show in the country and a perfect summer’s day out for all the family. It is the highlight of the year for many people across the country, and has a unique setting on the Butterfield Estate. With over 1,000 individual exhibitor competitions, a prize fund of €165,000 and 60,000 people attending, the sheer scale of the event is very impressive”.
Minister Coveney continued, “Tullamore show, which incorporates the AIB National Livestock Show, is a wonderful occasion to see the best cattle in the country. Competition from pedigree breeders improves the quality of cattle in the country, and a gold medal in the show today is a much sought after title in the sector The event shows the range of people and small businesses that are an integral part of our Agri-food industry, one that exported €9bn in food and drink in 2012 alone”. The Minister highlighted the rising worldwide demand for food and said that “the Government, working with all stakeholders, intends to drive a very ambitious growth agenda for the agri-food sector and to increase the value of exports from the sector to €12 billion by 2020, the ambitious target set in Food Harvest 2020”.
The Minister also referred to the new CAP agreement secured. under the Irish Presidency and said that “the changes mark a useful and progressive reform of the CAP making it fit for purpose to 2020. The changes are consistent with the smart, green, growth objectives of Food Harvest 2020 and provide farmers and the agri-food sector with policy certainty for the years to come”.
The Minister concluded by acknowledging that the staging of the show was a massive community effort and wished the organizing committee, exhibitors, sponsors and all the visitors an enjoyable day.