The National Ploughing Association has announced that it has cancelled the trade exhibition element of their annual event for the second year.
Around 300,000 people were due to descend on Ratheniska from September 15-17 for the three day event – but organisers have cancelled this due to the Covid-19 situation.
In a statement, organisers also confirmed that the World Ploughing Championships, due for the same venue, was also off.
A statement said: “Given the sheer scale of the Ploughing with 297,000 attendees in 2019 and the lack of clarity about what Covid-19 restrictions and regulations will look like in September for outdoor events, it was felt that cancelling the 1,700 trade exhibitor event was the only option.
“Unless the NPA [was] confident the trade exhibition could go ahead without causing any risk to exhibitors, competitors and visitors it would not be feasible”.
“As the timeline to start site works is imminent – the NPA just could not wait any longer to make a decision.”
Managing Director Anna May McHugh confirmed to AgriLand that the Ploughing Championships would return to Ratheniska in 2022.
She said: “It’s a massive disappointment to the association to have to cancel the exhibition two years in a row, in particular when you consider the estimated annual economic impact of €50 million that will be lost to the Irish economy.
“We are very conscious of the loss of revenue for our exhibitors and the disappointment of patrons.
“However, the NPA is a strong establishment, we have a massively committed team behind the event, our exhibitors and our patrons have been very loyal over the years and we look forward to bringing the exhibition back at its full potential in 2022.”
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