Last weekend the spotlight was on agriculture and farming as the Tullamore show, the biggest agricultural show of the year took place last Sunday 12^th August. It was quite fitting that a show which is dubbed the “Olympics of Agriculture” with 21 gold medals being given to the countries best livestock, would be held on the last day of the London Olympics. Tullamore show alongside the National Ploughing Championships is one of the main highlights for the rural community and highlights a number of key areas in the agricultural sector.

With the best in livestock competitions, all manner of agriculture machinery and related industry on show, Tullamore had something for everyone, from sheep shearing demonstrations, tractor building and Celebrity Chefs demonstrations to trade stands with a host of the latest innovations in farm equipment and machinery as well as antique farm machinery.

Amongst the many draws of the show, taking in the farm machinery both old and new was one of the highlights. The Vintage section, in particular, proved impressive holding some of the most impressive farm machinery parts and tractors from yesteryear all on display and this year included a Lady’s Tractor Building Competition.

The poor weather didn’t deter visitors and while numbers may have been down slightly from previous years it was a chance for various sectors in the farm and agricultural industry to get together and demonstrate and highlight all manner of agricultural related elements from rewarding and demonstrating the best in livestock, food and farm machinery to the serious matter of highlighting the current difficulties the industry is facing. Despite the current climate the wide range of family friendly entertainment and agricultural trade shows proved a welcome day out for all taking part.