Preparations are underway for this year’s Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA) Grass & Muck event, to be held at Gurteen College near Birr on Thursday, May 17.
All of the working grass machinery demonstration plots are fully booked.
According to the FTMTA, demand for static stand exhibition space in the ‘trade village’ area has also been “very strong”. All of the original stand positions were apparently sold out some weeks ago.
More recently, the FTMTA says that it has been able to “alter the layout slightly, to make some additional static stand space available”.
It says that only a “very limited number” are available; machinery distributors or manufacturers (or anyone interested in exhibiting) are encouraged to apply sooner rather than later – if they haven’t already done so.
Image source: FTMTA
According to the association, once these are sold there will be no further stand possibilities.
The FTMTA says that this year’s event will be the largest ever; it is describing it as “the flagship event for the Irish farm machinery industry in 2018″.
The association says that 11,500 visitors attended the 2016 event; it hopes to see that figure exceeded this year.
https://www.facebook.com/FTMTA/videos/1654768314617280/
A spokesperson said: “The focus at FTMTA Grass & Muck is very much on working machinery, with ongoing demonstrations throughout the day in the grass harvesting, re-seeding, silage pit, slurry spreading and farmyard manure spreading areas.”
Online tickets will go on sale via a link on the FTMTA website in the coming weeks and will be available at a discount (compared with the on-the-day price) until Friday, May 11.
Ongoing preparations
Fertiliser was spread on the area destined for the working (machinery) demonstrations back in mid-to-late February (pictured below).
Image source: FTMTA
On-site activities – of one description or another – will take place on-and-off right up until May.
