Brian Lockhart, from Jerrettspass in Co. Armagh, is the new chair of the Northern Ireland Shows Association (NISA).
He assumed the role at the organisation’s 2024 annual general meeting, held earlier this week.
Lockhart is the current chair of Newry Agricultural Show and succeeds Michelle Doran, the secretary of Lurgan Show, in his new position. He will serve for a period of one year as NISA chair.
The next 12 months will be particularly busy for NISA. In addition to the coordination of its annual show calendar, strident attempts will be made by the organisation to secure core funding on behalf of all its member bodies from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
Prior to the winding-up of the previous Executive at Stormont, the then agriculture minister – Edwin Poots – commissioned a ‘resilience’ report, looking at future options for all the local agricultural shows that are held in Northern Ireland.
The work was undertaken by Royal Welsh Show Association chief executive Aled Rhys Jones. His report was published in June 2023.
His specific brief was to look at ways by which the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) could strategically fund local agricultural shows into the future.
He put forward two options in this regard. The first centred on the core funding of all the show societies.
Within this model, monies would be distributed equally to support their running costs. The core funding would also be linked to a set of outcomes, in line with the strategic priorities of DAERA.
Examples of such outcomes could include: the introduction of new competitions to recognise environmental skills and / or sustainable farming practices; displays of new equipment and technology to improve productivity on farms, plus initiatives linking food and farming.
Northern Ireland Shows Association
Other envisaged outcomes include the improvement of supply chain integration; educational content and dedicated areas at shows helping to inform the public about farming and food production.
The core funding would also ensure the highest standards of animal health and welfare, plus a commitment to lower the carbon footprint of shows.
In essence, Rhys Jones proposed a funding model which would see DAERA commit core funding in the region of £10,000 per show association.
The second funding option looked at the introduction of a two-tier funding model. This would comprise a core funding element. This would allow shows to supported on an equitable basis, in order to support their running costs.
DAERA’s immediate response to all of this was to, effectively, moth ball the report, pointing to the fact that no funding was available to implement its recommendations.
However, NISA members now recognise that circumstances have changed dramatically in the 18 months or so since the Jones’ report was published.
Given these circumstances, NISA will seek a meeting with the agriculture minister in the New Year.
The organisation’s annual meeting also allowed for a review of the 2024 show season. Weather, as is always the case, impacted directly on crowd numbers throughout the summer months
However, two very positive trends for the future were also identified: the increased in the number of young handlers taking part in show classes and the continuing rise in sheep entries at all NISA events.
