THROUGH THE ARCHIVES: News Letter highlights the importance of agricultural shows in Northern Ireland

Agricultural shows across Northern Ireland were the focus of an editorial piece which was published in the News Letter on this day in 1928.

The paper remarked: “The highly successful agricultural show which was held at Portadown yesterday may be said to mark the opening in real earnest of the district show season in Northern Ireland, which extends well into July, and is occasionally prolonged into August.

“This show season is a comparatively recent development, for not so long ago Ulster, although prizing terming as one of its leading industrial pursuits had few agricultural shows of outstanding merit.

“During the present century, however, there bee been a remarkable growth of agricultural societies, and there are today few towns in the province without an annual summer show.

“It is, indeed, sometimes complained that there are too many of these district shows that they tend to cramp and injure one another, and that the general effect of them all is to detract, interest from the great exhibitions promoted by the Royal Agricultural Society at Balmoral.”

The News Letter continued: “Experience has not wholly justified that complaint, and so far as the Balmoral exhibitions are concerned, they may, indeed, be benefitting very largely from these district shows acting as so many important feeders.

“For these local shows attract farmers who would never dream of entering their stock at Balmoral in competition against the best the country can produce.

“Yet it frequently happens that the farmer who is a successful exhibitor at the local show is encouraged to try for still higher awards for his stock, and he enters at Balmoral.

“The district show, at all events, fills a very important place in the agricultural activities of the province. It is doing an incalculable amount of good, and it is deserving of every encouragement.”

Justifying the many shows the News Letter remarked: “It teaches them the valuable lesson that, apart from initial cost of purchase, they are out of pocket no more in feeding first class livestock than over that of inferior quality, and that up-to-date methods, in the pursuit of the industry always, pays, and pays well.”