There are grumbles from exhibitors about allocations of complimentary and discounted tickets for the Ploughing every year. Complimentary tickets have been cut back this year, while three-day exhibitor passes cost €40 – up from €30 in 2015. Participants in the National Sheep Breeding Stand received tickets to a value of just over €300, one breeder said. However, when the dozen societies involved added up their requirements, they had to come up with nearly €2,500 more to buy all the tickets they needed.

The standard ticket price has been held at €20 for a good few years. There are no fees for booking online, there are pensioner, student and group discounts, and U-12s go free.