Some 81,000 people attended the third and final day of the 2019 National Ploughing Championships.

In total, more than 297,000 people made it through the gates over the three days at this year’s event – a record-breaking crowd.

The weather conditions were ideal, with three days full of autumn sunshine and highs of 20°C.

Both An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed attended the final day of this year’s event.

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Irish Farmers Journal that he “would hate” to return any unspent Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) money to Europe, adding that the Government would be watching the uptake of the scheme.

Commenting on the beef crisis, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed reissued his call for protesters to end pickets outside factories, saying “their voice has been heard loud and clear”.

The minister said a tipping point had been reached and that continuing the protests could do more harm than good.

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In Pictures: 'eye in the sky’ captures machinery at the Ploughing

Listen: Taoiseach ‘would hate’ to return unspent BEAM money