It’s hard to believe that it has been eight months since we said goodbye to the 2022 summer show season. The five-month pilgrimage around the show fields and rural towns and villages has begun with a real positive feel to 2023.

In a world of constant change, agricultural shows are the one thing that haven’t changed a lot over the last 100 years. I found an old show schedule from Balmoral from almost 70 years ago recently and while the makeup of the breeds is very different, a lot of the classes are very similar to what they are this week.

Balmoral Show first took place in 1872 and it’s a huge testament to its success that it is still going stronger than ever before. The show field, in a lot of shows’ cases, is the same field as it was back then. Animals are still prepared and shown in a similar manner with the stock people showing the animals still donning the white coat as they did over 100 years ago.

The same debates also take place ringside as to what was first and, more importantly, what should have been first. It’s one part of Irish agriculture that I hope we never lose.

They have so much to offer as part of our communication plan on Irish agriculture with wider communities, as those living in towns and cities become more and more disconnected from all things farming.

Balmoral Show this week signifies for me the real start to the showing season with some of the best cattle from all over Ireland participating in the four-day event.

Shanon Kinahan and the rest of the livestock team will be ringside reporting for the Irish Farmers Journal all week.

The livestock team will be attending as many shows as we can over the duration of the summer show season. If you see myself or Shanon Kinahan out and about at shows, be sure and come up to say hello. Keep an eye out on farmersjournal.ie and the pedigree section of the Irish Farmers Journal for updates on the summer show season.