Tapanui farmer Bruce Eade prepares to exhibit 4-year-old Ayrshire cow Fairleigh Vicky at the last Gore A&P Show, in February. Next year's show has been cancelled due to uncertainty over Covid. Photo / ODT Files
The Gore A & P Show committee has cancelled its milestone show next year.
The 140th running of the show was to have been held on February 5.
Showday secretary Becs Paterson said the uncertainty around holding a show, given the current Covid-19 situation, persuaded the committee it was better to cancel now than at the last minute or hold a show with a reduced programme.
"It was a hard decision to make," she said.
The 140th show was a milestone that needed to be celebrated in style.
"We didn't want to do a closed gate show and not involve the public in something that we wanted to make a spectacularly special celebration.
"It would be better to cancel this year's show and then go ahead in 2023 and do the full show we really want to do," Paterson said.
The public was an important part of a show.
"You need the public at a show otherwise it is not a show.
"If they can't come and be there what's the value of an A& P show?"
About 3500 people usually attended.
Sponsors and exhibitors also needed to get value from attending the show, she said.
A large volunteer base already ran the event and the committee calculated another 40-50 people would be needed to make sure the crowd complied with Covid alert level restrictions.
"That's just not feasible."
The committee also decided it did not want to be responsible for organising an event where people might be exposed to Covid-19.
"Would we want to attend in those circumstances?"
'It is a much more efficient way of getting twice as many apples using a lot less water.'