Tractors blue, red and green

Sheep still play their part at local A&P shows. PHOTO/FILE

Last weekend was all about celebration of who we are as a people - not just Kiwis but as provincial folk. People who work and play together, who care about one another, and who have an eye for the future.

The annual Agricultural and Pastoral Show used to be all about cows, horses and sheep, baking, shearing, with the odd Highland fling thrown in for good measure - and in Hawera it is still all about that.

Blokes standing around assessing the worth of various breeds of tractor. The blue versus the red and the recent incursion of the greens in various shades - and I'm still talking about farm machinery. But the market has changed and the preferences of generations of family farmers are threatened by the promise of new and innovative gadgets competing for farmers' preferences. Some of the old tried-and-trues have gone by the wayside or dwindled down a bit.

The baking entries were fewer and the produce entries were so few that the noble mayor won the best lettuce, proving the rising prominence of the noble greens!

I spent the two days chewing the fat and testing the marketplace for the blue brand of politics. I found the demand still to be strong, which is heartening a year out from the next Big Show - but, like any other contest, nothing is taken for granted and we have to win our customers over each time with proven policy, vision and direction.

Reporting on the conversations in social media created a dust storm and, as soon as I posted them, there was a kerfuffle of opposition posts, including a number of comments unpublishable in any reputable media, along with the prize-winning witty retorts from supporters. The truth remains that Labour and the Greens hate farmers and farming and would love us to each be hand-milking our house-cows, before dropping off our home-made products to the gate in a wheel-barrow and cycling 10 miles to town to sell magic beans in the hope of a better future as described in the appropriate fairytale. It escaped them that an efficient and effective dairy farm can be run cleanly with minimal, and mitigated, environmental impact - the benefits to the New Zealand taxpayer being cheaper health, welfare, education and services. And without it, our electorate would be stuffed.

Friday night was the Ray White Wanganui Sports Awards, Sunday afternoon a fundraising garden party at Kakaramea and Monday night was the TrustPower Energy Direct Community Awards. All underlined the fact that communities enjoy competition in all aspects of life, though sometimes this is against each other in the sporting arena and sometimes it is just to be as good as they can be in caring for people, projects and their potential.

The amazing theme on both awards nights were the tenure of some contributors to their sport or organisation and how so many volunteers worked across so many different groups.

I guess the adage is true: "If you want something done, ask a busy person."

All in all a perfect weekend in the Whanganui electorate.