Hosted by the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) of NSW, the Show highlights the vital role agriculture plays in the health and wealth of our communities.
Across the 14 days of the Show almost 30,000 junior “farmers” got dirt under their fingernails and mud on their boots in “Little Hands on The Land”. This new initiative took young people on a mini journey through Australian agriculture allowing them to pick apples, collect eggs, milk cows and dig up vegetables as part of this unique and educational experience.
In the ever-popular Farmyard Nursery, visitors saw almost 2,500 chicks being hatched, and watched on as the working dairy produced 35,000 litres of milk. For 14 days, 1,700 head of premium cattle called Homebush home, while in the Sheep and Fleece Pavilion, wool valued at more than $11 million was sold in the two-day onsite auction.
RAS of NSW President, Robert Ryan OAM, said he was delighted to see such strong interest in the animals and produce on display.
“The Show exists to help the wider community understand and value sustainable Australian agriculture and award-quality produce,” Mr Ryan said.
“While the Show obviously has to have activities and displays that appeal to a wide and diverse demographic, we never lose sight of the need to continually promote agricultural excellence in NSW.
“This year more than 19,000 awards were presented in our Sydney Royal competitions, which included the best of the best from all breeds of animals, wine, food, dairy, horticulture and art.”
“The premium agriculture on display here has also been a tour stop for international delegations, with representatives from China, USA, New Zealand, Indonesia and Brunei visiting the Show to connect with the Australian beef and dairy industries, goat and horse breeders and food and wine traders,” Mr Ryan said.
The RAS of NSW is a not-for-profit organisation and revenue generated through events such as the Sydney Royal Easter Show allows the RAS to invest nearly $7m back into agricultural programs, competitions, education and youth initiatives, and rural communities. In addition, this year 3,500 “Ag Bags”, which sold out and were full of donated Australian product, raised $70,000 for the RAS Foundation. These funds will be funnelled into regional grants and scholarships.
Even the profits from the record-breaking 51,000 scones produced by the famous CWA Tearoom will be directed to community projects across NSW.
On top of all the agricultural highlights from the last 14 days, Show foods, Show rides and showbags were again hugely popular with showgoers.
Quick Facts:
Around 1.5 million showbags were sold More than 10,000 deep fried lasagne on a stick (new to 2017) were sold
4,500 fairy floss flowers (new to 2017) were sold
“Burger Head” in the new Stables sold more than 10,000 burgers
“Balls by Jimmy Liks” (also in Stables) sold about 42,000 meatballs
12,600 waffles on a stick sold
140,000 cheese toasties sold
Show rides were enjoyed more than 1.6 million times by showgoers
The Beast (new to 2017) ran 40,300 times
Nitro Coaster (new to 2017) made 1,728 runs
On Main Arena, Murray Wilkinson whistled to his working dogs 1,400 times
Five tonnes of fireworks were used during the night time entertainment
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