On April 6, Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud visited Shepparton to launch an Australia-wide program that will share $15.4 million across the nation’s agricultural show societies (except capital city royal shows) for the purpose of repairing, upgrading and building infrastructure.
The $15.4 million comes after a $100 million spend to help the societies through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Littleproud said as a former small show society treasurer he knew the pain of scraping together funds and it was important Australia didn’t lose its 15,000 show volunteers and their “intellectual skills”.
Shepparton Agricultural Society president Sue Trevaskis used her one-on-one time with Mr Littleproud to seek out application advice.
If the Shepparton society is successful in getting a portion of this $15.4 million, it plans to upgrade the floors and kitchen in the secretary building, which used to be a kindergarten.
Last year the society received $70,000 in COVID-19 support, which went towards hand sanitiser stands and covering expenses (such as the printing of schedules) done before the 2020 and 2021 shows were cancelled.
“The agricultural shows give us a sense of belonging,” Ms Trevaskis said.
“People might not see each other all year aside from the shows, and it’s a cheap family day out. We try to include free activities as much as possible.”
The Shepparton Agricultural Society is responsible for a handful of older buildings at Shepparton Showgrounds, while the rest is under the custodianship of Greater Shepparton City Council.
BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER
Cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, the Shepparton Agricultural Society is building up to a big return for the Shepparton Show in 2022.
Reportedly the cattle section is growing in size thanks to a new head steward with local connections, and the state-level dog show won’t disappoint.
The annual Shepparton Show is held in early October.
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