After a glorious start to the 2023 summer show season, the weather hasn’t played ball over the last number of weeks, with a number of shows being cancelled or postponed due to poor ground conditions.

Weather plays a huge role in getting people out to a show and gate receipts are very important in securing the long-term financial stability for agricultural shows.

The good news is that this weekend is promised drier than previous weekends, which will be welcome news to the shows that are taking place this weekend.

Arva Show is one of the two shows that take place in Cavan every year, with the show being the focal point in the town for the last weekend in July annually.

This year marks the 64th anniversary of the show being held in Arva, with a big day of events being planned for Sunday 31 August by the show committee.

'Lucky'

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Arva Show chair said: “We very lucky in that where the show is taking place is probably one of the driest fields in the county, sitting on top of rock overlooking Garty Lough.

"The committee has a lot of work put in over the last week to make sure show day runs as smooth as possible. It’s a huge day for our community and a day where the town meets the country so to speak.”

The cattle and horse sections are two of the main attractions at the show, where local breeders will compete for coveted red rosettes from early on Sunday morning.

Twist

In a twist with tradition, there will also be a best-dressed animal class at this year’s show.

This year’s show will also see the launch of a special class for dairy beef animals, which is being sponsored by Lakeland Dairies.

The all-Ireland best dairy beef-bred animal is open to a male or female dairy beef animal born between 1 November 2021 and 31 March 2022.

For machinery enthusiasts, a threshing display will also take place by the Murphy brothers from Oldcastle, Co Meath.

Jim added: “For football enthusiasts who don’t want to miss the All-Ireland final, we will be showing the All-Ireland on a huge screen at the show.”