This weekend is one of the biggest in the shows calendar, with over 10 shows taking livestock breeders and spectators the length and breadth of the country.

From Dungarvan Show in east Munster to Grange Show in Sligo and everywhere else in between, it will be a bank holiday weekend meant to be spent out and about, taking in everything the summer show scene has to offer.

Taking centre stage on the cattle and sheep side of things are Tinahely and Bonniconlon shows, two season highlights every August bank holiday Monday.

Bonniconlon

Bonniconlon Show, which is celebrating its 67th year, is now recognised as one of the top agricultural shows in the country. It is expected that 30,000 people will attend the one-day event in north Mayo.

While some people may use the regular classes as a warm-up event for the Tullamore Show two weeks later, Bonniconlon brings some of the biggest prize funds in Ireland across a number of classes.

Any commercial cattle exhibitor will know all about the big prize fund on offer in the senior and junior commercial calf championship, which carries a combined pot of €4,400. These two classes, which offer a first-place prize of €500 each, are looked upon very favourably, with exhibitors from all over the country.

The Simmental society will once again sponsor the all-Ireland Simmental cross heifer championship at the show, which brings a €1,500 prize fund to the table. With more than 600 cattle entered over 92 classes, the Mayo show is sure to bring out the competitive side of all exhibitors.

The all-Ireland ewe final takes centre stage in the sheep section. This €2,000 prize fund marks the pinnacle of the 100 sheep classes on offer

Tinahely

It is Tinahely Show’s 81st consecutive year, with a combined prize fund of over €40,000 across the livestock exhibits at the Fairwood Park showground this bank holiday Monday.

The major highlight in the cattle rings is the €4,000 all-Ireland Belgian Blue calf finals. These finals will draw exhibitors from all angles of the country, with the best Belgian Blues the country has to offer. There will be All-Ireland classes for both September 2015 and January 2016 bull and heifer calves, along with some senior classes including the senior bull class, which will contain bulls going on sale later in the year. This year, the classes are sponsored by Tinahely Show and FBD.

One of the classes which draws the biggest attraction each year is the Derek Rothwell memorial young stockperson of the year. The late Derek Rothwell advocated the need to involve young people in all aspects of agricultural shows. In his memory and fulfilling his wishes, organisers of the Tinahely Show are proud to introduce this championship for the benefit of all young exhibitors.

The aim is to encourage involvement in shows and to promote the showing of animals by girls and boys who are the exhibitors of the future. This section often sees upwards of 40 young people competing for their share of the €3,000 prize fund, with the winner securing €500.

The Osmond Ecofleece ewe lamb all-Ireland championship is once again set to draw top flocks from across the country to compete for the €2,300 prize fund.

For those of you who cannot make the weekend shows, the Irish Farmers Journal will be reporting on many of them online at www.farmersjournal.ie/pedigree.

The shows covered include Dungarvan, Crossmolina, north Sligo, Claremorris, Nenagh, Tinahely and Bonniconlon.

If you are lucky enough to make it to one of those shows, be sure to introduce yourself to us, and if you make it to Bonniconlon, visit the Irish Farmers Journal stand on site.