Coronavirus sees organising committees set new dates, though some events will occur this year at a later date.
Organisers of the Mudgee Small Farm Field Days in New South Wales, due to take place on July 2020, have cancelled this year’s event in light of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak.
James Sullivan, the chairman of the Australian Rural Education Centre that oversees the event, says in a statement that it was an “incredibly difficult” decision to make.
“It is extremely disappointing to cancel the 2020 event and we understand everyone is facing a very challenging period. The cancellation will affect a number of local businesses, as the event brings millions of dollars into the Mudgee economy,” he says.
“This is the first time in our 43 year history that we have had to cancel an event and the financial impact on our small, not-for-profit charity will also be significant as we derive approximately 90 per cent of our income from the field days.”
“We will be working with exhibitors to transfer their fees to the 2021 event. This will help us greatly to ensure our ongoing viability. We will be in contact with all stakeholders in the coming days.”
The next Mudgee Small Farm Field Days will be held on July 2-3, 2021.
It is the latest in a series of events to be cancelled, including the South East Field Days in Lucindale, SA, Farm World in Warragul, Victoria, and AgFest in Carrick, Tasmania.
Organisers of the Bellingen Show in northern NSW were also compelled to cancel their show, due to take place in May, this year because of the pandemic.
The Bellinger River Agricultural Society says the Show will continue to run its annual raffle and “would appreciate support in this fund raising exercise to help defray some of our losses due to cancellation”.
It comes as organisers of the Mildura Field Days, which were to be held May 15-16, cancelled after they could not find a suitable alternative date in 2020.
Events rescheduled
While many organising committees have been compelled to cancel their events, some have managed to find space in the calendar later in the year for their event to be held.
Organisers of others are monitoring the situation, with the Mallee Machinery Field Days, scheduled for 31 July and 1 August, still scheduled to proceed.
The Riverina Field Days, which were to have been held on May 15 and 16, have instead been postponed to September 4 and 5, 2020., with all site bookings automatically transferred to the new dates.
Organisers say they will hold the 2021 event on May 14-15 in order to fall back into routine.
“We’ve taken every measure to not impede on any other local events that are forecasted on these dates, we also needed to work in with other Field Days around these dates to ensure our travelling exhibitors can also attend and spaced far enough apart not to affect other Field Days,” they say.
“We are hoping by September the chaos will have settled and the community will start to enjoy some normality again.”
“Obviously we will react accordingly to any government restrictions closer to the date if need be, but for now we’re looking on the bright side of things and looking forward to bringing you a great event.”
Also rescheduled are Norco Primex, held in Casino, NSW – which will now be held on August 6-8, and CRT FarmFest in Toowoomba, now to be held on October 13-15.