Ratheniska, Co. Laois, 24th – 25th – 26th September

One of Europe’s largest Outdoor Exhibitions and Agricultural Trade Shows the National Ploughing Championships attracts on average 1,100 exhibitors and 189,000 visitors. This year’s National Ploughing Championships will take place from September 24th to 26th september

Showcasing Irish Food, Farming and Culture this event incorporates all sectors of agriculture and rural living from the latest development in Agri. Machinery to a comprehensive showcase of Livestock Breeds, Animal Husbandry and Management, Motors, Forestry, Bio Energy, Business Management and Regulatory Bodies.

Visit our Tented Trade Village!

  A Tented Trade Village expands the exhibitor profile to cater for every element of rural life including Education, Business, Craft Village, Food Fair, Health, Lifestyles, Home & Garden, Sports and Leisure, Tourism and Fashion . If it’s relevant to farming its relevant to the Ploughing – topical seminars, information forums, product launches, specialists on hand, machinery demonstrations.

At the core of the event is the National Ploughing Championships where over 330 ploughing competitors will compete over the 3 days to win All-Ireland Titles and qualify for World, European and other International competitions.

And if that’s not enough take some time out to enjoy the packed programme of special events at the Ploughing which include live entertainment all day, Fashion Shows co-ordinated by Celia Holmann Lee, Sheep Dog Trials, Loy Digging, Hunt Chase, Sheep Shearing Competitions, Celebrity Chef Cookery Demonstrations, Meggars, Outdoor Radio Broadcasts, Celebrity Visitors including sports stars and TV personalities. Most Appropriately Dressed Competitions, Craft Demonstrations and much more.

To get a feel for the event, see some of photos from last year CLICK HERE Some highlights from last year were also capture on video and are available CLICK HERE The exhibitor profile caters for every element of rural life including: Education, Business, Craft, Food, Health, Lifestyles, Home & Garden, Sports and Leisure, Tourism, Fashion.

If it’s relevant to Farming it’s relevant to the Ploughing! Join us for Topical Seminars and Information Forums. There are Product Launch Specialists on hand and lots of Machinery demonstrations!

Results of the 2012 national ploughing competitions

Tuesday 25th September

• 3 Furrow Conventional Match Class Final
• Intermediate Reversible Class Final
• Intermediate Conventional Class Final
• Under-21 Conventional Class Junior Grade Final
• Under-21 Conventional Class Senior Grade Final
• Under-28 Conventional Class Senior Grade Final
• Under-28 Conventional Class Junior Grade Final
• Under-28 Reversible Class Final
• Under-40 Horse Class Final
• Vintage 2 Furrow Trailer Class Final

Wednesday 26th September

• Farmerette Conventional Class Final
• Junior Conventional Class Final
• Senior Horse Class
• Final Vintage 2 Furrow Mounted Class Final  

Thursday 27th September

• Kverneland Reversible Test Match Class Final
• (Day 2) Loy Class Class Final
• Macra 2 Furrow Conventional Class Final
• Senior Conventional Test Match Class Final
• (Day 2) Special Horse Class Final
• Standard 3 Furrow Reversible Class Final
• Vintage Single Furrow Mounted Class Final

Order your 2013 Ploughing Tickets by going to https://www.npa.ie/purchase-tickets/ and filling in the form!

RATES

• Adult/1 Day = €20 (10% DISCOUNT on orders of 10 or more pre-ordered tickets)
• Student (pre-Ordered & PrePaid) = €10
• Student (At Gates) = €15
• Senior Citizen = €15

From 11Th September 2013 – Only Ticket Orders Of 10 Or More (Student/1Day/Oap) Can Be Pre-Ordered From Npa Headquarters.  Quantities Of 10 Or Less Can Be Purchased Across The Counter At the Npa Office Or On Admission To Event.
Last Post For Ticket Orders Is Friday 13Th September 2013

Discount only applies to one day tickets that are pre ordered from the office

NO DISCOUNT ON ANY TICKETS UPON ADMISSION!

DON’T FORGET: 

Order your 2013 Ploughing Tickets by going to https://www.npa.ie/purchase-tickets/ and filling in the form!

The Site in Ratheniska, Stadbally Co. Laois will be a hive of activity this weekend as exhibitors put the finishing touches to their stands for the 82^nd National Ploughing Championships. The grounds of the event have witnessed major change and preparations over the past number of months and are now ready for hosting 180,000 expected visitors, next week.

With over 1,300 exhibitors manning stands across a broad spectrum of Agriculture, Forestry, Motors, Lifestyle, Business Services, Education, Tourism, Food, Health, Crafts and much more, there is something for all the family to enjoy.

Some of this year’s exhibits that are sure to prove very popular include:

• The Husqvarna Hurdle – Where the public will be invited to test their skills and agility on a large obstacle course in a 35sq meter arena. (Block 2, Row Aa-a, Stand 1)

• The Bandstand – Operating a free Wi-Fi hotspot, the Bandstand will witness the first ever “Tweetup” to be staged at the event taking place on Wednesday at 2pm. Organised by Elaine Hall @newfarmerette, all avid tweeters are welcome to attend the #Ploughing event. For music lovers, the Bandstand will showcase the best in local and Irish talent. Over the 3 days, the line-up will include Portlaoise Gospel Choir, Hill Billy Porter, Laois Ceoltas, James & Robert Harvey, PJ Murrihy, 65 Kitchen Choir and many more. (Block 2, Row B1, Stand 538)

• Food lovers will be spoiled for choice with several stands presenting Cookery demonstrations throughout the 3 days. Neven Maguire will be entertaining crowds with his culinary skills at 11pm, 1pm and 3pm each day in the Irish Farmers Journal tent. Over in the National Dairy Council (NDC) tent, Phelim Byrne will be sharing easy and exciting recipes that incorporate the use of Irish produce such as milk, cheese and yogurt; while the Irish Country Womans Association will host Edward Hayden and Cathal Moran over the 3 days. In addition, Irish Olympian and winner of RTE Celebrity Masterchef, David Gillick will be cooking up at the Electric Ireland stand each day at 11.30am, 2.30pm and 4.30pm.

• For aspiring fashionistas, the Championships is a must attend event. Once again, this year will see the dedicated Fashion Marquee house the highly popular daily fashion shows at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm. With a large number of boutiques and fashion houses taking to the catwalk, the ladies from the Holman Lee Model Agency will style the latest trends and vogues. Also taking place will be the ever popular “Most Appropriately Dressed Lady” and “Most Appropriately Dressed Gent” competitions which are kindly sponsored by Wineport Lodge and Louis Copeland & Sons. Those attending the Fashion Marquee are also encouraged to complete an entry form for the “Grand Audience Prize” which is a voucher to the value of €500 kindly sponsored by Thomas Cook Holidays.

• As machinery continues to be a main attraction at the event, all the top brands will be showcasing their latest models with representatives on hand to answer all your queries. Some to the top plant & machinery brands this year include New Holland, Massey Ferguson, Valtra, Landini, McCormick, Case IH, Deutz-Fahr, Shire, Class, Manitou, Zetor, Tumosan and Kubota. For those with a specific interest in tractors, the “Live Tractor Build” is returning to the Championships this year and is sure to prove extremely popular. Fans can witness this feat daily at Block 1, Row W, Stand 375.

• For those feeling energetic and healthy, the “Plough-On & Run” which is a10k fun run in aid of VITA will be taking place on September 22nd at 11am in Ratheniska, Stradbally, Co. Laois. With a ‘Sport & Fitness’ theme running through many of the stands at this year’s event, several stands will be attended by celebrity sports personnel. For example, Rugby fans will have the opportunity to rub shoulders with Paul O’Connell at the Pinergy stand or with John “The Bull” Hayes at the Progressive Genetics stand while Alan Quinlan will be at the NDC tent. For Hurling fans, Corbett Sport and Canning Hurleys are must visit stands where Lar and Joe will surely be on hand to meet their fellow lovers of the sport. While Tipperary hurler Pádraic Maher & Dublin hurling manager Anthony Daly will be at the NDC tent. For all other GAA fans the Cumann Luthchleas Gael tent located at Block 4, Row S, Stand 308 is a must. Boxing fans have the opportunity to meet Irish Olympian Darren O’Neill at the National Dairy Council (NDC) dome while also learning the benefits of milk for rehydration. Also, here sport enthusiasts can participate in virtual penalty shootouts.

• This year for the first time the National Ploughing Championships will have a dedicated Children’s Playground which has been constructed by Laois Ploughing in conjunction with Go Play/Kompan. Children and Parents alike can find this new attraction located at Block 3, Row V, Stand 364.

• Back by popular demand this year also will be the Portwest Welly Throwing competition. Located next to the Hunt Chase, this event will raise money for two great local organisations, Park Ratheniska and Laois Youth Café.

• With over 300 competitors taking to the ploughing fields throughout the 3 days, rivalry is sure to be at an all-time high. Many of the competitors will be wishing to pit their skills against John Whelan and Eamonn Tracey who secured Gold and Bronze respectively for their country at the World Ploughing Championships in Canada recently. However, the competitive spirit of the Championships does not stop with ploughing. Throughout the 3 days there will be competitions in Sheep Dog Trials, Meggers, Hunt Chase, Pony Games, Sheep Shearing and much more. The All Ireland Sheep Shearing Competitions taking place on Wednesday will feature the current World Record holder Ivan Scott while the Irish Sheep Shearing team for the next World event will be announced on Thursday.

• Another first for the Championships this year will be the Irish Language quarter. ‘Pobal Na Gaeilge’ is an initiative bringing together several Irish language groups to provide visitors with an array of events including musical sessions, competitions, CD launches and information on products, services, and supports available through Irish.

An action packed 3 days is promised at the National Ploughing Championships from 24^th to 26^th of September. Tickets are available on the gate priced at €20 for adults, €15 for students, €15 for senior citizens with children under 12 going free. 

Macra na Feirme will be all action and plenty of talk next week at the

National Ploughing Championships. The young farmers and rural youth organisation will getting on their bikes and asking visitors to help Make a Million Moves for Macra on their road to fitness as part of the ‘Feirme Bodies’ programme. Come in and get on our exercise bike and help clock up some moves.

Macra are launching their Gathering, ‘Racing for Macra’, a night at the dogs taking place on the 30th November 2013. They invited members to the Macra stand at 11am on Tuesday, the 24th September to take a group photo promoting the event to past and present members and friends of the organisation.

Again this year, Macra are going bigger and better, literally, with their ‘Are You Licensed to Pull?’ campaign to highlight changes to driving license categories concerning the pulling of trailers. Come along and take a photo with Macra’s life size jeep and trailer and share your photo on Facebook and Twitter for the chance to win a ‘I’m Licensed to Pull!’ tshirt.

Changes have meant that many drivers, who are not licensed to pull a trailer behind their vehicle, are not aware they are breaking the law. Macra na Feirme National President, Kieran O’Dowd, and FBD Young Farmer of the Year, John Buckley, will be at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska highlighting issues for young farmers. With so many competitions, festivals and events, Macra always has a lot to show at the Ploughing stand, whether it’s sports you’re interested in or you fancy yourself as the next FBD Young Farmer of the Year! We’re happy to have a chat with you about how you can get involved and maybe you’ll be attending the Macra stand next year as one of the many winners who visit us over the three days.

Macra have launched a range of new discounts and offers for members including 15% off FBD car insurance; €5.50 tickets in Omniplex cinemas on the 2nd Tuesday of every month; great discounts on phones and broadband with O2 and the student fare on Bus Eireann services. There has never been a better time to join Macra – with membership from €20, it’s a cheap and cheerful social life with a difference!

On Thursday, we’ll announce the regional winners of the Macra/ Forage Systems Silage competition at our stand. Over the three days, we’ll also be doing Farmskills demonstrations with the winners of our FBD Farmskills competition – they’ll show you how fencing and tractor skills are essential in modern farming.

Macra will host our annual “Macra Ploughing Class” in association with the National Ploughing Association on Thursday at 10.30am. County rounds have been taking place throughout the country for the last few months and those winners will be going through to the final taking place at the prestigious NPA Championships.

Macra can be found on row T, stand 325, block 3.