A record crowd visited the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly on the first day of the three-day event; visitor numbers reached 112,500.

With the event set to run until Thursday, September 21, organisers are hoping for a strong overall attendance at this year’s event.

In the main, visitors were treated to a fine day; sunny spells prevailed for most of the day. However, some clouds descended over the site this evening; winds also picked up.

Last year, crowds at the opening day of the ‘Ploughing’ ran to 100,000. This means that one of Europe’s largest outdoor events has seen its attendance grow by a significant 12,500 people or just over 10% on day one of this year’s extravaganza.

However, one must wonder whether or not patrons were taking advantage of the good weather forecast for today, as rain is expected at some point tomorrow (Wednesday, September 20).

Rain is set to be heaviest in the west during tomorrow morning. It is likely to spread eastwards during the afternoon, followed by a clearance into western areas by evening, according to Met Eireann.

The National Ploughing Championships in 2016 were described as the “most successful” ever; visitor numbers totalled 283,000 over the entire three days – an increase of 2,000 people on the previous year’s event.

Official ‘live stream’

AgriLand was also proud to broadcast a ‘live stream’ from the event between 12:00pm and 5:00pm today.

Topics such as: farmer health; the dairy sector; farm succession; and a general discussion on the face of farming today featured prominently.

Guests on the broadcast included: senior officials from Ireland’s leading farm organisations; Teagasc representatives; a health and safety specialist; and a former world sheep shearing champion.

The ‘live stream’ returns tomorrow at 12:00pm, with a detailed schedule available here. It is available on AgriLand’s website and across all devices – including app and mobile. It is also available directly from the National Ploughing Association’s website.