[PRESS RELEASE] Bellingen Agricultural Society wins 2023 President's Innovation Award

AgShows NSW, the peak body representing the 192 agricultural shows in New South Wales, has announced the Bellinger River Agricultural Society as the winner of the 2023 President's Innovation Award. The award recognises their exceptional efforts in advancing the Show Society and introducing innovative practices.

“The Bellingen Show Committee undertook initiatives to attract more volunteers and integrate new technologies for greater efficiency,” President Jill Chapman said. “Agricultural Shows bring  local communities and regional towns together. But despite its long history, Bellingen is moving things forward into the modern era at a rapid rate.”

“The committee collaborated with OzGREEN to address waste management concerns and develop sustainable processes for their show. These endeavours have positioned the Bellingen River Agricultural Society Inc. as a leader in the agricultural show sector.”

The President's Innovation Award comes with a cash prize of $2,000, acknowledging the Society's remarkable achievements. 

“Their dedication, hard work, and commitment to sustainability have set a commendable example for others.”

The runner up was the Armidale & New England Show Society Inc who received an honourable mention for their pioneering efforts in addressing education gaps in key competitions.

Through a two day workshop, they. provided young judges with valuable learning experiences and the opportunity to compete against each other.

“It was pleasing to see that during the 2023 Group 13 show run (January to March), many of the competitors who attended the workshop, engaged in the local and Zone Finals competitions and the group was proud to see that most of the finalists who qualified to attend the Sydney Royal this year had attended the workshop,” Ms Chapman said.

The Society plans to continue supporting young competitors by organising another workshop in collaboration with National Ag Day.

Over 50 nominations were received for the awards night. 

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• Agricultural Shows are the annual event that brings local communities and regional towns together.
• Shows have been part of most towns in NSW since their inception.
• The oldest show in NSW is Maitland, established in 1842, closely followed by Penrith and Mudgee in 1843.
• Estimated volunteer attendance for 2023 is in excess of 16,000 over 192 Shows
• Estimated visitor attendance for 2023 is over 1,200,000 over 192 Shows.