Among the bustling visitors were a number of political figures – some local election candidates canvassing for votes at party stands, and other big-hitting MLAs and MPs sampling what Balmoral has to offer.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Michelle O’Neill paid a visit to the show – with the latter being asked by some younger visitors to sign one of the Spar hats which have become symbolic of the agricultural showpiece.
NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris was also at the event, describing the experience as “seeing the present and the future of agriculture … and meeting wonderful people with wonderful red hats on”.
He commented: “The population of the UK is fast approaching 70 million people. This represents a tremendous opportunity, not just for agriculture in Northern Ireland, but for the farming sectors across the British Isles.
11th April 2023 - Northern Ireland. Day two at Balmoral Show, in partnership with Ulster Bank. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye
“British consumers recognise the value of the food that is produced on their doorstep. And they view Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland in this context.”
Mr Poots confirmed that the climate change regulations agreed by Stormont last year link directly to the future format of the support arrangements that will be made available to farmers in the north.
From an overall farm payment point of view, the current budgets will remain in place until the end of the current Westminster Parliament, but what happens after that?
“They (DUP) can fight what type of campaign they wish, my message is one of positivity, one about the future, one about building a better society for us all to live side by side, so I’ll just keep focused on what I offer the electorate,” she said.
Ms O’Neill said she rejects the assessment by some that the overall mood of the election has been flat.
“I’m out at different hustings, at different events, on the doorsteps meeting people and it’s not flat in my experience, people are very engaged, and very engaged in terms of the bigger picture politics, they’re being crystal clear with me that they want politics to work, they want politicians working together, they want the executive up and running, they want us to fight back against Tory austerity and they want good local government councillors,” she said.