Monique Hepburn and Richard Morais, Staff Reporter/Gleaner WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
THOUSANDS OF patrons poured into the Hague show ground in Trelawny on Wednesday for the 49th Hague Agricultural Show dubbed 'The Power of 49'.
The event, described by Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke as a success, featured numerous agricultural displays and demonstrations.
"The quality this year has been especially good," the Agriculture Minister said in an interview with The Gleaner before addressing participants at the show.
However, he said that he was disappointed with number and quality of the cattle on display.
"It has not been a good year for cattle," he explained, adding that the industry had just began to improve.
Mr. Clarke later appealed to participants to support local farmers, but he said that farmers must begin to produce more. "Stop producing samples... Start producing more," he charged.
The goats on display were of high quality with goat farmer Kenneth King of Anchovy Farms in Trelawny emerging champion livestock farmer to take home the K.D. Pinnock trophy.
King, a multi-award winning goat farmer, was confident of the top prize. "I am not surprised by the victory. I generally do well at Hague every year and I have even won champion farmer at Denbigh (Agricultural Show) five years in a row," he said.
Martin Wallace, who operates a 6-acre yam farm in Thompson Town, was announced champion farmer while William Knibb Memorial High School was awarded the young champion farmer trophy, and Israel Irskine of New Cargen, the champion cattle farmer.
