Watch the Quercus Park turn into a hub of everything and all things agriculture as the Agfest returns to the paddock this weekend! 

Exhibitors from far & wide across our glorious country converge on and participate in this event that is a mainstay annually on the agricultural calendar!

For 39 years, the passionate and hardworking Rural Youth volunteers have been taking pride in organising this iconic event. And this Year is a BIG ONE- the BIG 4-0!!!! In its 40th year, Agfest is taking over the 96-hectare Quercus Park at 415 Oaks Road Carrick from the 24th to 27th of August 2022 in a COVID-safe format. Gates will be opened from 8 am to 4 pm each of the four days.

But wait, there’s more…

The event then moves online from 27th August to 2nd September for the Agfest Cloud. This provides further exposure to the exhibitors’ brands, products, and services without having to line up in the paddock or risk missing the stall whilst taking in everything the festival has to offer. Looking back, the ‘Cloud’ event was an initiative started to keep the festival running in the modern COVID times- and in 2020, it had over one million page views.

Aside from the benefits for the agricultural community, the celebration of Agfest also provides a unique opportunity for personal development and leadership training for those involved. Since the Agfest Field Days is gaining more traction and momentum each year, it was declared as one of the top three agricultural field days in Australia.

It has grown into a globally-recognised event with more than 700 exhibitors and 60,000 attendees. Essentially, it contributes up to $26 million to the Tasmanian economy each year, with various businesses relying on the Agfest trade for additional profitability opportunities.

Four (4) days in the Paddock and six (6) days in the Cloud may either be long enough to figure out which activities and exhibitions are worth checking out or short enough that you don’t know which of the activities should you put on your priority list. 

And since our lovely Team at 4one4 Property Co. are always overjoyed to partake in and enjoy a fun-filled festival, worry not because we’ve listed below some of the highlights of this year’s Agfest that we find very interesting.

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1. University of Tasmania Pavilion

Location: Pavilions at the Eastern End of North Street

Dive into some exciting and jam packed talks and workshops or drop by to join in on some fun hands-on activities and demonstrations. You can level up your gardening skills by joining the workshop on composting or fill your minds with essential information as you attend a talk on cutting-edge agricultural research. 

There will also be some panel discussions delivered by the university’s past students which you definitely can take part of. Isn’t it interesting to know how leading industry professionals started as curious newbies? Come see for yourself!

2. Discover Dairy Expo

Location: Eastern end of Main Street

Are you fond of anything dairy? Well, here’s an event you shouldn’t miss out on! You can learn anything about dairy, the places it can take you, and how you can get there. This gives the perfect opportunity to chat and meet with people that help make this industry strong and great. 

A number of different service providers will be present in the expo. Farmers may meet with breeding companies, animal health agencies, and representatives from milk supply, who can certainly help them in their everyday duties. Aside from this, there are also some enjoyable activities prepared for kids, different interactive learning sessions, a virtual reality farm tour, and a mini careers expo!

3. Sheep Dog Trials

Location: Eastern end of Main Street, Behind Eleventh Avenue

Another astonishing sight to witness are the 80 of the best Tasmanian sheep dogs in action. Guided by their owners, they encourage a small number of sheep to move in through a number of typical farm obstacles like gates, ramps, and sheep pens–all whilst the judges are also watching and putting scores on paper simultaneously. 

The action runs over the three days of Agfest with 25 handlers and 80 dogs working on both Thursday and Friday. The top 16 dogs will proceed to another round on Saturday until the final 6 dogs are named, competing for the title “Agfest Open Sheep Dog Champion”. 

4. Heritage Display

Location: Between Sixth & Seventh Avenues, North of North Street

Take a trip back in time to see how our pioneers have lived and persisted before all the modernisation took place. If you have ever been curious about the lifestyle and hardships of the people in the field of agriculture before, this is a great opportunity to seek answers to your questions. 

Manned by several heritage machinery clubs and societies, witness a selection of vintage machinery from the wool and timber industries, old time cars, and tractors of yesteryear. There are also working demonstrations happening daily here.

5. Ag Artwear

Location: Cloud platform (virtual)

This competition has been a staple and became a popular feature at Agfest. The designers will showcase their creativity and fashion skills as they create beautiful wearable art forms from recycled farm yard junk. Imagine how everyday materials found on farms could be transformed into some unique and quirky garments… quite impressive, right? 

The Ag Artwear Competition is open to all ages, highlighting the amazing talent of Tasmanians. Similar to 2020 and 2021, the competition will be held online on the Cloud platform and the People’s Choice virtual voting will take place between 24 August to 3 September.

6. Peter Brock Memorial Four Wheel Drive Track

Location: Corner of North Street, Fourth & Fifth Avenues

Calling all the 4WD enthusiasts, get ready for some action!!! 

Expect a rotation of demonstrators throughout the day showcasing the capability of their vehicle. Some of the highlights of this are Terrain Tamer showing off their awesome V8 Landcruiser and we also have Tassie 4×4 bringing up 3 of their 4WDs to show off their capabilities! Demonstrations by No Limits 4×4 and Mitsubishi will be held every hour on a daily basis, too.

Just a little throwback, the 4WD Track which was first developed in 1999 was named “Peter Brock Memorial Four Wheel Drive Track” in 2007 in memory of our Patron Peter Brock. He was killed in a single vehicle accident at Targa West in September 2006. 

7. MAST ‘Agfest Boat Show’

Location: Seventh Avenue between Main and South Streets

Witness the area be filled with marine gears as several new exhibitors will be in the marine precinct this year! Inflatable boats, aluminium boats, fibreglass boats, fishing gear, and some stainless steel accessories will be showcased here. Not only that, Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) will feature representatives from the Bureau of Meteorology and the Deckee Boating App. 

The biggest marine dealers of Tasmania will also be on Seventh Avenue entertaining some questions and giving out pieces of advice people need to have a safe and enjoyable boating experience. 

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What a powerful list!!! Those are just seven of the many reasons why you should check out the 40th year anniversary event of Agfest this weekend. It certainly is not one of the top three agricultural field days in Australia for no reason! So, might as well confirm that for yourself! 

Aside from the above-listed, there are a lot of other equally entertaining and educational activities about anything agriculture that you should be checking out! There’s an Official Guide prepared by the organisers of Agfest that you can use as a helping hand in preparing your itinerary as you head over to the festival.  You can check it out here.

Tickets for Agfest can only be purchased online and no admission tickets will be available at the gate to enable contract tracing. However, there will be volunteers present in the gates to assist with online purchasing of tickets. Agfest is committed to implementing and running a compliant, safe, and successful event. You can purchase your tickets here.

For more general information about Agfest 2022, go to: afgest.com.au or contact the organisers on tel: 03 6331 6154, 1300 AGFEST (1300 243 378).