Mingenew Midwest Expo board full steam ahead for ‘The Main Event’, a one-day forum-style fiesta on August 12

The Mid West’s biggest agricultural event will look a little different this year, with those behind the McIntosh and Son Mingenew Midwest Expo organising a one-day, forum-style event at the town’s Polocrosse Grounds on August 12. Visitors will be able to peruse machinery displays, meet people working in the agricultural sector across WA, and enjoy a full day of presentations honing in on a wide range of topics with presenters from across the world. Agronomy, the economy, sustainability, research and development, weed precision technology, mental health, the war in Ukraine, and changes to legislation affecting farmers are all set to be discussed. Gates will open at 10am before the action kicks off at 10.30am with the official opening delivered by Mingenew Midwest Expo chair Andrew Cosgrove, a local farmer. Discussions will continue at the main stage and across the grounds until 5pm, when the Expo Bar opens. Those enjoying the sundowner will be entertained by the Young Farmers Competition held in front of the Expo Bar from 5pm, before the evening entertainment kicks off at 7pm with Shanghai Dave and Donelle. This year’s theme is Collaborate, Communicate, Celebrate and it is those three things the Mingenew Midwest Expo board do best, with the day designed to be about information-sharing and fun. Mr Cosgrove said the plan was to run a smaller, one-day event with a “more intimate” feel this year, with the hope to bring back Expo in its traditional form – a large-scale, two-day field day – next year. He said the event would provide the opportunity for the agricultural sector to come together to do all the things the two-day event would normally offer, but on a smaller and more personal scale. More than 70 exhibitors have been secured for this year’s event, with displays set to include agribusinesses, grain traders, and schools. The event has again been supported by diamond sponsor and naming rights sponsor McIntosh and Son. “Our community enjoys coming together socially and sharing with visitors. We are looking forward to welcoming familiar faces back and catching up socially and professionally with them,” Mr Cosgrove said. Mingenew Midwest Expo Young Farmers competition organiser Billi Marshall said the contest she runs — which was held at Expo for the first time last year — would provide plenty of entertainment with the winning team qualifying for the young farmers event at the Perth Royal Show. Inspired by the Young Farmer Contest held in New Zealand since 1969, Young Farmer events have become increasingly popular across Australia, including in WA and feature a series of challenges for mixed gender teams. The Young Judges and Fencing Challenges will take a break this year, as will the cooking demonstrations, fashion parades, exhibitor awards, livestock competitions and performing arts competition. The event has been brought to the community by the Mingenew Midwest Expo board and run by Geraldton-based events company Checked Events. It was all smiles as farmers, families, agricultural industry representatives and tourists came from far and wide to last year’s Mingenew Midwest Expo, with 4000 people through the gates. The revival of WA’s winter agricultural field days circuit after an 18-month hiatus had interest in the events soaring, as farmers embraced a return to somewhat normality and the social scene. Last year’s event also marked a tale of survival for the Mid West, as it was held four months to the day since cyclone Seroja hammered the region – battering farms and communities. While the cyclone’s powerful winds ripped iron off buildings and upended lives as it left a trail of twisted metal and washed-out roads in its wake, it failed to flatten spirits. Instead, parts of the proceeds from last year’s Mingenew Midwest Expo – the 38th event – were donated to the Lord Mayor’s Distress Relief Fund Tropical Cyclone Seroja Appeal. The group made their biggest single-cause donation in the event’s history after last year’s event, with a $50,000 donation to the Lord Mayor’s Distress Fund, about $11 per person. Nearly 50 per cent of everyone’s gate fee The Mingenew Midwest Expo’s ‘The Main Event’ will be held at the Mingenew Polocrosse Grounds on August 12. To find out more, visit mmwe.com.au