The National Ploughing Association (NPA) executive have confirmed the 2021 trade exhibition at the National Ploughing Championships has been cancelled.
The exhibition was due to take place between September 15th-18th in Ratheniska, Co Laois.
A statement from the NPA said the executive had made the decision to cancel the event "following months of monitoring the Covid-19 status and taking into account the Government's updated roadmap for the next few months", however the ploughing competitions will go ahead as planned.
"Given the sheer scale of the Ploughing with 297,000 attendees in 2019 and the lack of clarity about what Covid-19 restrictions and regulations will look like in September for outdoor events it was felt that cancelling the 1,700 trade exhibitor event was the only option," the statement added.
The NPA said health and safety was paramount, with managing director Anna May McHugh saying the cancellation of the event for a second year in a row was a "massive disappointment" for the association.
Ms McHugh estimated the trade exhibition has an annual economic impact of €50 million, which will now be lost.
The World Ploughing Contest, which was due to be held in Ireland this year, has also been cancelled.
Ms McHugh said the NPA looks forward to bringing the exhibition back "at its full potential" in 2022, scheduled for September 20th-22nd in Ratheniska once again.
The NPA statement added the attendance of spectators at the ploughing competitions in September will depend on Covid restrictions.
