Andrew Cosgrove, Mingenew Midwest Expo | Farm Weekly - video Dailymotion

Mr Cosgrove says the Expo plays a crucial role in showcasing the region's agriculture.

Transcript

00:00Back at the Midwest Expo this year, how important is it to have an event like this in Mingenew?

00:03Oh yeah, it's huge. Huge, you know, not only showcasing our area and our industry,

00:08but you know, giving people a chance to get together, come face to face and see everything

00:14that not only the ag industry, but our local food and produce industries have to offer. And

00:19yeah, there's a wide range of bits and pieces you can get all over, so yeah.

00:23So you mentioned in your opening address that, you know, you've gone through pandemics and

00:27challenges with government and things like that, and you've even changed the date this year to a

00:31Thursday and Friday. Tell us a bit about why it's gone to a Thursday and Friday as to a Wednesday

00:35and Thursday. So we're always listening to our customer and exhibitor feedback, and you know,

00:41there was a push there to, you know, maybe shift it back to the Thursday and Friday,

00:45try and encourage more people to come from further and far afield. You know, people can

00:51take the weekend, you know, come down on the Friday and, you know, maybe have a bit of a long

00:54weekend in the bush and see what's going on. We're lucky though. We've been also trying to

00:59chase the wildflower season a bit, which, trying to attract more people along, so yeah.

01:04And the wildflower season, is it a bit later this year, do you think?

01:07Yeah, it's going to be a couple of weeks later than normal. I mean, our first big rain was

01:11on the 6th of June, I think, so you know, normally we're a traditional mid-May break, but

01:17yeah, I've seen some good ones early, so yeah, no, it's been good.

01:21And Tom, tell us a bit about the conditions up here at the moment. Obviously, we've had a fair

01:24bit of rain in the last month or so, but it was a late break to the season for the area, I'm assuming?

01:28Yeah, yeah, so we had 30 mil in February, and then we had nothing for two and a half months

01:35until the 6th of June, and then, well, we've been lucky enough, just we've been getting

01:41the right amount, but I've certainly got friends further north that they're probably starting to

01:44get too wet, and it's not very often that you say that, but yeah, no, we've been lucky, and

01:52probably not going to be a record breaker, but it's certainly going to be above average, so

01:57yeah, no, we're quite happy at the moment, but we're hoping for a soft August, soft September,

02:02and then things should be good. So you've had 41 years here for the Expo, you've had a lot of

02:06people that have been involved, I guess, from day one, so a lot of important people backing,

02:09a lot of corporate support over the years? Yeah, 100%, and these events don't go ahead

02:15without the corporate support and that long-standing backing from our exhibitors,

02:20too. I think there's seven here today that have been here since day one, and not all of them are

02:26your big-time guys, you know, Raycoil Engineering, the Moorland Silos, boys, they've been coming up

02:31to the start, plus you know your Elders Landmark, or Nutrien now, and those kind of guys, so

02:37not only that, but we get life members that come back to volunteer for Expo, and yeah,

02:42I think it's just a big community thing, and everyone wants to be a part of it.

02:45And do you think that the event like this brings people back to the community that haven't been

02:49here for a few years, do you see a bit of that? Absolutely, yeah, like, you know, there's farmers

02:53that have sort of retired and moved on onto the coast, and then they're coming back to say good

02:58day and see what's happening, and see the changes in agriculture, which as we all know is never

03:03ending, so yeah, no, it's always good.