Society president Bill McCarthy said yesterday that counters were not put on the gate but the take was up several thousand dollars on previous years.
‘‘I reckon you could safely say there was upwards of 20,000 people there. Last year we reckoned there were 15,000 to 16,000 there,'' Mr McCarthy said.
The royal status of the two-day show, with several sections offering special Royal Agricultural Society medals, had also sparked an increase in the number of entries in several categories, including sheep and horses, he said.
The home industry section was also bright and booming with entries in all categories, displayed in the A & P society's new $180,000 building.
Albert Town cook Alison Fahey achieved her goal of winning three times in a row, accumulating the most points in the baking section and taking home the Beloe-Turnock Cup again.
Heather Kerr was a multiple winner in the creative fibre section, winning the rosebowl for the most points in the category, while the W Studholme Cup for most points in vegetables went to Dominic Pricolo, of St Bathans.
Local girls Adine Russell and Saasha Bruce took home the Junior Challenge Cup and the College Challenge Cup respectively, for their efforts in home industry.
The show also marked an agricultural equipment first, with the New Zealand launch of the Flexiseeder by the International Association for the Mechanisation of Field Experiments (Iamfe).
Iamfe acting president John Stevens, of Lyttelton, presented two trophies to the society to be awarded at future shows.
The inaugural winner of the trophy for an outstanding contribution to sustainable agriculture in Otago and the Mackenzie Basin was awarded to Alan McCrostie, of McCrostie Parts and Machinery, for his support of the development of the Flexiseeder.
Christchurch agriculture engineer Geoff Gray was the inaugural winner of the trophy for an outstanding contribution in transforming research concepts into sustainable engineering practices, also in recognition of his work on the Flexiseeder.
Iamfe, founded in Norway in 1976, has members in 148 countries.
