FOR the first time ever, all three of the State's major agricultural field days could be cancelled.
With the McIntosh & Son Mingenew Midwest Expo and the GWN7 Dowerin Machinery Field Days (DMFD) already called off, the future of the 2020 Newdegate Machinery Field Days (NMFD) is uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NMFD committee president Craig Newman said they were waiting for directives from the State and Federal government and the Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia (RASWA) to help make a decision as to whether their event would go ahead this year.
With RASWA holding their board meeting yesterday, Mr Newman said the decision of whether the Perth Royal Show (PRS) would go ahead would help direct the committee with its own decision.
"Our event is in September and we have only received instructions to the end of August from Health WA," Mr Newman said.
At the time of writing, RASWA chief executive officer Peter Cooper said the Perth Royal Show would proceed as planned in September.
"As a responsible events venue and organiser, we are following the COVID-19 outbreak in WA closely and keeping up to date with official advice from State and Federal government and associated authorities," Mr Cooper said.
"The situation with COVID-19 is very fluid and while we are actively investigating contingencies, should we need them, with the Perth Royal Show still six months away, we are conscious of making any snap decisions which might ultimately prove unnecessary."
Dowerin Machinery Field Days chairwoman Nadine McMorran and Mingenew Midwest Expo chairman Geoff Cosgrove said the decision to cancel their respective events would have ultimately been taken out of their hands anyway.
"When we cancelled the event we felt like we had been to a funeral, but we've had an overwhelmingly positive and supportive response from our exhibitors and the local community," Ms McMorran said.
"We released on March 1 and we've honoured all of the people that have paid us money - and all of the indicators we got from our exhibitors were that we would definitely see them next year."
In the meantime the committee plans to continue to support the local community by offering some busy bees around the site so that it can still offer a per hour rate to its volunteers, so they can continue to raise funds for their own organisations.
Mr Cosgrove said the Mingenew Expo committee was looking at running some of its livestock competitions on farms with smaller audiences.
"These will hopefully generate some interest among the growers and help keep morale up, so that when we come back to the show next year we have more people and a bigger footprint," Mr Cosgrove said.
"On the upside it gives us more time to plan for the next one and put in place all the bits and pieces that we always think and talk about, but never get time to do.
"If we've been shut down for a while I think the pubs and the shows will hopefully open back in 2021 with a vengeance."
Shire presidents of the respective regions said while all communities would be impacted economically, socially and emotionally, they supported the decisions made by the field days and expo committees.
"Everyone's health and wellbeing is first and foremost and that's what we have to consider," said Mingenew Shire president Gary Cosgrove.
Given the widespread nature and response to COVID-19, he said hopefully the impact would be relatively even across the board and therefore not too detrimental on the community.
"The fact that everyone across the country is making sacrifices says that we should sacrifice the expo as well," Gary said.
"I don't think it will have too much of a detrimental impact because I think 2020 is going to be the year that we all miss out on.
"It's a bit like waiting for a cyclone - you know it's coming but it hasn't really got here yet.
"We have to remember that in the farming community, a lot of farmers spend all week by themselves, or in a very close environment with one or two other folk and then look to the weekend to socially engage, but now most things have to be modified and I don't think the authorities have really considered the mental or social impact.
"I hope the authorities are quick to reinstate everything once the peak of the virus has passed - I'd hate to think that getting our lives back to normal is delayed any longer than what we have to.
"But the jobs still have to be done - farmers still have to put their crops in and businesses still have to operate and the farming community keeps everyone alive in reality."
Dowerin Shire president Darrel Hudson said the health of the community was paramount, with a lot of elderly residents in the area.
He said now was the time more than ever for community spirit to shine by supporting one another and local businesses.
To assist those who might struggle mentally or emotionally, particularly the elderly, with social isolation during this time, the Dowerin Shire has set up a buddy system, where people can register to offer or ask for help with some everyday tasks.
Lake Grace Shire president Jeanette de Landgraff said if the 2020 Newdegate Field Days were cancelled, the economic, social and economic impact would be vast and magnified with COVID-19 as people self isolate.
"We all look forward to the field days every year because it's not just our area, but friends from other districts go and we always say 'we'll see you at the Newdegate Field Days'," Ms de Landgraff said.
"I think if we do have the event, it could be a great relief and very celebratory," she said.