Day 1 Agfest sees people and pollies out in droves

Tasmania’s biggest agricultural event has all you need — farming equipment, food, boats, cars — and plenty of politicians as well shaking hands ahead of Election Day.

Alpacas Harlequin, Quetzalli and Kismi from Toffeemont Alpacas. Picture: Alison Foletta

Tasmania’s biggest agricultural event, Rural Youth Agfest has all you need — farming equipment, food, boats, cars and plenty of politicians as well.

Agfest Day 1 started off chilly, with a low of just 3 degrees, but the rest of the day the sun was out and beamed for all of Thursday at Quercus Park.

The cold start was great for alpaca farmers Janelle and Byron Jago.

Ms Jago said she was run off her feet in the morning selling beanies and mittens to the cold masses.

“Agfest for us is a really good outlet to promote alpacas as a great livestock alternative,” she said.

“We are also are here to educate people on how warm alpaca wool is. It’s up to five times warmer than wool, but up to five times lighter than wool.

“It’s eco-friendly, it’s hypo-allergenic, because it doesn’t go through a scouring process.”

Ms Jago said as a crafter, alpaca fibre was good for knitting and crocheting.

“Alpaca is the ultimate fibre and we want to shout it to the world,” she said.

“It’s more diverse, it’s lighter, it’s warmer, but it’s the luxury feel against your skin. We have been breeding for 20 years, and it’s all about that handle and how it feels on your skin.”

Tassie’s own AFL mascot the Tasmanian devil Rum’un was also roaming about getting plenty of pictures, hugs and high-fives from event-goers.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson with daughter Lee, candidate for Tasmanian senator and Lyons candidate Shaun Broadby, Bass candidate Jordan Potter and Braddon candidate Christopher Methorst. Picture: Alison Foletta

Agfest day one was packed with people exploring the hundreds of exhibits, but there were plenty of politicians around.

Tasmanian Governor Barbara Baker opened the event, and she is the patron for Agfest as well.

The two major parties had stalls but One Nation Party leader Pauline Hanson also popped into the event.

Ms Hanson was with her daughter Lee, who is a senate candidate for Tasmania.

Ms Hanson gave the election so far a thumbs up.

“We’re getting great results from the polling booths, people want change in Tasmania,” she said.

With daughter Lee running, Ms Hanson said she was giving her some campaign tips but “she didn’t need much supporting”.

Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton had also popped in to check out the event.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton meets young locals during a visit to Agfest, alongside Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff. (Photo by Dan Peled/Getty Images)

And at the end of the day, if you were one of almost 15,000 visitors to Agfest, you might have needed a rescue finding your car — luckily, some volunteers were aiding people in finding their lost cars after a long day of checking out stalls, talking to vendors and petting cows.

Originally published as Day 1 Agfest sees people and pollies out in droves