When a group of young farmers banded together to launch Agfest in 1983, they were not thinking about creating one of the biggest agricultural events in the country — they were thinking about survival.
Inaugural Agfest chair Noel Beven said the government had just cut funding for their beloved organisation Rural Youth Tasmania.
"And so members had to come up with a way of generating some funds to sustain the organisation," he said.
The plan was to create an event to unite and educate the agricultural community, with exhibitors asked to gather at a local speedway to showcase the latest agricultural innovations and technology.
Organisers spent months crisscrossing the state to recruit exhibitors, organise resources and generate interest.
And when the gates finally opened, more than 110 exhibitors and 9,000 punters showed up.
"Back in those days, there were no mobile phones, no faxes, no computers as such. Things were a lot different in terms of organising events, a lot of leather on the ground," Mr Beven said.
"But certainly success was very sweet."
Major anniversary for a major event
Today, Agfest is a sprawling tent city built on a dedicated property, with 10 kilometres of roads, around 500 exhibitors and up to 70,000 patrons.
This year's event runs on-site at Carrick until Saturday and will then move online for six days.
But as it celebrates its 40th anniversary, Agfest is battling the enduring challenges of COVID-19 and the increasing number of farmers happy to buy equipment online rather than at events.
The pandemic forced organisers to jump into the digital age, with 'Agfest In the Cloud' seeing exhibitors offer their wares and 'Agfest deals' on an ecommerce platform over the course of a week.
Chair Caine Evans said the cloud iteration was "really strong and here to stay".
And while urbanisation and declining volunteering rates have been a death sentence for many agricultural shows, Mr Evans is confident of a bright future.
"The rural community, they're very isolated and don't get to see a lot of each other and Agfest actually draws them all in," he said.
"The mateship, the friends, it's just everything. That's what holds it together and Tasmanians love it.
"That's why it's lasted."
Trailblazers find their feet at Agfest
For the young organisers who bring Agfest to life, the event offers the opportunity to learn new skills, build careers and break new ground.
Hagley farmer Ruth Paterson rocked the boat when she became not only the first woman to chair AgFest, but "the first woman to chair any agricultural field day in the country".
Female leadership was so unusual that her official Agfest portrait carried the caption "lady chairman".
"They weren't used to having women in those sorts of positions and they didn't know what to call me," she said.
Ms Paterson said "quite a lot of pressure" fell on her shoulders and she risked being "pretty well judged" if the event fell flat.
But being from "a long line of strong farming women", Ms Paterson was not afraid of doing whatever it took to ensure Agfest was a success.
"It was such a big thing and when I finished '94, I was so exhausted, I couldn't speak I couldn't walk," she said.
When you work hard, you play hard, and Mr Beven has fond memories of the camaraderie after the sun went down.
"There was a party every night basically," he said.
"There was always a drink or two available and just a lot of fun and shenanigans."
Modern event for 'townies' and farmers
As Agfest has grown in size, it has shifted from a hardcore agricultural audience.
Crafts, homewares and boats are sold alongside tractors and irrigators and Mr Beven said Agfest's great success is that it has been "embraced" by the broader community.
"It's been such a major success in getting people from all walks of life to see everything from animals to very unique crafts, large machinery to lawnmowers," he said.
Ms Paterson said "diehards" may not like the change but it was "all about meeting the market".
"But in saying that you can never leave your core values," she said.
"This is an agricultural event and should remain so."
