THOUSANDS OF people are expected to attend Macra na Feirme‘s annual conference, or ‘Rally’, in Cork this weekend.

The event will be officially launched by Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney at the Radisson Blu hotel in Little Island at 7.30pm this evening, followed by a quiz and a fancy dress party.

A number of competitions will also feature in the Rally, including the national finals of the AIB Macra Club of the Year and the Best New Member competitions. The Bord Bia stockjudging event tests competitors’ ability to gauge the health of an animal by sight.

The Road Safety Authority will be running their crash simulation programme in the Radisson Blu’s car park until the conference ends on Sunday and a spokesperson for Macra told TheJournal.ie this morning that this is open to all members of the public.

Another event open to the public is a market in the hotel tomorrow afternoon which will feature local food producers.

Entertainment for attendees varies throughout the weekend from tonight’s Halloween party to a trip to the jazz festival in Kinsale on Sunday, and the results of a Europe-wide agricultural photography competition will be exhibited at the conference.