The animals have been preened, the boots polished and judging has begun as Australia's largest agricultural show prepares to open its gates to the public in Sydney on Friday.
With the show falling before school holidays, organisers at the Sydney Royal Easter Show expect smaller than usual crowd numbers, but an increase in competitors, with goat and honey entries both doubling since last year.
"If you look to the agricultural competitions, we have had increases in entries almost totally across the board," the show's general manager Murray Wilton said.
"We've had an increase in sheep, dairy, cattle, the steers competition is incredibly strong, also arts and crafts .. and the same with horses, pigs, poultry, honey and goats."
Wearing a blazer sewn together with prize ribbons from shows gone by, Mr Wilton said organisers have kept the 'cost of living crunch' in mind when setting prices.
"Once you get inside, there's 12 hours of free entertainment. We're focused very heavily ... in regards to value for money options," he said.
"If you want to pack a lunch, pack a lunch," he said at a media preview of the show.
That entertainment includes nightly demonstrations of a Bison Stampede and a fireworks display. There is also a range of new displays at the Royal.
In a nod to tree-changers, an Agri-Leisure pavilion targeting small landholders will feature for the first time since the show opened in 1823.
"It's everything from machinery and quad bikes to ways in which you can manage a five acre block," Mr Wilton said.
"People are looking for an alternative to living in a big city."
In recognition of the growing popularity of oodles - dogs bred with the many varieties of poodles - there’s a new pet dog class with cross breeds judged for the first time in the domestic animal section.
And what's old is new again with the pig auction returning after a 27-year hiatus, marking the best of Australia's pig genetics.
"We've got more exhibitors than we've seen for years, so we've got people getting back into exhibiting pigs," WA pig breeder and exhibitor Linton Batt said.
Mr Batt's nine hogs spent four days on the road from their farm at Beverley in Western Australia to compete at the show at Homebush in Sydney's inner west.
"The truck was built for moving pigs a long way, non-slip flooring, comfortable bedding, a sprinkler system to keep them cool, they've got water access at all times and they're fed at least twice a day as much as they want," he said.
"Our pigs are fast-growing, they're lean and they're bloody delicious."
The wool auction also returns this year for the first time in five years, with city slickers able to learn about the sale process as some of the exhibitors’ best fleeces are sold.
When the auction was last held on site in 2019, it turned over more than $18 million in two days.
The show runs from March 22 to April 2.
