Thirty-nine show societies across Victoria have received state government grants totaling $300,000.
The grants to agricultural and pastoral societies were designed to support societies in putting on events and upgrading infrastructure.
Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes said the $300,000 in funding was part of the 2019-20 Agricultural and Pastoral Society Grants Program.
Grant packages of up to $10,000 would help societies to upgrade or establish new facilities, encourage greater local involvement in show activities, create opportunities for agricultural businesses to engage with the community and enhance business activities to help in show planning.
"Agricultural shows are a beloved part of regional Victoria - they play an important role by promoting agriculture and showcasing local art, craft and artisanal produce," Ms Symes said.
"These grants will not only improve our regional annual shows, but they'll also benefit the whole community through the various events hosted at these facilities throughout the year."
Clunes Agricultural Society president John Drife said the funds from the grant would go to the purchase of tiered seating.
He said the seating modules were portable and could be used for any type of event around the showgrounds.
"You always seem to need some seats around the place during an event and these can be shifted to suit," he said.
Other recipients would use the grants for work including: air-conditioning and heating in a multi-purpose pavilion; lighting upgrades for a homecrafts pavilion area to improve safety; construction of permanent horse-holding enclosures; installation of sheep yards; multi-use shearing competition stage; animal nursery upgrade; display tables for craft and cooking pavilion; relocatable tiered grandstand seating.
A spokesperson said the projects would enhance facilities that could be used for occasions other than agricultural shows and ensure communities that had to cancel or postpone shows due to the coronavirus pandemic could have upgraded facilities for future events.
The funded projects would deliver events that provided a direct benefit to agricultural communities, which would build confidence in agriculture and support regional economies and jobs.
