Mr McCallum has stepped into the ring when times couldn't be much tougher for agricultural shows. The pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on agricultural shows and field days with most cancelled for 2020.

The Crookwell Show attracts a few thousand visitors each year and was supported by around 50 volunteers. The new president said the committee was hoping that the local show which is held in February each year will go ahead in 2021.

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Mr McCallum who also runs Viewfield Herefords in Crookwell has been a member of the society for around 15 years, as vice-president for the last five years, and has long-served as the chief cattle steward.

In July this year, Mr McCallum was appointed, uncontested, as president of the Crookwell Agricultural, Pastoral and Horticultural Society. Mr McCallum succeeds Paul Anderson who handed over the presidency at the annual general meeting in Crookwell.

"It's an exciting job," the new president said.

"Agriculture is an extremely important part of our local area. Rural shows are an opportunity to bridge the disconnect between city and country, and celebrate our rural industries."

The ageing infrastructure at the Crookwell Showground has been recently upgraded including the kiosk, a new amenities block was built and tiered seating was added. The kitchen would also be replaced with a commercial-grade kitchen in the next 12 months.

The new president hoped to support the refurbishment at the showground and seek funding to replace the sheep pavilion which is over 100 years old.

Mr McCallum is excited about future prospects for the Show and planned to add exhibits to increase interest and competitors.

"I'd like to see some changes to entertainment and some new drawcards like Motocross in the main arena," he said.

"I'd like to bring in an area that features cottage industries and small-scale primary agricultural products in a market-style setup that showcases locally-made products.

"We want to try and get the crowd numbers back up, get local people coming to the show again, and start tapping into the Canberra market."

He also planned to grow the volunteer numbers and hoped to attract new members to the committee who would bring fresh ideas.

The Show committee also welcomed Mary-Ellen McCormack as the senior vice-president, and Nathan Haynes, Phil Price, Ally Jaffrey and Louise Gibbs as the vice-presidents. Paul Culhane continued as the treasurer, and Rosemary Seary as the secretary.