The 156th Balmoral Show starts later on Wednesday at Balmoral Park outside Lisburn.

Thousands of people are expected to attend, with four days of sunshine forecast.

It is the culmination of months of planning for the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS) and for the farmers competing with their livestock.

Despite being involved in more than 30 shows, the RUAS group operations director Rhonda Geary still gets excited.

“The weather plays a big part in it, but it’s always a great event and great to see it all come together after a year of planning,” she said.

“There’s everything, from the livestock classes to sheep shearing, our kids’ area with the children’s farm, our equestrian areas, our horticulture, our food which is so important, and then we have our shopping halls filled with trade stands.”

For farmers like William Irvine, president of the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), it is a chance to catch up with friends and show off the fruits of their hard labour in preparing animals for competition.

“Balmoral is a day out, a day to meet folk that we maybe didn’t meet since this time last year, it’s a day to enjoy, a day to catch up with our friends and colleagues,” he said.

“It’s a shop window for our pedigree breeders, our livestock breeders and all the various sectors within agriculture will be represented at the show.”

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme at the Balmoral Show, Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir said he has “been looking forward to the show for months”.

“This is a real proud celebration of agri-food in Northern Ireland and there is so much we can be proud of,” he said.

“The real favourite part for me is being able to see all the fantastic animals that we have here.

“There’s so many examples in terms of pigs, sheep and there is the cattle ring.

“We have the highest welfare standards in Northern Ireland and we should be able to showcase that to so many people.”

More than 3,500 animals will be on display over the course of four days.

Although there will not be any poultry competitions this year because of bird flu restrictions, there will be countless cattle, sheep, pig and horse competitions, not to mention the guinea pigs, rabbits and a small display of birds from a single flock.

The show has evolved over the years to reflect the changing face of agriculture.

A sustainability village will showcase the green innovations being introduced in farming to help reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

And the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) will be demonstrating a model farm of the future.

Prof Elizabeth Magowan from AFBI said Balmoral was the “perfect platform” to share the scientific work they do to develop farming systems that are both environmentally and economically responsible.

“The AFBI team get a lot of value from the many discussions that take place with our farming community and the wider community who attend the show.

“We often learn as much from the folk that visit the stand as they learn from us.”

The Balmoral Show takes place at the Eikon Exhibition Centre at Lisburn’s Balmoral Park.

The show runs over four days from Wednesday to Saturday and opens at 09:30 BST each day.

It closes at 18:00 on Wednesday and Saturday, 20:00 on Thursday and 19:00 on Friday.

Those travelling to the event are encouraged to make use of public transport.

If you are travelling by train, the nearest station is at Lisburn which is less than 15 minutes away from the event.

A free shuttle service will run from the station to the showgrounds, operating regularly throughout the day.

The last shuttle bus will leave 30 minutes after the show closes each day.

By car:

• From the west and north west: Take the M1 to junction eight and follow the signs
• From Lisburn: Take the Moira Road out of Lisburn and follow the signs
• From Belfast and the north east: Travel south on the M1, coming off at Sprucefield and follow signs to Balmoral Park
• From the south: Take the A1 dual carriageway and follow the signs

Car parking is available on site for £10 per car each day, which must be paid by cash on arrival.

Organisers have warned there will be queues arriving and leaving the showgrounds at peak times.

Tickets must be bought online in advance and cannot be purchased at the gate.

Bookings can also be made for groups of more than 10 people, school and hospital groups.