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Traditionally the Fieldays attracts real farmers, the people who wear Red Bands most days of their lives and brave the rain, the mud and frost and cold and look happy in their misery.
The roads along which the exhibitors' sites sit are now tar sealed and the once friendly, homely, happy atmosphere seems lacking today. People once came from all over the country to attend the event, and especially the pre-Fieldays on-farm seminars at the Ruakura Research Station where ag scientists proudly told farmers the latest agricultural scientific news. Those were halcyon days.
Nowadays, Mystery Creek has become something of a 'corporate' event. Yes, the tractors and a huge range of machinery and gadgets are on show, there is the innovation pavilion, the traditonal tractor pull and the hot dogs from the Te Awamutu Lions Club food stand.
But going 'corporate' - for want of a better term - and the changing times with new regulations and new rules by Fieldays has seen a lot of the fun go out of the event.
For me, 2023 will be remembered as the 'year of the suits'. Many of today's visitors, especially on the Wednesday and Thursday, wore suits or corporate clothing and pretty good shoes rather than the traditional Swanndris or Red Bands. They were doing what they do in their offices in Wellington, Auckland and other cities: going to meetings, sometimes called seminars, and queuing up for special coffees.
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Opposition leader Chris Luxon enjoys whitebait fritters with MP Tim van de Molen. |
This year the International Business Centre was buzzing with activity as almost every hour a new event took place. Other companies, such as banks and financial institutions and 'futurists', also had events for clients and VIPs - not all open to the public or media. The UK and EU hosted excellent seminars on their respective free trade agreements (FTAs) which were insightful, well attended and were aimed at making people aware of the benefits of these new international opportunities.
The Ministry for Primary Industries used Fieldays, as it has for many years, to unveil their quarterly report on the state of the primary sector. A document well worth a read.
Overall, the nature of Fieldays has changed. For the better? I'm not so sure. There are 'hubs' everywhere on careers, sustainability and health and wellbeing, to name a few, and arguably the event is becoming more sophisticated in one sense. But with the primary sector in something approaching the doldrums, it would be interesting to know who sold what, and whether the 'suit' events were suitable for all concerned.
Of course, it's election year and no one should have been surprised to see a posse of politicians out on the prowl, seeking support. Labour was represented for three days by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins who popped up at various stands and seminars to promote his party's good news. Ag Minister Damien O'Connor seemed to be everywhere and at every event, joined by other relevant Ministers such as Jo Luxton, the Associate Minister of Ag, and Rachel Brooking, the Minister for Food Safety.
Christopher Luxon arrived on the Wednesday accompanied by his ag spokesperson Todd McClay, and in their distinctive blue jackets they traipsed around the venue talking to people and meeting with VIPs. Dairy News caught up with them, but other media said they never saw him.
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ACT leader David Seymour stood outside the party's site and mingled with visitors. |
For whatever reason, Luxon took Thursday off and went to Wanaka to meet more party faithful, and that decision puzzled many people, especially given the fact that Thursday is a day when largest numbers of farmers traditionally attend the event. His absence that day allowed ACT to take centre stage and chase the farmer votes. Their stand was a buzz of activity, which tended to support the anecdotal evidence that ACT will take a lot of rural votes. As for the Greens and NZ First, the word was they were there, but we didn't see or hear from them.
Who knows what impact, positive or negative, the efforts of the various politicians at Fieldays will have come October and whether the same politicians will be back next year or in three years' time.
