Science and technology take centre stage at 2025 National Fieldays
Showcasing the huge range of new technologies and science that is now available was one of the highlights at last week's National Fieldays.
This year, the Fieldays Tractor Pull, in association with PTS Logistics, mark a major milestone – 50 years of crowd-thrilling competition, after a modest contest started in 1975 with two-wheel drive tractors and manual gearboxes.
For long-time competitor and organiser Daniel Reymer, who has been involved in the competition for over a decade, The Tractor Pull is more than a sport – it’s a family tradition.
His father and uncles were among the early competitors in the ‘80s and ‘90s, with Dan’s father, Stephen Reymer, claiming victory in the late 1980s, and three Reymer brothers once famously sweeping the podium at one event, taking home first, second, and third places.
“These were two-wheel-drive tractors, some without cabs — it was a very different set of rules back then,” Dan says, reflecting on how the sport has evolved.
Dan has been involved since before he could legally drive and competing ever since. This year, Dan is hoping his new Case IH Puma 240 might be the game-changer, after narrowly missing out on the top spot in recent years, twice placing second in the weight-adjusted category.
The competition attracts farmers, contractors, and mechanics, with two different competitions.
The weight-adjusted competition sees two tractors with a concrete weight being towed, in a race to the finish line, with the emphasis on driver skill, rather than on a tractor’s power.
In the weight transfer competition, the tractor is driven down a specially prepared track for a far as possible, as weight is gradually added to the tractor-mounted competition sledge. Other categories include modified tractors and tractors manufactured before 1985.
“The modified tractors are always a crowd favourite,” says NZNFS venue operations manager Marie Rechner, who has helped coordinate the event for the past six years.
“The engines roar, the smoke pours, and you’ll often see the front wheels lift right off the ground. It’s loud and the crowds line the bank; they love every second of it.”
This year’s event has attracted strong entry numbers, with competitors from as far afield as Taranaki, Reporoa, and the South Island, looking to drive away with up to $5,000 in prize money.
Helping to power this year’s golden anniversary celebration is new Major Sponsor PTS Logistics, who joining returning sponsors, Corson Maize and Giltrap AgriZone. Heats take place during Wednesday through Friday with the Grand Final on Saturday, from 8am to 1:30pm.
On the eve of his departure from Federated Farmers board, Richard McIntyre is thanking farmers for their support and words of encouragement during his stint as a farmer advocate.
A project reducing strains and sprains on farm has won the Innovation category in the New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards 2025.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and other sector organisations, has launched a national survey to understand better the impact of facial eczema (FE) on farmers.
One of New Zealand's latest and largest agrivoltaics farm Te Herenga o Te Rā is delivering clean renewable energy while preserving the land's agricultural value for sheep grazing under the modules.
Global food company Nestle’s chair Paul Bulcke will step down at its next annual meeting in April 2026.
Brendan Attrill of Caiseal Trust in Taranaki has been announced as the 2025 National Ambassador for Sustainable Farming and Growing and recipient of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy at the National Sustainability Showcase at in Wellington this evening.
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