Record exhibitor numbers set tone for field days

A month before the event, all sites were sold out. Organisers expect over 350 exhibitors at the event. Last year the event attracted 300 exhibitors.

Some exhibitors have booked for the first time, including a boat charter company from Fiordland and a travel company. Not only have the exhibitors paid for the stall, they have also generously forked out $20,000 worth of prizes for three lucky visitors.

For the first time, the Northland field days will hold a draw each day. Visitors will be asked to fill out a form at the gate and all entries for the day go into the draw. The $20,000 prize pool will be divided into three prizes, with each drawn every day. Prizes range from tool sets to barbeque sets and air conditioning units to home air filter units. Also included are wines, grass seed, dog food and a knife set, among other things.

Northland Field Days president John Phillips says the support from exhibitors has been overwhelming.

“The field days is all about two groups - the exhibitors who buy sites and the visitors who turn up,” he told Rural News.

“The exhibitors have come to the party this year and we are very grateful to them for their support. Our pavilions, food courts and market areas are full. We have had to turn some exhibitors away.

“We are very grateful to our exhibitors – without them we haven’t got a show.”

He hopes that visitors will turn up to support the exhibitors.

Phillips believes the uptick in exhibitor numbers is partly due to the strong dairy milk price forecast for the season.

“Also, exhibitors are keen to get in front of customers given the current economic situation facing the country,” he says.

The Northland Field Days committee is made up of volunteers and the event runs with the help of other volunteers.

Phillips says committee members and supporters are putting final touches on the site. He says the extra income this year from exhibitor registrations has helped them upgrade roads and fencing at the site.

“We haven’t put a lot into the place over the last four years; the roads were in a pretty bad way,” he says.

Organisers are also keeping an eye on the sky. This year parts of Northland are gripped in drought. If the rains don’t arrive in the coming weeks, organisers will be forced to cart water for the event, resulting in extra work and costs for them.

Phillips says they have carted water to the field days in previous years but “it’s a lot of hard work and expensive”.

One of the main attractions is a small maze within a maize field at the showgrounds.

Profit from the event is ploughed back into the community. Last year the committee donated money to rotary clubs and Dargaville Scouts.

They also helped partly fund a local school’s study tour of Wellington and helped another school set up an orchard. The Northland Rescue Helicopter service, photography club and junior sport clubs also received funding. Phillips says this year the committee hopes to tertiary study grants.

The committee is inviting registrations from Northland students who will be entering university to study agriculture-related studies. After the field days, the committee will decide how many grants to award. Each recipient will receive up to $2,000 to help towards university fees and other expenses.

Event Details

When: Northland Field Days

Where: 33 Awakino Point East Road, Dargaville

When: February 27-March 1, 2025

Tickets: www.northlandfieldays.co.nz