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Some early rain on the opening day meant less of a crowd poured into the Mystery Creek site last week.
Some early rain on the opening day meant less of a crowd poured into the Mystery Creek site last week.
Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation claims it is proof of success of holding the event even though final numbers would not be known till after Saturday. However, Nation reckons having 1000 exhibitors on site is a good result. On Wednesday morning there were some heavy showers, but gumboots and umbrellas were the simple answer. And there were plenty of indoor sites to visit as well.
Nation told Rural News that organisers of similar events world-wide are facing challenges with supply chain disruptions forcing exhibitors to pull out or downsize. “It’s hard if you don’t have product,” he says.
But Nation adds that there has been an excellent response from overseas visitors.
“One company flew in 200 delegates to the event and many others flew in smaller numbers.”
He’s hopeful that more freedoms around travel will see future numbers increase.
As for the somewhat controversial decision to stage the event at this time of the year, Nation claims that farmers are still coming along as are key exhibitors – such as Fonterra and DairyNZ. He says Fieldays is mindful that it’s a busy time of the year.
“But as one farmer put it to me – this is the secondbest date you could have chosen.”
Already causing a stir in the burgeoning ute sector, JAC (“Jack”) has raised its profile by being named as the latest major sponsor of June’s National Fieldays, where it will officially introduce its top-of-the-line T9 4WD double cab ute to the market, joining its fleet of 100% EV and Cummins diesel trucks.
With two months until National Fieldays at Mystery Creek, organisers say 90% of sites have been booked by exhibitors.
The New Zealand National Fieldays Society chief executive Peter Nation is to step down in December after eight years in the role.
The four-day National Fieldays at Mystery Creek last week attracted 106,000 visitors.
Fieldays has added another feather to its cap - the coveted New Zealand Story’s FernMark licence programme.
The CEO of Apples and Pears NZ, Karen Morrish, says the strategic focus of her organisation is to improve grower returns.
A significant breakthrough in understanding facial eczema (FE) in livestock brings New Zealand closer to reducing the disease’s devastating impact on farmers, animals, and rural communities.
Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.
OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
The 2024-25 season apple harvest has “well and truly exceeded expectations”, says Apples and Pears NZ chief executive Karen Morrish.
Through collaborative efforts with exhibitors, visitors, and industry partners, Fieldays says it is reaffirming its commitment to environmental responsibility with new initiatives for 2025.
