Youth take centre stage at East Coast Farming Expo 2026
There's a special sort of energy at the East Coast Farming Expo, especially when it comes to youth.
The East Coast Farming Expo will return in February 2020 for a fifth round of innovation, interaction and excellence.
The two-day event, hosted by Wairoa Community Development Trust, will be held at the Wairoa A&P showgrounds on Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 February 2020.
“If you’re an East Coast/Hawke’s Bay farmer looking for the solutions to keep your business moving forward, or an agricultural innovator wanting to spread your message, this event is perfect,” said event manager Sue Wilson.
“There are huge opportunities for technology uptake, especially in sheep and beef farming, and we’re excited about the expo’s potential and being able to host it in our community.”
Some of the trade exhibits at the event will include solar energy, weather data mapping, new yarding systems, soil and vegetation mapping, feeding systems, GIS mapping, irrigation, genetics and communication systems.
Wilson says the expo is an ideal opportunity to launch new products and release new research and technology, straight to a target audience. “Farmers and landowners can explore new ideas and have their questions answered in an exclusive and specialised environment.”
Event director Dave Martin says the event provides the opportunity for national businesses and East Coast farmers to mix.
“It’s where innovation and technology knowhow can be shared with those who will benefit from it the most.”
The Push-Up Challenge, an event which combines mental health and fitness, is set to launch in New Zealand in 2026.
Last month's Agritechnica event led to a wide group of manufacturers celebrating successes when the 2026 Tractor of the Year Competition winners, selected by a panel of European journalists, were announced in Hanover Germany.
According to the latest Federated Farmers banking survey, farmers are more satisfied with their bank and less under pressure, however, the sector is well short of confidence levels seen last decade.
Farmer confidence has taken a slight dip according to the final Rabobank rural confidence survey for the year.
Former Agriculture Minister and Otaki farmer Nathan Guy has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy (SATE).
Alliance Group has commissioned a new heat pump system at its Mataura processing plant in Southland.

OPINION: The release of the Natural Environment Bill and Planning Bill to replace the Resource Management Act is a red-letter day…
OPINION: Federated Farmers has launched a new campaign, swapping ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ for ‘The Twelve Pests of Christmas’ to…