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The SIAFD started in the 1950s as machinery demonstrations.
SIAFD started in the 1950s as machinery demonstrations on a leased site at Lincoln.
However, the event has been held at Kirwee since they bought the site before the 2015 event.
SIAFD event chair Hayden Dorman says Kirwee is well-drained land on a shingle base.
It "gets a bit slithery on top" when wet but not like the Lincoln site, which was heavy land "where you just keep sinking."
The group initially bought 40ha at Kirwee then another 40ha, so there is room for expansion and development, but Dorman says they have yet to decide what direction to go.
There is little infrastructure on site apart from an office, a small machinery shed, basic toilet blocks, tracks, water and power.
Power lines and outlets are strategically placed across the exhibition space but with no connection to the national grid, as that would incur a daily connection fee. Instead, six or eight temporary generators are brought in to power it up at show time.
Dorman told Rural News that further developments for the site are "on our radar" but will have to be carefully chosen.
Because the site is leased to a neighbouring farmer between shows, it's not like there are other events to help pay for development, he explains.
"If we spend a lot of money we've got to look at what sort of return we get from that.
"We can build something that's worth a million bucks but are we getting a return from it?
"We do need something but we just have to decide how much we're willing to spend, so we've got to make up our minds sooner rather than later because prices of things don't keep going down."
The future of New Zealand’s agricultural sector grew a little brighter, with the South Island Agricultural Field Days (SIAFD) now accepting applications for its scholarships through Lincoln University, offering $10,500 to up to six exceptional students who are poised to become the next leaders in the primary industries.
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Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Taking up a considerable portion of the Power Farming site at the recent South Island Agricultural Field Days near Christchurch, the Kverneland Qualidisc 21000T trailed compact disc harrow, the first sold in the southern hemisphere, has a working width of 12.25m.
Ensuring livestock receive a balanced and adequate mineral intake is essential for optimal health and productivity, as they play crucial roles in various physiological processes, including growth, reproduction, and disease resistance.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
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