Crowd down, spending subdued

The lack of any Covid restrictions meant that the gates were open not only to locals, but also to overseas visitors.

When the gates finally closed the tale of the tape showed that 105,000 visitors passed through the turnstiles over the four days. Compared to 2019, the last non-Covid affected event, when 128,747 made the trip, this represents a drop of around 18.5%.

As to the event itself, cold starts and sunny days were the order of business, with most visitors just glad to be off the farm and catching up with colleagues and mates.

Indeed, this is probably where Fieldays sits, rather than an event that does business, with the exception of those selling wet weather gear or battery power tools. Although there were reports of some businesses selling larger capital items, such as grassland machinery as we head towards the new season, Fieldays appears to be morphing into more of a PR event for the exhibiting companies.

Some may be reviewing committing a great chunk of their marketing budget to just four days, while still selling over the other 361 days. Others bemoaned the smaller frustrations like Fieldays charging exhibitors an extra $1,340+gst for using caterers that are not on the approved list, or being charged for using coffee beans at their hospitality area that didn’t come from the approved supplier.

Of course, the tenets of Fieldays were in abundance, with hubs for Health, Innovation, Forestry, Sustainability and Careers, offering checkup, check out, hug trees, save the planet and find that must-have job. With the General Election just around the corner, the crowd was sprinkled with many red, blue, purple and green windcheaters worn by standing MPs and campaigners for their cause, typically sporting wide grins and outstretched hands.

Speaking to exhibitors, some were claiming sales on the day, although the majority were suggesting that most potential customers were playing a waiting game, given the constraints of high input costs, a lower milk price for the new season and a potential change of government.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins at the 2023 National Fieldays.

Off Par!

Thankfully, none of the visitors seemed to be giving MPs too much of a rough ride, as in previous years, although that philosophy was not being extended in reverse. Farmer action group Groundswell, vocal in opposing much of the suggested legislation being drawn up by the Labour-Green Government, were on site and raising funds.

Alongside the T-shirts and baseball caps, they were also offering a sleeve of golf balls imprinted with the faces of Messrs. Hipkins, O’Connor, Parker, and Shaw, with an invitation to “Drive Labour Out”. Unfortunately, this led to one Labour worthy from a nearby site admonishing Groundswell for “inciting violence”.

This was followed up by a visit from Fieldays officials, who insisted the “bad taste” balls be removed from sale. Of course, placing the offending items under the counter meant demand rocketed and the ‘Sold Out’ signs soon went up.