Action and giveaways will all be there
Jam-packed with action, fizzing with giveaways: that's the promise of the Northland Field Days organisers.
FINE weather and a jam-packed schedule pulled record crowds to the 2013 Northland Field Days this year, say organisers.
With temperatures averaging a blistering 25oC, and little cloud cover during the three days, it was very different from last year when a ‘weather bomb’ caused an early close on the Saturday afternoon.
Visitors streamed in from 9am to 4pm every day. Over 25,000 people attended the event in total – 1000 more than the last record attendance in 2012.
Many of Saturdays’ 11,000 visitors tried to beat the heat with More FM’s Megasplash. There was plenty more to see and do – helicopter rides, the tractor pull, lawnmower races, dog trials, logger sports and quad skills.
The tractor pull celebrated its 21st birthday in style with entrants coming from near and far, according to event organiser John Phillips. “One driver came up from Hamilton to take part in the event and there were a lot of locals interested.”
The ANZ and More FM won the bank and business house competitions on Thursday. Shane Phillips won the main competition on the Thursdsay and Mark Phillips won the hotly-contended 21st birthday champion’s 3-legged race on the Saturday.
Karl Bow was named the logger of the day in the Northland Loggersports event after getting placings in the stock saw and woodsplit events. The Montana team won the team event, relegating last year’s winners Paniora Logging to second and third place.
Alan Van Hartigen won the open quad skills competition with Megan Browning taking the ladies’ competiton.
Prizes and giveaways at the event included a motorbike at the Vodafone stand, 200L drum of teat treatment from Donaghys and a 600kg bag of fertiliser from Viafos.
Northland Field Days organisers and exhibitors also gave away thousands each day as gate prizes. Joe Danher from Tamaterau won the Thursday gate prize of $4800, Chris Longville from Warkworth $2800 on Thursday and Sarah Bird from Dargaville $1600.
While organisers, exhibitors and tractor pull contestants were celebrating the event’s 21st birthday on Saturday night, Northland Field Days president Lew Duggan says plans will begin immediately for the 2014 event, from Thursday February 30 – Saturday March 1 to work in with regional field days in Gore and Fielding.
“The 2014 field days will be bigger and better than this year’s event,” says Duggan. “The committee is working on some exciting changes.”
Following heavy rain which caused flooding in parts of Nelson-Tasman and sewerage overflows in Marlborough, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is urging homeowners and tenants to be cautious when cleaning up and to take the right steps to support claims.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
OPINION: ACT MP Mark Cameron isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he certainly calls it how he sees it, holding…
OPINION: Did former PM Jacinda Ardern get fawning reviews for her book?