increase font size
The East Coast Farming Expo will be held on 23-24 February at the Wairoa A&P Showgrounds.
It is all go for next week’s East Coast Farming Expo, albeit with plenty of attention on ensuring everyone is kept safe.
Event manager Sue Wilson says the Wairoa-hosted two-day event has robust plans in place to manage the event under the red traffic light restrictions, and it goes ahead with the support of the Wairoa Pandemic Planning Group and Wairoa Emergency Operations Centre.
“We have received amazing feedback and messages of support, which encouraged the Wairoa Community Development Trust to press on, with the committee unanimously agreeing to continue with the event,” says Wilson.
Omicron has meant a few tweaks to the programme with the South Island-based seminar speakers Zooming in rather than attending in person. Lincoln University adjunct professor Dr Jacqueline Rowarth kicks things off at the Wairoa A&P Showgrounds on Wednesday (February 23), speaking (in person) about whether the pastoral farmers is an endangered species. She’ll be followed by a panel discussion about the opportunities for the next generation of farmers.
Gisborne farmer and dog trialist Allen Irwin along with Central Hawke’s Bay’s Guy Peacock will be demonstrating techniques for training working dogs, complemented by a presentation from Eastland Vet Service’s Adele English who will talk about working dog health and nutrition.
“One of the speakers I am really excited to hear from is the inspiring Shaz Dagg who was the first female amputee to complete the Coast to Coast multi-sport event, and who has an outlook on life we can all learn from.”
There is a full contingent of trade exhibits including everything from manufacturers, inventors and retailers. “One of the biggest drawcards of the Expo is that it’s a chance for people to talk one-on-one with those who have invented or are producing goods – this is where the serious conversations can be had.”
The event is an opportunity for beef and sheep farmers to get off the farm and connect with agribusiness.
The Evening Muster has been postponed until later in the year. “It was just too difficult to manage this special networking event while in the red light settings and we felt it would be better to have it as a stand-alone event when things settle down a bit,” says Wilson. New dates will be advised in due course.
All those attending the Expo need to show a vaccine pass. The event has been divided into two defined spaces – the seminar marquee and trade exhibit area.
“We are looking forward to this,” says Wilson. “It is all about quality over quantity. We strive to get the very best across everything. These are people and products that we think will help our farmers on the East Coast.”
For more information on the Expo, head to www.eastcoastexpo.co.nz.
Where and When
What: East Coast Farming Expo
When: February 23-24, 2022
Where: Wairoa A&P Showgrounds
The recent East Coast Farming Expo, held over two days at Wairoa, offered an insight into the current state of agriculture on the east of the North Island, at a time when the locals are remembering the second anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The countdown is on to be one of the most anticipated events in the sheep and beef industry, the East Coast Farming Expo.
Rugby league legend Tawera Nikau is set to inspire, celebrate and entertain at the East Coast Farming Expo's very popular Property Broker's Evening Muster.
The East Coast Farming Expo is playing host to a quad of ‘female warriors’ (wahine toa) who will give an in-depth insight into the opportunities and successes the primary industries offer women.
Stellar speakers, top-notch trade sites, innovation, technology and connections are all on offer at the 2025 East Coast Farming Expo being once again hosted in Wairoa in February.
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.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
OPINION: The world is bracing for a trade war between the two biggest economies.
OPINION: In the same way that even a stopped clock is right twice a day, economists sometimes get it right.
OPINION: The proposed RMA reforms took a while to drop but were well signaled after the election.
