NICK DROMGOOL, acting chief executive of New Zealand's National Fieldays – the Southern Hemisphere's largest agricultural show - visited Ireland's Ploughing Championships this week.

The recent decline in the NZD, low interest rates, a good breaking of the drought, plus good dairy prices have left farmers in good heart at this year's national Fieldays, says BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander.

A hand-held device used to read ear tags on farm animals, developed by Massey industrial designer Tony Parker and technology company Gallagher, has won the inaugural International Innovation Award at Fieldays.

Judges were overwhelmed by the high standard of entries in the Fieldays Innovation Competition at Fieldays yesterday.

A total 26,648 people came through the gate for the first day yesterday of the New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek.

The Ministry for Primary Industries will host a free seminar on Friday, June 14 at National Fieldays on its work to lift the performance of Māori agribusiness.

Top players in agribusiness will get together the night before the Fieldays to discuss building export earnings from agribusiness innovation.

The contest for the Rural Bachelor of the Year is back and better than ever but entries close on Monday.

The 2013 National Agricultural Fieldays will experience a dose of SODA energy as together with the Waikato's entrepreneurship centre they launch the Fieldays Innovation Den – Pitch for Investment; a new "Dragon's Den" style event.

A NEW Zealand company's 'revolutionary' brushcutter blade that won a 2011 product-of-the-year award from the Australian Outdoor Power Equipment Association got its start chiefly through National Field Days and with crucial help from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.