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The biggest day on the rural calendar is here again. National Fieldays will be held at Mystery Creek in Hamilton from June 10.
The event has become something of a mid-winter Christmas for New Zealand’s farming sector, attracting more than 1000 exhibitors and 120,000 visitors, including 25,000 from Auckland and Northland.
It is the biggest agri-business event in the Southern Hemisphere, where farmers can eyeball the products of the country’s major agricultural companies and get an insight into the future of farming at the Fieldays Innovations Centre.
Fieldays 2014 Economic Impact Report states Fieldays created $421 million in revenue for the country. Nearly a third of businesses attending the event purchased equipment and three-quarters of patrons rated Fieldays the most important annual event in the country.
Poland Motors owner Doug Poland has been to Fieldays every year for 22 years.
“It’s got a huge selection of products so customers can make direct comparisons between all of the competition.
You don’t get that anywhere else,” Doug says.
“They also have great guest speakers and a lot of fun events. It’s everything in on package.”
Entries to the No.8 Wire National Art Award will be on display throughout the week, with an $8000 cash prize for the winner. Competitors have to create a sculpture made of at least 75 per cent No.8 wire. Fieldays head of events Lee Picken says the award promotes ingenuity and takes everyday, practical agricultural products into the art gallery.
Entrants in the Art Wear wearable art show will showcase their designs in twice-daily shows, at 11am and 2pm, in the Fieldays Theatre. Competitors have to create pieces from materials found on the farm. Te Radar will MC the prizegiving and awards show on Friday June 12.
The Rural Bachelor of the Year competition is also back again, with $20,000 worth of prizes for the winner. Contestants will face a range of challenges over the Fieldays week, competing in farm work and fitness to demonstrating flare in the kitchen.
