Countdown on for field days
Big spending by farmers remains to be seen during an expanded South Island Agricultural Field Days on March 29-31.
The countdown is on and already a small township of sheds and marques has sprung up on the 80-hectare site at Kirwee.
Field days president Rodney Hadfield said organisers were expecting 30,000 people through the gates from throughout New Zealand.
‘‘The last two field days we have really expanded the numbers. There are 600 exhibitors, all catering to the farmers they expect to sell to. There will be 12 hectares of demonstrations, 18ha of exhibitors and the rest is car-park.’’
Preparation for the event started last July by 25 volunteer committee members who included contractors, farmers and farm workers.
The site was rolled and mown for the marques and sheds erected over the last few weeks. By midFebruary some of the trial plots were already going in, said Hadfield.
The event often acts as a barometer for farmer spending and yet to be revealed will be the impact of lacklustre sheep returns and dairy commodity prices which slipped earlier this month.
Field days spokesman Daniel Schat said a lifestyle section with exhibits for everyone in the family would add something new to the event.
‘‘We have 50 exhibitors lined up to display products ranging from model trains and spa pools to dog control systems and solar water and power units.’’
Other attractions would include a top tractor shootout. The event will compare tractors made by the world’s leading brands and judges will test them on a range of criteria including performance and affordability. Two fencing competitions will also be held.
Another event which had been popular in the past was the agriinnovation awards which recognised New Zealand-made innovations or inventions, Schat said. Entrants will demonstrate their inventions.
Schat said the site had good crops of maize, fodder beet, pasture and oats ready for harvest machinery demonstrations.
The machinery demonstration will feature beet harvesters and maize choppers as well as a full range of balers and cultivation equipment.
The event is run by a non-profit organisation made up of farmers and others in the agricultural industry.
Hadfield said the field days would not be possible without the work of volunteers and community groups and Friends of the Field Days who donated equipment and services.
He said it was a good community fundraising opportunity for local schools and young farmers who helped with parking, running the tills and the entrance, and clean up.
‘‘A group of volunteers organise and run the event and community groups provide many of the services - parking, catering and clean up,’’ he said.
‘‘We also provide $5000 in scholarships that go to two Lincoln University students.
‘‘When we moved to Kirwee we bought 40ha which allowed us to accommodate up to 450 exhibitors. Now we have purchased an additional 40ha of land adjacent to our site.
‘‘While we won’t occupy the entire 80ha at this year’s event we will have more exhibitors and bigger demonstration space than last time.’’
The field days switch between Canterbury and Southland each year. The event has only operated out of Kirwee since 2015, when it outgrew its leased site near Lincoln University, where it had been based for more than 30 years.