Fieldays is open for 2022

The irony of a wet and blusterous start to the very first summer Fieldays was not lost on the crowds who made their annual trip to Mystery Creek. Acting as a reminder that Fieldays, traditionally a winter event, was not immune to the weather regardless of the summer dates.

The event was officially opened with a pōwhiri and the rising of flags, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by the society’s president, James Allen, Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor, and cut by Tumuaki o te Kiingitanga Hone Thompson.

With punters braving the forecasted torrential rain and tornadoes to explore the site and the 1,000 exhibitors ready to show off their products and services, the sight of people out and moving around was a welcome sight.

“We’ve had just under 17,000 visitors through the gate, which is a bit softer than previous years, but not unexpected due to the weather across the North Island,” said Peter.

The early reports from some valued exhibiting customers are that the calibre and level of enquires has been strong from serious customers and outstripped previous opening days.

“We all know we’ve had a few head winds; changes keep coming and we are all grappling with the new normal. Fieldays has not been unaffected to the effects of Covid 19 either”, says New Zealand National Fieldays Society Peter Nation.

The decision to move from June to November was not made lightly. “The rural sector is really facing a lot of challenges at the moment,” says Peter. “We have navigated not only the seasonal nature of the primary industries in New Zealand but also navigating other major events.”

It is still unmistakeably evident that Fieldays is the place for the industries hard discussions. “We have got to talk, and this is one of the places where that can be done” says Peter. From business networking, central and local government, family catch ups, meetings or reconnecting with business professionals or making new relationships Fieldays it the place to do it. 

Addressing some of the key challenges was Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. She joined the primary leaders luncheon, with Minister for Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, launching the Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions.

Part of the 2022 budget, the announcement discussed the government’s plan on reducing agriculture emissions through research and development, including a substantial new public private 50:50 joint venture.

The three-phase project described investments into biotech to develop methane inhibiting capsules to deliver at least a 70 per cent reduction in methane, supporting our sheep farmers to reduce emissions by increasing supply of low methane rams through genetic selection, introducing more low methane traits into the national sheep flock and thirdly investing in greenhouse gas measurement equipment and infrastructure.

With the weather set to improve for the remainder of the event, organisers are looking forward to three more days of agricultural trade, entertainment and innovations.

“From here on in, we should expect strong numbers from around the regions, reflecting our importance as a nationally and globally significant event,” says Peter.

Fieldays 2022 takes place in Mystery Creek, Hamilton from November 30 to December 3. Download the app (Google and Apple) and plan your visit, use the interactive map, pin your car and look for useful things like your favourite exhibitors, water stations and food courts. 

ABOUT FIELDAYS

Fieldays is based on a 114-hectare site at Mystery Creek 10 minutes from Hamilton and is the largest agricultural event in the Southern Hemisphere. Fieldays draws people from around the globe – both as exhibitors and visitors. Fieldays 2021 saw 132,776 people visit the event, generating $675M in sales revenue for New Zealand businesses.

 Fieldays is run by New Zealand National Fieldays Society, a charitable organisation founded in 1968 for the purpose of advancing the primary industries.

The New Zealand National Fieldays Society thanks their premier and key partners Case IH, Hyundai, Ministry of Primary Industries, and Vodafone for their continued support.

For more information head to www.fieldays.co.nz.