The first summer Fieldays at Mystery Creek at the end of last year saw numerous visitors despite the wet and blustery weather. 

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 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 the New Zealand National Fieldays Society’s 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,” he adds. “We have navigated not only the seasonal nature of the primary industries in New Zealand but also 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 Mr Nation. From business networking to central and local government, family catch ups, meetings or reconnecting with business professionals and making new relationships, Fieldays is 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. 

Forestry Minister, Stuart Nash, unveiled the Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) at Fieldays. See the February 2023 edition of NZ Logger for more on this.