Day out at Fieldays leads to ute win
Out of more than 80,000 entries, Daniel Neil from Piopio has been announced as the lucky winner of the Isuzu D-MAX LX Double Cab 4WD Ute in this year’s Fieldays Ute giveaway.
A big crowd of 28,058 turned up to the first day of the NZ National Agricultural Fieldays' 48th year yesterday.
Fieldays was officially opened by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Bill English, along with Te Radar and New Zealand National Fieldays Society chief executive, Peter Nation.
"Fieldays aims to bring town and country together, and this is the real foundation for growth in the industry. When you provide a platform for so many different perspectives to come together to achieve a common goal, that's the true meaning of collaboration, and we're proud to facilitate this over these four days." says Nation.
Visitors also had the chance to get to know the Rural Bachelors and saw them complete the first two on-site challenges, including a quiz, and the much anticipated blind dates.
Although most of the Bachelors didn't score very well in the Blind Date Challenge, it looks like love could be on the horizon for a few of them.
The audience's favourite answer in the quiz came from Tasmanian Peter Damen, who when asked what the biggest pest-protected mountain in New Zealand was, answered "Mount Teriyaki".
The two Australian Bachelors, Peter and Rob Ewing, then treated the audience to an impromptu musical performance of Waltzing Matilda.
Cambridge foodies Belinda MacDonald and Neena Truscott joined us in the Kiwi's Best Kitchen Theatre. They delighted visitors with their innovative, healthy recipes and talked about their new book, (which is yet to be named) is set to be released in October.
The pair want to teach everyone to look at food in a different way. "It's not like we're being wacky or radical, this stuff used to be done."
The Careers and Education Hub was opened by Minister of Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, Steven Joyce, alongside Minister for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy. They both emphasised the importance of educating students on the different career opportunities within the agriculture industry.
Innovation and education are two founding pillars of Fieldays, and the Careers and Education Hub gives young people a chance to talk to leading agribusinesses.
"If you take the opportunity to get involved with the Careers and Education Hub today, you will learn many things that we hope will encourage you to think strategically about a career in the primary sector," says Guy.
The 2025 game bird season is underway with Hawke’s Bay and Southland reporting the ideal weather conditions for hunters – rain and wind.
A group of meat processing companies, directors and managers have been fined a total of $1.6 million for deliberately and illegally altering exported tallow for profit.
New Zealand’s top cheeses for 2025 have been announced and family-owned, Oamaru-based Whitestone Cheese is the big winner.
Waikato farmer, and Owl Farm demonstration manager, Jo Sheridan is the 2025 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
New Zealand’s special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr believes the outlook for the dairy sector remains strong.
Everyone from experienced veterinarians and young professionals to the Wormwise programme and outstanding clinics have been recognised in this year’s New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA) awards.