Back with a vengeance

Organisers are promising another great show despite logistics and other challenges.

Event chair Hayden Dorman says they have about 520 exhibitors lined up - a little more than last time - and have also sold a few more sites, with a number of exhibitors choosing to boost their presence by taking more than one.

There would again be a big emphasis on machinery demonstrations, which is how the field days started and is something they concentrate on doing well, he adds.

The event will run from March 29 to 31.

Run in odd-numbered years alternating with the Southern Field Days at Waimumu in Southland, SIAFD has managed to dodge Covid, while Waimumu was forced to cancel last year because of the pandemic.

But supply chain issues are still having an effect.

Dorman says it was a challenge two years ago for exhibitors to make sure they had enough product to put on show. He says it seems to be worse now because of Covid's continuing strain on logistics.

"I know that two years ago a lot of the stuff that was on site was already sold, especially machinery."

SIAFD is proud to be a grassroots event run by farmers and for farmers, with few paid helpers and almost everything done by the volunteer committee.

Dorman says their show is "like chalk and cheese compared to some of the bigger, professionally run events that aim for a broader appeal, such as Mystery Creek.

"We might only get 25,000 people through the gate but we know that they're farmers."

Speaking to Rural News a few weeks out from the event Dorman noted that the big marquees and displays had yet to start trickling in, and some of the machinery won't come until they've appeared at the Central District Field Days at Feilding (March 16-18).

But he said there had already been several volunteer working bees preparing for the event, including marking out the sites.

"It's all volunteers," he says. "We'll have working bees every weekend between now and the event."

He paid tribute to the volunteers, notin gthat they all have other commitments, such as arable farmers busy with harvest at this time of year.

Dorman also paid tribute to the many volunteer groups that make sure the event itself runs smoothly by managing tasks such as manning the gates, marshalling car parking and collecting rubbish. They try to get as many local organisations involved as possible, ranging from local schools and sports clubs to service clubs.