Be afraid
OPINION: Your old mate hears some of the recent uptick in farmer confidence has slipped since the political polls started…
National Fieldays is living up to its theme ‘Leading Change’, having spent $1.3 million to revamp the Mystery Creek site.
Visitors to Mystery Creek couldn't fail to notice a new addition for 2016 on the largely green John Deere site, in the shape of the yellow JD 624K wheeled Loading Shovel.
Visitors to the Vodafone Fieldays site had access to free Vodafone Rural Connect wi-fi and were able to gauge mobile and broadband coverage on their properties using Smart Farm Test stations.
The basic reason for Fieldays hasn't changed in its nearly 50 year history: getting willing buyers in front of enthusiastic sellers and enticing them with the hint of a bargain or two.
Fieldays 2016 has come and gone, and the weather was kind – cool mornings and a little seasonal Waikato fog.
Farmer support agencies did their best to encourage dairy farmers to come to National Fieldays despite the sector's downturn, says chief executive Peter Nation.
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has congratulated the National Fieldays Society for another successful event at Mystery Creek in Waikato.
Artist Ben Pearce, of Napier, has won the big prize in the 2016 Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Awards.