A healthy rural economy has organisers upbeat for another large turnout at the South Island Agricultural Field Days in Canterbury’s Kirwee.

Field day sites are about to be released to business exhibitors including many of the big rural names for the three-day event from April 7.

They have come under strong demand again with further improvements made to the grounds for the biennial event, celebrating its 75th year.

The grounds can accommodate 650 exhibitors, and organisers want to repeat, or better, the full turnout of 25,000 to 30,000 visitors and exhibiting teams at the last event in 2025.

Organising committee chairman Henry Williams said good agriculture prices for dairy, sheep meat and beef were promising for another strong attendance.

He said the dairying conversions going on in Canterbury were probably a sign of high prices, but they also came with high costs.

“I’m a contractor and not too high up in the food chain, but most people are reasonably happy at the moment.’’ 

Mr Williams said farmers were looking to make their operations more efficient to offset extra costs, such as top GPS units in tractors to minimise overlaps and wastage.

He said they had strong exhibitor bookings, but more online registrations would be accepted so visitors could view a full range of agricultural products.

Exhibitor space could be expanded if registrations went beyond previous numbers as there was plenty of room at the site, he said.

“Everybody I spoke to was pretty happy at the last event and we hope to see everyone that was there last time come back and hopefully a few more new businesses and new technology as well.’’

Mr Williams said more exhibitors had put a circle around the field days as their “must attend” event, and to make the most of it had committed marketing budgets and staff time.

He said they aimed to line up the right exhibitors with the right customers.

“A lot of these businesses spend a lot of money to come and we want to make sure the right people for them are coming through the gate too.’’

Farmers and growers would want to see technology, new and existing products and compare brands, he said.

The event’s focus on the latest and emerging technologies will continue with farm machinery displays another big attraction.

The event first started in 1951 when local businesses decided South Island farmers needed a trade event catering for farming operations.

Mr Williams said a function would be held before the event marking the anniversary and to thank previous volunteers for their hard work.

“Canterbury has always had a wide array of land uses, from dairying to arable, horticulture to dry stock, and back then they could see the value in having an event that catered across that spectrum. Over time it’s proven to work with the strong foundation built since inception providing opportunities for both exhibitors and the public.’’

Infrastructure upgrades include more all-weather road and tracks to make sites more accessible and making the site more user-friendly.

More mains power points have been installed to make it easier for exhibitors setting up sites without generators.