Event showcase for rural power

By Sally Rae

As the crowd poured through the gates on the first day of the Southern Field Days at Waimumu yesterday, organising committee chairman Steve Henderson was unsure what the conversation starters would be.

Unlike the last event two years ago when red meat prices were languishing and spending was subdued, there was a much better mood among farmers and even the weather was not really up for debate.

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Jamie Jaeger, 9, and Lucie Jaeger, 10, of Crookston, had an udderly good time. PHOTOS: STEPHEN JAQUIERY

"They’ll have to think of other ways to start conversations," Mr Henderson quipped.

Last time, it was post-Covid and there was uncertainty as to how the event would go but, this year, with sites selling out in October, it was "pretty reassuring" for the organisers, he said.

Ardie Field, 2, from Hillend, near Balclutha, was keen to check out the mud at Southern Field Days.

In officially opening the event, Mr Henderson encouraged those attending to "spend heaps" and put cash into the exhibitors’ pockets so the Otago-Southland economy could keep going "around and around and around".

Gore District Mayor Ben Bell said anticipation had been building for the event, which started more than 40 years ago with 60 exhibitors and had grown into one of the biggest events on the rural calendar with more than 700 exhibitors.

Zed Wholesale operations manager Andrew Dunlop with a tiny Ferrari orchard tractor.

Accommodation in Gore was "bursting at the seams" and there was a waiting list for sites, which reflected the calibre of what was on offer: "a real showcase of what our agricultural sector does best."

From working demonstrations to the latest in rural technology and innovation, there was something for everybody, whether they were in the market for new machinery or a day with family.

A large crowd attended the first day of the three-day long Southern Field Days at Waimumu, which this year features more than 700 exhibitors.

With a plethora of politicians scheduled to attend the three-day event, Mr Bell joked it was "pretty incredible" that a small village in the middle of a small district in the heart of rural New Zealand could attract "more politicians than you can shake a beehive at".

But that signified that when rural New Zealand — "the backbone of this country" — stood up, the whole of New Zealand took notice and that power should never be underestimated.

sally.rae@odt.co.nz