Positive vibes ahead of field days
Registrations are open for the 2026 Southern Field Days in Waimumu. Shawn McAvinue talks to Southern Field Days chairman Steve Henderson, of Awarua, about the event in February next year.
Q. How are you feeling about organising this event?
We're pretty excited about this one because the last one [2024] was the first one back after Covid and we didn't know how it was going to go. The rural sector is looking pretty positive and the feedback we've got from exhibitors is they are looking forward to the Southern Field Days. On the site department, we've done a bit of maintenance on the site and trimmed trees, which once segregated five paddocks, so that's pretty exciting.
Q. How many exhibitors did you have in 2024 and how many will you have next year?
We were maxed out with 800 exhibitors in 2024 and we are expecting the same number next year because we're running out of room.
Q. Have you outgrown Waimumu?
I don't think we have outgrown Waimumu because if you continue to get bigger and bigger, you probably lose the feel and the reason as to why you're doing the field days. If we went to 1200 exhibitors, it's going to create a whole different feel for the event. You want it compact. It's a great site. It's got the AgriCentre, which is a huge asset. Going forward, we're just trying to create a better feel for the public and exhibitors within our site.
Q. You said if you went bigger, you'd lose the reason as to why you're doing the Field Days. What is that reason?
The reason we do it is to put on an event that showcases technology and the agricultural suppliers and to bring the community together. We're a real people's field days. The feedback we get is how friendly it is and how everybody bumps into their neighbour and bumps into someone they haven't seen since last field day so there's a heck of a social aspect for the Otago and Southland region.
Q. And you think if you got too big, you'd lose that?
Yeah, I think we would and we'd have to expand into an area that we don't own and right now, it's all freehold land that Southern Field Days owns. If you expand a bit bigger, you run the risk of leasing land and it not being there the next field day so I think it's better to keep what you've got and enhance it.
Q. You haven't thought of holding the event over more than three days?
It has always been on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and we've ummed and ahhed if you do the Saturday and yes, the committee could probably do another day but the exhibitors don't feel they will get the same bang-for-buck if they were there on a Saturday and we are quite different to the national field days.
We're not driven to have a Saturday because a lot of the rural people come on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Q. What about the townies?
You call them townies but Southland and Otago, at heart they're rural and they can get away and come one of those three days. Whereas, at Mystery Creek they draw quite a few from Hamilton and Auckland.
Q. So there's no urban-rural divide in the South because everyone's rural?
I reckon they've all got one link to rural.
Q. Commodity prices have improved since the past field days. Do you think that'll translate to more sales?
I think so. It's going to translate to a lot more positivity. If farmers have a good year this year and get to Christmas and they know they're heading in the right direction, I think it'll be a pretty buoyant few days because there hasn't been a lot of capital purchases over the last three or four years. It's just been, hunker down and do minimal repairs and maintenance. So, I think this coming February will be the time that people will start to replace capital equipment.
Q. How are site bookings going?
About three-quarters has sold so far. So we're looking like a sellout already, which is really positive.
Q. Could some potential exhibitors miss out on a site?
We're really good at squeezing people in. So not necessarily miss out, but they might miss out on the site that they really wanted and we work on a first paid, first served, basis. It's looking pretty ... positive.
Q. Have you put up the site prices for exhibitors?
No, we've kept all our site prices the same, as recognition of the loyalty the site-holders have to us. We know it's been tough out there for the last two years.
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