Fieldays 2019 was officially opened today with the Rt. Hon. Jacinda Ardern cutting the ribbon alongside New Zealand National Fieldays Society President Peter Carr to mark the occasion.
A common theme from the opening ceremony was the importance of our primary industry and the role Fieldays strives to play within it.
Society CEO Peter Nation said, “We as an event take our role very seriously in staging a platform that educates and supports those within the industry while attracting opportunities for trade with international visitors.”
“It is always a proud moment for us when we open the gates on opening day and we stroll through the streets to see the various agribusinesses with their finest on display and the large numbers of punters getting some valuable time off farm to keep up with the industry’s latest,” says Nation.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke of the strength of New Zealand’s primary industry and its importance to the people of New Zealand. She spoke of Fieldays being about celebrating and appreciating our primary industry and wished visitors another successful, innovative and inspiring Fieldays.
The day started off with visitors piling through the gates as they opened at 8am with the weather holding off leading to a busy first day with over 26,360 visitors piling through the gates.
This year’s new Fieldays Explorer band also proved popular with over 10,710 unique visitors making the most of the new initiative.
Day two kicks off tomorrow nice and early for the Innovation Awards presentation followed by another action-packed day celebrating and supporting our primary industry.
ABOUT FIELDAYS
Fieldays is based on a 114-hectare site at Mystery Creek 10 minutes from Hamilton and is the largest agricultural event in the Southern Hemisphere.
Fieldays draws people from around the globe – both as exhibitors and visitors. In 2018 Fieldays celebrated its 50th event and saw 130,866 people visit the event, generating $492M in sales revenue for New Zealand businesses.
Fieldays is run by New Zealand National Fieldays Society, a charitable organisation founded in 1968 for the purpose of advancing primary industry.
For more information head to www.fieldays.co.nz
