4 minute read
Central Districts Field Days
The mornings were crisp, the weather was ideal and attendance was strong across all 3 days of Central Districts Field Days 2021 (CDFD).
After the COVID-19 lockdown cancelled last year’s event at short notice, farmers and farm industry suppliers were eager to get out and support the event. Close to 3,000 Farmlands shareholders, as well as many non-members, came through the Farmlands site across the 3 days and all were warmly welcomed. Manawatū and Horowhenua Technical Field Officer and Sales Lead for the event Jason Payne remarked the first day was busier than anticipated, with the team seeing a lot of traffic through the tent from farming and lifestyle based shareholders, along with young families, which he says was great to see. “The verbal feedback we’ve had across the 3 days has been great. Shareholders thought we had a really interactive site filled with energy and thought-provoking conversations, plus the lunch offer was a nice little cherry on top,” Jason says. “Having the extended hospitality area was great, making it a space that people wanted to come to, giving them a chance to relax and rest their feet. It also gave the staff a chance to sit down and have a conversation with shareholders, to see if there was anything that we could do for them.” An interactive space was established where shareholders were asked to do a 2 minute survey about what their core business is, what their biggest challenges were through the autumn, what brought them to the tent and what their main concerns are on farm. Higher than usual levels of summer rain in the central district pre-Christmas was good for grass but not so good for some summer crops. There were a few washed out early maize crops and it delayed the sowing of others. Despite this, Jason says that most of the farmers in his area are feeling positive about the year ahead. “Our shareholders were generally coming to us for advice and a good deal heading into autumn (at the time of the event) with lots of activities on the farming agenda, including maize harvest and re-grassing — so it’s a busy time of year. “Thing are looking positive in the dairy space with pay-outs looking good and plenty of feed about, so the dairy guys are looking at some capital investments and infrastructure developments,” Jason adds. “We fielded quite a few questions around feed, seed and chemical applications which aligns strongly with our Autumn Campaign." Partners on site with the Farmlands team at CDFD in Feilding included Delfast, Meridian Energy, Agricom, Noel Leeming, Property Brokers, Donaghys, Summit and Zoetis. "All the customers were in such great spirits and happy to be out and about, we had some great deals on offer and it was fantastic to be able to interact with them after not being able to last year," Farmlands Retail Lead for the event Sally Gibson says. Zoetis Key Account Manager Tim Horsbrough says he and his team embraced the chance to chat to their customers face to face. "It went really well for us sales-wise and in every other way. Not being able to do this last year was a bummer, so those who came in were more engaged than ever before I feel."
| Shareholders took the opportunity to talk with Partners on-site at Central Districts Field Days.
WOOD BURNERS LOVE TO BURN
Every year around 150 FMG clients experience a damaging house fire. These fires are often traumatic events—a home is so much more than just walls and a roof.
The leading causes of house fires in rural areas differ from those in urban areas. For instance, households in rural areas are twice as likely to use wood fires for heating— and more likely to experience a fireplace or chimney fire.
We spoke with dairy farmers, Jocelyn and Chris Luxford about the good advice they received from FMG to double their house contents cover. Sadly in the near future a wood fire would cause their home to burn down. “When we saw Robyn for our annual review she said that she didn’t think our contents cover was enough and advised us to double it—gosh she was on the ball. We’re very grateful for what we’ve been covered for,” says Jocelyn.
The Luxfords’ advice to others is highly valuable. “Check your insurance policy and make sure you’ve got enough contents cover. Take videos of your contents and make sure to store these in the ‘cloud’—you’d be really surprised at what the value to replace your contents is. Lastly, I’d recommend to others to get a fireproof lockbox to keep things that matter to you safe,” says Jocelyn. If you’d like to talk through your home cover give us a call on 0800 366 466. You can also visit FMG Connect, our online service, to check and update your household contents cover and ensure you have enough in place. Head to fmg.co.nz/ connect to login or register.
If you’re after more advice on protecting your home head to fmg.co.nz/house-fires
