Fieldays Exhibitor

Commemorative Edition

Fieldays Exhibitor Proudly supported by the New Zealand National Fieldays Society Inc.

Photo by: Stephen Barker

From the editor’s desk Welcome to our commemorative edition of Fieldays Exhibitor. We’re proud to be here as Fieldays notches its 50th, having ourselves clocked a much more modest 15 issues.

Our journalism and photography students have been out covering the news at Fieldays every year since 2004, whether that’s been the Rural Bachelors’ antics, new innovations, or stories about individual exhibitors – and everything in between. Back in 2004 we wrote about Ellen Millington’s extraordinary work finding accommodation for visitors; last year it was insect farming that caught our reporter’s eye.

The Exhibitor is the brainchild of journalism tutor Charles Riddle, and was originally published in hard copy only, a four-edition magazine pumped out every morning and distributed to exhibitors’ tents by a group of Fieldays’ wonderful volunteers.

The hard work is done by a team of Wintec Media Arts students, who not only collaborate to produce the stories

and photos, but also design the magazine, all under the eye of their tutors. Fieldays is a perfect real-world experience for our students, and we are grateful to the organisers for their ongoing support.

In this commemorative edition, you will find new stories profiling individuals with a proud Fieldays association, and also stories from our archives. You may even find yourself in one of them.

Plus, keep an eye out for our roving reporters and photographers with their Fieldays Exhibitor vests – they’re keen to tell your stories. Just like Fieldays, we keep moving with the times and these days that means a much greater emphasis on publishing online, and no longer a daily hard copy of the magazine. This year, you can keep up to date by reading our stories at: www.waikatoindependent.co.nz.

Happy Fieldays, and happy reading.

Richard Walker

Foreword During this 50th year of annual Fieldays agricultural events it is with a great degree of pride that I welcome all exhibitors to Mystery Creek. From a very humble beginning in 1969 at Te Rapa Racecourse - where 80 exhibitors drew the attention of 10,000 (mostly paying) visitors - we will enter the 50th event on 13 June with 1442 exhibitor sites and look forward eagerly to welcoming up to 135,000 people through our gates.

To be leading this historic link between town and country in its 50th derivation is a very humbling experience. In doing so I recognise the huge effort that has taken place over previous years by both volunteers and staff members. From the initial 1966 dream of farmer John Kneebone - whose letter to The Farming Editor of the Waikato Time sowed the seed - to what has emerged 49 years later speaks volumes to dedication, risk, foresight, bravery and, no doubt, many sleepless nights.

One of our great pleasures in this half centennial year was the event held in April when we brought together and saluted the exhibitors and supporters whose firms and brands have loyally been present every year from that fledgling start in 1969. To all of you – and those who have joined along the way - may I express the gratitude of the Fieldays Society Board, the Society members and staff for your loyalty, time, expense and continued service to the public in general and agriculture in particular. The variety and scale of the current event using every square metre of our dedicated display area is a wonder to behold. The largest agribusiness show in the Southern Hemisphere is no small feat to achieve. From the six weeks to build the site, the very early starts by volunteers each day, the crisp Waikato mid-winter air and the smiles on the faces of attendees. All of these meld together to produce hoped-for commercial success for the exhibitors and a socio-economic return to the nation well in excess of $500 million.

My deepest thanks to all of you for being a vibrant part of the 50th Fieldays family. I wish all exhibitors a successful return this year and welcome you on board for the next 50 years.

Peter Carr President New Zealand National Fieldays Society Inc.

The people behind Fieldays

Photo by: Marie Brunskill

Growing up with Fieldays “Here’s the Queen and Princess Anne and Prince Charles! Gosh he’s looking young,” reminisces Alex Quinn. The owner of Quinn Engineering is rummaging through a collection of Fieldays memorabilia

collected by his family over the years.

The Royal Family visited the second National Fieldays in 1970. That was the Quinn family’s first year of exhibiting at the event. Alex’s father captured photographs of the Royal Family, and

By Horiana Henderson

of his then 10-year-old son in his best outfit – his scout uniform.

“Rural people never had dress-up clothes so it was normally: wear your cubby or scout uniform. That way you were respectfully dressed.”

The people behind Fieldays

The Quinn family have been Fieldays regulars ever since, showcasing the agricultural machinery they design and manufacture at their Kerepehi base, 15 minutes out of Paeroa.

In the late 1960s, Alex’s father Eddie Quinn was dairy farming and had a problem. He wanted to cart conventional hay bales from the paddock to the barn.

He searched for a solution on the market and came up short so he applied some number 8 wire ingenuity and solved his own problem. Using a model he’d made from a meccano-set, his grandfather’s blacksmith’s drill and a small welder, Eddie engineered an Australian-award winning piece of machinery.

Alex remembers when a company name was being discussed at the kitchen table and “Baleboys” came up. He chimed in and said, “I like it because we’re big boys handling bales.”

The company became known as Quinn Baleboys, and their product was a tractor attachment called the Baleboy.

Purchasers of the Baleboy would come back to Eddie asking for adaptations like, “can you put a set of forks on that?” The response was always, “yeah, we can do that.” This philosophy has guided the business from then till now and it uses “the Can Do company” as its slogan and mantra.

Forty-nine years of attendance since the family’s debut display and Alex says he has “totally grown up with Fieldays”.

“When Baleboys went in we had the job, because we had a tractor and hay handling equipment, to carry the Fieldays hay down to the demonstration areas and then we donated them a hay clamp so they had it at their new premises, Mystery Creek.”

Alex remembers the Women’s Division providing all the food. “It was good homemade scones. I miss it.” He remembers staying on-site in

caravans and catching up with other exhibitors each night, attending Young Farmers Club dinners and spectacles that would unfold in the “Bull Ring” as competitors showcased their products in choreographed performances. He also remembers how occasionally these demonstrations went awry.

Leading up to the Fieldays’ 40th anniversary Alex joined the celebration’s organising committee. “The funniest thing at those meetings: I was the youngest by perhaps three decades.

You’d have these five guys sitting at the table going to each other, ‘oh, when were you born? 1938? I was 36. You were just a pup!’”

Growing up the Quinn children understood that the family business was everyone’s responsibility so daily chores often included tasks like drilling holes, cutting steel or using a paint brush.

“From a very young age it was always, get home from school and you were doing something to help.”

Later, Alex left home to attain his Diploma in Agriculture. He had borrowed money from his parents for his studies so once his course was finished he returned home from Christchurch to begin repaying the loan and to “help” again, in the workshop.

“I remember I’d actually driven through the night, got into the factory here to see mum and dad, said ‘hi, yeah I’m home safe’ and within half an hour I was on a lathe. I never had a sleep.”

He came back into the workshop, found he enjoyed the job and never left.

“So I’ve been in the business since I was a toddler and I’ve owned the business for 28 years.”

From the workshop on the outskirts of Kerepehi, Alex has steered his small family business through its share of rough patches since he took over

operations. “In the late ’80s life was pretty tough. Sales were down. It was hard, hard work.” But Alex determined a course for his company which meant their business employed one strategy: “I went out and made sure that we could meet the market.

“Effectively we are solution finders. I always inform my staff whenever anyone phones up, they’ve got a problem and it’s up to us to fix their problem.”

He acknowledges that his company was “really too small” to be making its vast range of bespoke designed products, but he recognised the tough odds facing his business and determined, “I’ve got to survive”.

The company now also designs and manufactures commercial and domestic passenger lifts in addition to its agricultural engineering core and supplies markets throughout Australasia and the South Pacific Basin.

Alex remembers apologising to his staff for several years following his ‘80s product expansions, saying, “I know guys, I’m sorry once it’s all settled down we’ll get rid of those and we’ll just get back to our core,” but the demand has only increased and now the 17 staff operation is in the process of moving from its site on the family farm to a new larger industrial site three kilometres down the road.

Despite the growth, Quinn has no plans to move the operation out of Kerepehi.

“The beauty of living in a rural area is that you don’t lose your identity.”

Photo by: Miriana Wetere-Ryder

Taking care of the future Fieldays has evolved from muddy streets to bigger and better marquees for an agricultural showcase of world-class calibre, yet the essence has stayed the same.

Chris Lewis, Federated Farmers Dairy Sector chair, puts it in a nutshell.

“It is where you can buy affordable deals, get to hear breaking news, see the latest innovations, talk with business contacts, and socialise to renew friendships,” Chris doesn’t only appreciate what Fieldays is doing for the future. He is also grateful for the past. He has

By Louela Pegarido

childhood memories of Fieldays as precious as any family traditions.

“I remember going as a kid and every tractor seemed the most awesome thing in the world, every food booth giving off a glorious delicious scent from hot dogs to burgers,” he says. “Now I’m

The people behind Fieldays

bringing my kids for the experience. It’s a generational activity and celebrating this year’s 50th is exciting.”

He gives credit to the organisers for drawing people back again and again.

Farming is in Chris’ background, and Fieldays helped show him that farming would also be his pathway.

So it is apt that Fed Farmers recruits bright and motivated New Zealanders into the dairy industry through its Apprenticeship Programme at Fieldays.

“It’s our first year to focus on education in the Fieldays, a long-term project of attracting young people into dairy farming,” Chris says.

Federated Farmers and Primary ITO, an organisation dedicated to training, have teamed up on the Federated Farmers Apprenticeship Dairy to rapidly grow capability in the industry.

Launched in October last year, it aims to coach, share knowledge, and build confidence, ambition and capability - “to grow smart people where farming offers more than just a job,” Chris says.

Apprentices will earn while they learn, develop skills and grow their careers. Employers will enjoy having motivated staff, and learn and grow throughout the apprenticeship too, he says.

Since farmers are stewards of the land and its resources, transfer of knowledge through mentoring is crucial, and Chris says simply satisfying a minimum requirement in regulation is not enough.

Fieldays is perfect for promoting the apprenticeship programme, he explains.

“I have been attending the Fieldays since I was knee-high and have been involved with it as an adult for over 19 years.

Fieldays not only embraces innovation, it also brings to the fore issues on environment and climate change and farming as a career.”

Before becoming chair of the dairy sector, Chris was Federated Farmers Waikato president for six years. He brings to his current position almost 20 years of farm management, a passion for sustainable farming for the future and public policy experience.

He is also enthusiastic about promoting dairy farming to the young.

Born and bred on a farm, Chris has been farming for 24 years, the last 10 in Pukeatua with his wife with over 1,500 cows on an almost 500 hectare farm.

This, as the average age of dairy farmers steadily rises - to 41.7 years, according to the 2013 census.

Chris confirms an F&MM research report, that there are fewer younger entrants into agriculture as farmers’ children are taking on different careers; there is a prevalent perception that farming no longer has the status it once had; and male farmers have difficulty meeting women willing to take on the farming life.

The lack of interest in farming among the young becomes more concerning as issues get more challenging: soil and nutrients management to reduce environmental degradation, increasing infrastructure

investments, disease outbreaks, tighter restrictions on water use for irrigation to name a few.

Chris is positive that the industry has the resilience to meet the challenges.

In fact, dairy export revenue is forecast to reach $16.7 billion for the year ending June 2018, he says.

Dairying remains the largest goods export sector and provides incomes for more than 45,000 farm workers, including 10,000 who are self-employed.

When I meet Chris on his farm, he has just come from a Fed Farmers meeting in town, which included discussion of Fieldays. Pockets of native bush can be seen dotting nearby hills.

Somewhere in the vast farm, are farm workers, cows and – today – carpenters all waiting for his attention.

With an infectious laugh, he sends a message to youth and young adults.

“Go visit a farm, talk to local farmers.

Find your interests around farming and see if you can find yourself a mentor.

If you are interested in cows, and can stand working outside, in the wet, in the heat, in the cold, this is for you,” he says, extending his arms to encompass the open spaces all around us.

Photo by: Marie Brunskill

The people behind Fieldays

Parking cars today, ruling the world tomorrow Courtney Goodare’s first ever job at Fieldays was to hop on a quad bike and give people a quick tow out of the mud.

He hopes his last job at the Fieldays will be to sit on the board one day.

Aside from being a very active Fieldays volunteer and car parker, Courtney is also a contract farmer based in Morrinsville. Fresh out of high school he didn’t know what he wanted to do and ended up giving farming a go.

He worked hard for the career and lifestyle he has today. He has gone from farm to farm around the Waikato and now has managed to become his own boss, allowing him more time to get involved in the social side of the farming industry or to even take his girlfriend out for lunch on a quiet day.

“Being my own boss as a contract farmer means I have that money and time freedom that most of us want and I worked really hard for that sort of lifestyle,” says Courtney.

Courtney first became involved in Fieldays in 2008, the same year he joined the New Zealand Young Farmers organisation. Back then he says he was very shy and gives credit to Young Farmers for helping him break out of his shell.

Ten years later, he is more ambitious and outgoing than he would have ever imagined. He says he may be doing the same job at Fieldays as he was when he

first started out, but it’s all part of his long-term plan to make it to the top – a seat on the board.

“This year’s goal is to find a path through where I can help out the most.

It may be car parking for the next 10 years, that’s fine by me, but next year there might be a role opening up as someone moves on, so I want to do everything I can this year to convince them that I’m the best for that job,” says Courtney.

“It’s good fun but I really want to take it seriously this year and figure out what’s the path I want to take up through Fieldays, how can I help them best.”

One of Courtney’s longest standing struggles with his job is convincing people that they simply cannot park in the spot they want to.

He says there was one time when a lady in a small two-wheel drive car insisted she had to park close to the front gate, a spot so soft that only the 4wd utes could park.

She didn’t want to listen to Courtney at all, he says, and sure enough at the end of the day he got the call about a lady who got her little car stuck up the front and needed a tow out.

“There’s situational comedy when

By Caitlan Johnston

doing the car parking, someone always gets stuck and it’s entertaining to have to pull them out,” says Courtney.

To him the whole week is a lot of fun. Behind the scenes when everyone has gone home and they’ve locked all the gates, Courtney and his mates often get up to a little bit of mischief, he says.

“Our head of team normally rides around on his quad the whole week and at the end we normally play a prank.

Last year he got smart and brought two. So we thought, right, we’ll take them both, and we Gladwrapped them together. He had to sit there all night unwrapping it.”

Fun and entertainment aside, what’s most important for Courtney is that from his job he is able to find a sense of accomplishment.

Simple things like a lady telling him she only had to wait 20 minutes this year for a car park compared to waiting 40 minutes in previous years felt awesome to him - he had kept the traffic flowing.

“It sounds like a lame job, and can be a dick of a one at times, but the sense of accomplishment you get out of it is so rewarding for me,” says Courtney.

Photo by: Miriana Wetere-Ryder

Helping hand for rural women At the very first Fieldays in 1969 the Women’s Division of Federated Farmers was making sandwiches and cakes to sell to punters. When asked if WDFF would like to do the catering for Fieldays, Lulu Peacocke, head of the organisation, responded with “of course we can”, a mantra that has stuck with the organisation to this day.

“The food was made in team members’ kitchens before being sold

at Fieldays … This was all before health and safety came into the mix,” laughs Janet Williams, a Hamilton board member for Rural Women New Zealand, previously known as WDFF. Janet wasn’t there during the days of making sandwiches in whoever had a free kitchen. Her first experience with Fieldays and Rural Women came 30 years ago when she was starting out as a dairy farmer herself.

By Aasha Parle

“I was having a nosey at the new technology in farming when I came across the Rural Women stall in the Bledisloe Hall. I was asked if I would like to become a member, and I have been ever since.”

The decision wasn’t difficult: Janet already knew something about the organisation from her hairdressing days in a rural salon near Pukekohe, when she would cut members’ hair.

The people behind Fieldays

She was drawn to Rural Women by their community involvement. From being recruited into the organisation at a Fieldays event to her own extensive involvement with local communities, she embodies Lulu Peacocke’s “of course we can” mantra.

Rural Women began in 1925 as the Women’s Division of the Farmers Union with the purpose of supporting the supporting women living and working in rural communities. Rural Women’s community involvement now extends to rural environmental and social issues, as well as aiding rural students through scholarships.

At her second Waikato/Taranaki Rural Women meeting, Janet was awarded the position of treasurer. No one else put their hand up for the role, so Janet decided to give it a crack and, as a result, later went on to hold the position of president before becoming a national board member.

In 2015 Janet had the honour of raising the flag at the Fieldays opening ceremony.

“What I didn’t realise was how tall the pole is and how heavy the flag is,” laughs Janet. “My biceps were bulging after that one.”

Nowadays Rural Women New Zealand uses Fieldays to network with other organisations and raise money for charity. At a typical Fieldays there will be two to four Rural Women members running the stall and answering questions and are part of the Health Hub this year. When the Christchurch earthquake struck in 2011, Rural Women used their Fieldays stall to sell NZ-made merino “after-shock

socks”. The $140,000 profit from these socks was then sent to Christchurch as a donation for earthquake relief.

Following the devastating 7.8 magnitude Kaikoura earthquake, Rural Women went to work again and raised $52,000 through selling their “after-shock socks” and donations for their Adverse Events Fund to help Kiwis in need. The fund was started by Rural Women to give grants of $1000 to Kiwis affected by natural disaster.

“If you know of anyone who was affected by the Kaikoura earthquake, let them know we still have some money to donate.”

Janet still has a passion for farming and has proudly reared award-winning Jersey cows on her lifestyle block just out of Hamilton. She sold her Jersey calves to companies like LIC and dabbled in dairy-farming. Nowadays she farms beef and sheep on her lifestyle block.

It’s a surprise Janet has any free time at all – her list of community work is as long as your arm. She is a Justice of the Peace, a member of Dinsdale Lions, a member of the Waikato District Licensing Committee and is also involved in the Hamilton Life Education Trust.

She also has an array of hobbies to keep herself even busier. She loves trekking, and completed the Annapurna trail in Nepal. Janet did the Milford track and Tongariro Crossing as preparation to conquering the 8000-metre peak in the Himalayas. That came with it a surprise moment that drew on her farming background.

“Completing the walk was a huge challenge, but I expected that. What

I didn’t expect was having to mime corralling alpacas to the Sherpas at the top of the mountain.”

From her experience in farming, Janet knew herding alpacas was like herding calves - they need to be picked up and carried. The Sherpas didn’t have this knowledge, so Janet had to act it out.

Meanwhile, back on home soil at Mystery Creek, Janet says if she were to sum up Fieldays in one word, it would be “opportunities”.

“Fieldays is an opportunity for urban people to meet their rural counterparts, a place to network, and an opportunity to expose yourself to the agriculture business in New Zealand.”

RWNZ encourages social connections and supports growing dynamic communities.

“We actually provide a lot of information on compliance to farmers,” says Janet. “We are often a lot less intimidating to people than a council flyer, and we’ve found that having someone to talk to about new farming regulations is more productive.”

Photo by: Denise Van Dam

The people behind Fieldays

Tag team draws the crowds Soft Friesan and jersey ears and a personalised tagging machine creating keepsakes, one vibrant sunshine yellow tag at a time, created a stir that drew the crowds to the LIC site in 2015.

One of those at the site was LIC marketing manager Jason Szabo, who was a self-proclaimed townie before fulfilling his dream by joining the team at LIC. Despite being a rookie, he dived head first into planning the Fieldays site. In his first year of exhibiting, the LIC marketing team produced personalised tags for visitors, and success was measured by the fact those who came also asked questions and showed interest in the company.

“We had the best giveaway,” laughs Jason. “It was a really cool experience.”

The following year, the team were still using the tagging machine, but for a gold coin donation as the organisation raised money for Rural Support Trust for Suicide Prevention.

Rural Support Trust was formed during tough financial times for farmers in the 1980s and aims to support rural people when times are challenging. The groups let struggling farmers engage with others who may have been in the same boat.

There was a milk price slump, harsh weather and life was hitting farmers where it hurt. Many farmers felt trapped as they grappled with debt.

“The [farmer suicide] stats are shocking,” Jason said.

LIC, a herd improvement and agri-technology co-operative, launched

a webpage to help promote the Rural Support Trust and other support organisations.

“We were doing everything possible to help support our farmers,” Jason said.

LIC aims to improve the prosperity and productivity of its farmer members, through the delivery of superior genetics and technology.

The organisation wants to be able to engage with its customers face-to-face and make it easier for them to approach it with any questions or concerns. It usually has some sweet treats and a hot cuppa at its site near the Pavilion.

The staff love opening the line of communication and having their clients come in for a chat.

“We do enjoy being there,” Jason says. “Many people from the company, including the CEO and directors, make an appearance.”

LIC also encourages its staff at Fieldays to get out and about to check out other sites.

Jason’s personal favourite display is the Karaka Whips.

“It’s so interesting watching them try and crack them,” Jason said. “I wish I could do it.”

Once Jason accidentally crashed the show that Dairy NZ puts on. He was sitting at a table by the stage and he was so engrossed with what he was doing, he suddenly found himself surrounded by children. He was going to stand

By Candice Gollan

up and leave when Rosie the Cow appeared, but it would have been rude to walk out, so he stayed for the show and thoroughly enjoyed it.

It was all part of a greenhorn’s education. “It was really interesting learning about a cow’s anatomy from a kid’s point of view,” Jason says. “I learnt a lot.”

Getting ready for the Fieldays takes months of preparation and working with many people to make sure that their clients have the best possible experience at their site. LIC offers farm equipment and technology through LIC Automation. It also offers an ear to listen to any questions a client might have about technology or its genetics programme – and there are those giveaways.

It takes two days to set up the site and then it is four full-on days of seeing their clients and talking to new people.

They often do not leave until 6.30pm.

“We have a team debrief at the end of each day. It also helps lessen the traffic congestion,” Jason says.

Three out of four cows in New Zealand have come from LIC’s genetic programme.

“There are about five million dairy cows in New Zealand. The more cows the greater the stress on the land,” Jason said. “We are trying to breed a more efficient cow. There’s always room for improvement.”

Photo by: Terry Su

Charity keeps everyone safe and sound

By Blair Voorend

The people behind Fieldays

Trying to find more than 60 missing people and then dealing with a parent ranting at you while you scurry around urgently looking for a signal on your phone is hardly a routine experience for most people at Fieldays.

For Kay Worth, it was a day she will never forget.

This day in particular was one of her most “challenging” in her eight years at The Salvation Army staff at Fieldays.

“That was the days before they had the big cellphone tower and being a Friday with a lot of school kids using Facebook and whatever, there was no cyber space left and we couldn’t get a line out,” she says.

“We had people backing up and then had some father nutting off wanting to know where his daughter was, it was just manic.” Fortunately, everyone made it home safe”.

Having a day like this doesn’t come as a complete surprise when you look at the services The Salvation Army provides for Fieldays every year. With such things as their missing persons site, a parent rest area and the selling of many donated and hand-made hot water bottles, the role takes a certain person. Someone who is compassionate but also has that determination and attitude to get the job done, which makes Kay the perfect fit.

Working for charities has always been important to her. Before joining as a staff member at The Salvation Army she worked for both St John and the Red Cross. “It’s important to me. The harder I work and the more I achieve the more people benefit.”

Kay grew up in “the Tron” spending her earlier days living on a game bird farm, seven acres in Ruakura with

nearly every bird imaginable. “It was our playground of sorts,” she says. Adult life saw her living overseas and working on prawn trawlers in Australia and oil rigs in Scotland for nearly 14 years, giving her a different perspective on people.

“A requirement for living in Sweden is that you have to be able to speak Swedish, so I spent four years learning the language. But working on the rigs there’re so many different people you work with and different cultures.”

The Salvation Army has been at Fieldays for over 20 years, and in her eight years there Kay has spent her time between the parents rest area and missing persons.

“I arrive just after 6am and leave at 5pm provided there are no longer any missing people on the books. I stay until all are found. A couple of times I stayed quite late, but it’s always a great feeling to know that everyone is heading home safe and sound.”

Coping with 61 missing people in a day was one out of the box; normally they deal with between 30 and 40 throughout the event, mostly the young and the elderly.

Although it can be quite a demanding role having to deal with upset parents and distraught children, there are favourite moments that Kay never forgets. One year there was a young lad who kept wandering in to play with the kids’ toys at the missing persons tent.

“He was so cute. What actually happened was he was with us for a little bit, but then once he got picked up he

kept on coming back again and again, until we realised his mum was working at a site around the corner and he kept on coming back and forth wanting to play with the toys.

“So we would send him back with a toy and by the end of the four days his mum came back with an armful of toys that he had collected over the week.”

Being involved for many years she has learnt many tricks of the trade when it comes to surviving Fieldays. It is important to always know where the toilet is because someone will always ask. Another is to surround yourself with a great team to help you get through the day, and to always “keep your radio and smile on”.

With it being the 50th Fieldays the organisers gave out special awards to long-standing contributors. Kay was chosen to receive the award on behalf of The Salvation Army, but for her it is never about recognition but action instead. The chief pleasure is being able to help others as she has been doing for so many years, and she is very proud to work for The Salvation Army.

Photo by: Denise Van Dam

The people behind Fieldays

Man in the middle One thousand exhibitors, 1500 sites. Almost 20 hectares out of 115 used for exhibitor sites and most of the rest used for parking. Overseeing Fieldays at Mystery Creek is a big job for president Peter Carr.

His background in international trade, export and logistics helps. He started out as a master mariner before moving on to become the logistics manager at Affco New Zealand, and then coming to Fieldays as an international business centre volunteer in 2009. When he was elected onto the Fieldays board in 2013 he was also made chairperson of the structure committee.

In 2016, he became president, and stood again unopposed in the last annual election, voted in by Fieldays Society members all of whom have backgrounds as volunteers at Mystery Creek events.

One of his main roles is dealing with the media, as well as helping build relationships with other companies.

“Whilst a business, we’re very much about relationships,” he says.

He had been attending Fieldays a long time before he got into the agriculture business. He says the event has changed enormously over the years.

At the first Fieldays, held at Te Rapa in 1969, there were only 80 exhibitors and about 10,000 visitors. Now there are about 133,000 visitors over the four days.

For him, the most memorable thing is watching the faces of the volunteers at 6.30 every morning when they come into the Fieldays kitchen.

“If they wear glasses they’re all steamed up. [They] look like stunned mullets or a possum in the headlights”.

He loves seeing them chat and talk about what they’re going to do for the day.

And then, for Peter, it’s on to the varied tasks of four busy days. Last year, then Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett attended Fieldays. Peter was showing her around and when they reached the muddy Isuzu four-wheel drive site, Bennett wanted to go for a ride. She asked the guy in charge of the track if she could have a go. She was offered the passenger’s seat but said she wanted to drive. As she drove around one of the muddy corners she got lodged in the mud. She then decided to rev the engine. One wheel was spinning in the air and the other was “digging a hole through to Spain or somewhere”, Peter says. It took six guys to push the vehicle out of the mud.

The Fieldays Society tries to be as environmentally friendly as possible, a move which Peter backs 100 percent.

That ranges from using electric cars, to compressing rubbish to stop it going to landfills, to having a partnership with the bus companies to reduce vehicle numbers on the roads and cut carbon emissions. Last year they ran free buses from the Hamilton bus depot and the Base. This year buses are also coming from Cambridge.

By Jesse Wood

Nevertheless, the number of visitors requires a huge number of carparks, with drivers often struggling to find their car on their way out. The Fieldays smartphone app, updated this year, allows visitors to pin-point exactly where they parked, helping relieve stress at the end of the day.

Even the experienced can struggle.

Peter recalls going to a meeting and finishing late one night. When he got back to the carpark he couldn’t find his car. Luckily, he had a modern key with the remote to find his car as the lights flashed. Otherwise “I’d still be there looking for the bloody thing”.

As for his Fieldays recommendation, he doesn’t hesitate. “Without doubt the Innovation Centre.” That’s where inventors and innovators submit their creations, not only for awards but also for the curious and the business-minded. It’s the cutting edge of farming. They aren’t allowed to sell their inventions there, but many companies approach them about helping produce their ideas commercially.

Every year Peter lives at the Fieldays for six days in his campervan.

He’s always running around helping someone or asking someone how they’re doing. He says his favourite part is the end of the Fieldays. “I get my feet back.”

Photo by: Souem By

Photographer sees the big picture As Fieldays approaches, it is with “a healthy sense of fear and dread” that Stephen Barker, official Fieldays photographer of 12 years, anticipates the coming event.

Planning is rigorous. “It’s lists and schedules, and trying to solve dilemmas of time and place,” Stephen says, “prioritising events for each day, and comparing wish-lists with event timetables.”

The line-up looks exhausting. He covers as much as he can, from the tractor pull and Rural Catch of the Year to awards and innovations, not to mention the wide range of exhibitors on site. Typically, he rushes from one thing to another, grabbing a sandwich or pie on the way.

Fieldays begins around 6am on the first day for Stephen. He likes to get there for sunrise, and photograph the

By Marie Brunskill

crowd before the gates open at 8am.

He enjoys this time, often a bright and frosty morning, with the buzz of excitement in the crowd. It is a good time to find images that “encapsulate Fieldays”, he says.

Stephen recalls heading out to his very first Fieldays in 1994 while working for the Waikato Times as Deputy Chief Photographer: “I had never heard of Fieldays before coming

The people behind Fieldays

to Hamilton, but the impact, the size, the whole big deal of it soon became pretty apparent.”

After working for many years at the Waikato Times, Stephen set up his own freelance business in 2006, and began working for Fieldays as the main photographer. He has documented the event for 12 years, shooting on average 800-900 images a day, building up quite an archive. For a Fieldays publication, out later this year, Stephen has recently uploaded around 17,000 images, compiled by himself and a couple of other photographers over the 12-year period. The book, by Geoff Taylor and commissioned by the Fieldays Society, celebrates the 50-year anniversary of Fieldays.

With more photographers now on site than ever, and video coverage of the event taking a more dominant role, Stephen has relished the increased freedom he has had in the past couple of years, with more time to look and breathe, and see stuff that is not agenda focused.

He recommends heading to the Pavilion, which hosts major clients, as well as the Innovations Centre where inventors showcase interesting new ideas.

“Every year it has become bigger and better,” he says.

The animals, whether alpacas or bulls, are always a draw for Stephen.

The live horse cutting, a demonstration where horses are used to separate cattle, is an exciting event to get pictures at. He also recommends not missing the fencing competition. “It is something to behold because they are immense athletes, constructing fences which are top quality under time pressure.”

“The Rural Bachelor of the Year award, (now the Rural Catch of the Year award), really demonstrates what Fieldays is all about. Rural personalities, competing it out for the Golden Gumboot, these events are the heart of Fieldays,” he says.

It is the aerial photos that are the highlight for Stephen: “We usually head down to the Helipad by the river on a Thursday or Friday lunchtime when it is at its busiest, and do two or three loop-arounds. We go as high as we can over Fieldays without needing aerial clearance. It’s a real buzz, strapped in with the doors open.”

Stephen carries all his equipment on him for the day: a camera, three lenses and a flash, as well as a raincoat, belt bag and golf umbrella, which he can tuck down the front of his coat if needed.

People comment to him, “Have you got enough gear?”, he chuckles.

Laptop glitches are the main problem, and some days he still up at

3am editing images. The lack of sleep builds up, as well as the pressure he has had for coordinating the photographers.

“It’s not much use complaining how tired you are because all of the event staff, the clients and exhibitors are all in it, and there is a camaraderie that you get in knowing you are there for the whole thing together. This gives everyone the energy to keep buoyant, and do it well with a good attitude.”

His wife Cathy is “good for a hot meal” when he eventually gets home from Fieldays before he starts his night of editing. His family support is “immense”, and has got him through.

And after it is all over Stephen says he usually has a hot bath to recover.

Despite the hard work Fieldays requires each year, it is the people he works with which make the event fun, and draw him to return year after year.

“It’s bigger than big. It’s a city that arrives for four days a year. It’s epic, but also daunting. Gumboots aren’t necessary, but good shoes are.”

Photo by: Terry Su

Police set for smooth Fieldays

By Eeshani Dinesh

Some look forward to an eventful Fieldays; Senior Sergeant David Hall hopes otherwise.

“If an event goes by without anything spectacular happening, that means everything has worked really well. So the less spectacular, the better,” he says, chuckling.

Security at events is an important responsibility that come with the job, and for Snr Sergeant Hall, Area Prevention Manager, Waikato West Area, one of the most significant is Fieldays, with an enormous number of people pouring in and out every day.

“My job is to make sure that everybody who gets there has a safe and enjoyable time.”

A team of more than 40 officers work during the event to ensure its smooth running and support the public.

Preparations start well ahead of time. Briefings and protocols like desktop exercises which involve hypothetical problems are often set up, and the police along with Fieldays staff work in teams and come up with solutions.

All the contingencies are thoroughly planned and the needs of dignitaries

Their busiest time is when the gates open at 8am and when people start leaving around 4pm, with more than 20 police officers involved in traffic management.

The police force is all set for the 50thevent, and looking forward to it.

“We will be keen to do our bit and make sure everything runs smoothly.”

Snr Sgt Hall, 53, joined the police force 25 years ago. “My father was a police officer, and I got an insight into the job through him,” he says. “I was interacting with the people my father was working with and they seemed like a good bunch, and so have they been. The best part of the job is the camaraderie.”

He is more than excited to be participating in his fourth Fieldays.

“If you happen to go out there now, it’s just a bare ground, but then when you go to see the event, it’s like a mini town.

“It is a very well thought-out exhibition out there, so many companies and so much innovation, it is an inspiring and an enjoyable place to work in.”

such as Members of Parliament are met.

During the event, rural crime prevention pamphlets are handed out. “We are always available to everyone who needs us in the site,”Snr Sgt Hall says.

He even gave a talk about Rural Crime Prevention in one of the stands during last year’s event.

Most officers involved have previous Fieldays experience. Those new to the event are encouraged to interact with as many people as they can, to spread the crime prevention and safety word and to be as visible as possible at the site.

“The flipside of Fieldays is that we get to interact with people from a lot of different backgrounds. There are exhibitors, there are organisers, volunteers, the rural community and the public.”

During his time, policehave not faced any emergencies. “Crime has been minimal and that is how we want to keep it.”

The people behind Fieldays

Photo by: Souem By

Neighbours lend a helping hand Kaipaki School is used to offering a bus service to its rural pupils. Come mid-June, it also offers a service to Fieldays visitors.

The school runs a service ferrying people up the hill to Gate 2 each day, starting at 1pm, as a fundraiser.

Kaipaki School has a long history with its near neighbor Fieldays, says principal Kim Budd.

“We have a reciprocal relationship with Fieldays,” says Kim, who is a relative newcomer herself, having started as principal at the school last year. She is delighted at the connection, which was recognised this year when the Fieldays Society awarded the school a commemorative medal for its long-term contribution.

She says the award represents work by all the people and families involved with Kaipaki.

“It’s been long history, more than 20 years. The connection of our school with the community is really, really important.”

For everybody who attends the school Fieldays is part of their life, Kim says, a connection made all the stronger by the school’s rural base.

Kaipaki School not only offers the bus service, it also provides a courier hut service for Fieldays visitors. The hut acts as an assembly point for packages.

It is also a convenient place for visitors who have bought a large or heavy item the couriers will pick it up and take it to the hut where it is looked after it until the buyers can get it on their way home.

That also helps the exhibitors. They can make a sale without any problems around how to get it out of the site, and are also given a way of getting items on site during the day.

By Shisir Parajuli

“We have four or five vans and the courier hut with eight volunteers along with Fieldays personnel,” Kim says.

The hut volunteers operate in two shifts: in the morning from 8am till 12.30pm, and in the afternoon from 12.30pm till 5pm.

Kaipaki School parents are among those volunteering in the courier hut as well as driving the vans. Some of the parents are also involved in Fieldays through their own businesses, while some are involved through other organisations as well, for instance as parking volunteers.

Meanwhile, the school’s own bus service for its pupils minimises the disruption caused by the onslaught of Fieldays traffic.

And what would Kim like to see at Fieldays this year? “I want sunshine,” she says with a big smile.

Fieldays through the years 2004 - 2017

| 2004

Ellen tucks them in

By Ann Huston

Photo by: Stephen Barker

From Huntly down to Otorohanga and from Raglan across to te Aroha, Ellen Millington from Ohaupo has them booked – hotels, motels, homestays, B&Bs, caravans, even tent sites.

Every year since 1979 Ellen has been finding places to stay for up to 20,000 farmers, exhibitors, and visitors heading for the Fieldays.

To Ellen, the numbers are no big deal.

“I’m capable and I do my job, that’s all that matters,” she says.

In their search for Fieldays accommodation, people contact Ellen throughout the year, at all times of the day and night.

“I had one call at 2am from Northern Ireland for a booking and another night a call came in from Argentina at 3am.”

Ellen first worked as a volunteer when her daughter Valerie was promotions

manager for Fieldays in 1979. It was Valerie who volunteered Ellen for the job.

In the early days, the Hamilton City Council public relations office handled accommodation bookings and it was a job they did not like. Accommodation then fell back to the Fieldays organisers. Valerie volunteered her mother for the position and Ellen, now in her 70s, has been handling it at home with her phone and her computer ever since.

“I said I’d look after the bookings for a year and 25 years later I’m still doing it.”

By anyone’s standards, Ellen Millington’s contribution to the Fieldays is huge but she’s not one tomake a song and dance about what she does, or the fact she does it all without the luxury of sight. Ellen Millington is blind.

Fieldays through the years

| 2008

Al Brown heats up the kitchen

By Aden Morunga

Top: Al Brown entertains in the first year of Kiwi’s Best Kitchen.

It isn’t often Fieldays has a celebrity chef demonstrating his culinary skills in front of enthusiastic crowds.

However, this year there is.

Celebrity chef Al Brown is heating up the kitchens at Kiwi’s Best.

Al said he loves working in front of a packed audience. “I love cooking, it’s all about sharing with people.”

He added that he doesn’t have any secret recipes, he just enjoys what food is and it is about sharing and giving to people.

Of all the products, he is demonstrating he prefers a simple clam dish with white wine.

“I love this dish because it is kai moana.

Fresh seafood is what I really, really love.

“I do a lot with the other products, but I can’t beat seafood.”

Kiwi’s Best will offer a range of products, including a clam dish and barbecued wild hare from down south.

After he visited Fieldays last year for the first time, he said he had to come back because it is a celebration of New Zealand.

“I think Fieldays in itself is just so colourful and is a snapshot of New Zealand.

It is a celebration of all the great people and ingenuity in this country.

“It is really awesome to show what is happening out there with the primary product and what happens when it is taken to the next level.”

All ingredients used in every demonstration are delivered every morning and New World has donated the food that he is using.

The response has also been a highlight of his visit with visitors loving the experience. “The response has been fantastic. We’ve had lots of people through and they love the experience.”

| 2010

Gallaghers launch world first at Fieldays

By Iris Riddell

Top: Matt Mcfie says the SmartFence streamlines the process of installing a temporary fence. Photo by: Claudia Aalderink

Gallagher is getting into the spirit of innovation with their new invention, the SmartFence.

The fence, designed and created entirely in Hamilton, consists of four 100m long wires, nine standards and a main end post.

Gallagher Animal Management Systems regional sales manager Matt Macfie says they are extremely proud of the SmartFence and totally streamlines the process of installing a temporary fence.

“The old way, you used to have four separate reels and ten posts. What we’ve done is we’ve put all of that into one unit.

So it is a world first: it’s the first four-wire, ready-to-go temporary fence.”

The SmartFence hit the New Zealand market for the first time this morning at the New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays and sales are already underway.

“The idea of it is to totally change the way that people do something that they’re doing every day anyway. [With the old system] you have to walk out, you’ve got four individual reels to roll in, and it can

be pretty messy. This system makes it much easier.”

The SmartFence can be hooked up to an energizer to electrify the system and works equally well on hilly terrain.

It is highly portable, weighing less than six kilograms, and has a number of features to make the whole process easier, such as the reel drive system.

“When you get to the end, if some wires are pulled out more than others, there’s a clever little mechanism that winds the wires individually.”

Mr Macfie says the SmartFence’s versatile nature means it has received a lot of interest from lifestyle block owners and traditional sheep farmers, and can be used in a variety of ways including tree protection and creating a breakfeed fence.

“You can make temporary arrangements with it, you can make a corral, there are endless uses for it; limited only by your imagination.”

The unit is priced at $296.00 and is available for purchase from the Gallagher site.

Fieldays through the years

| 2010

School gets with the programme

By Marika Fricker

Top: Jeanette Neale enjoys meeting lots of different people. Photo by: Kirsty Norton

For the past four years parents and staff members from Hamilton North School have been participating at the New Zealand National Agriculture Fieldays.

Hamilton North, a school for children from 5-21 years of age with a disability, has the contract for selling and bagging programmes.

“The students actually put the programmes in the free bags, then we box them up and take them down to Fieldays where we have the contract to sell them on site here,” said principal Tony Kane.

“The fundraised money will go towards resources for the school. The last couple of years we have spent that money on wheelchair vans, this time we are going to spend the funds on resources, which includes computers and other equipment

which helps their learning.”

Support staff member Jeanette Neale says she sells the programmes to help support the children.

“I enjoy talking to and meeting lots of different people, some from so far away, lots of lovely different people. We choose our days but I normally do it about three or four days each year,” she said.

Teacher Puanani Strother says this is the biggest fundraiser for the school.

“Sometime it is difficult for us, because we are a small school, to find a fundraising project. We meet a lot of people, and have more of a chance of making money for our school and everyone takes a turn, whether we are at school or selling programmes we are all doing our part.”

| 2011

Volunteer with a lifetime’s experience

By Nicola Stewart

A 16-year-old schoolboy steps off a bus outside Hamilton’s St John’s College, turns, and heads off in the opposite direction. He has no money in his pockets and no way of getting home – a thought that doesn’t occur to him until he’s walked for more than an hour.

Thinking of his classmates stuck at school studying for School C exams, he looks both ways, jumps a fence and smirks.

He’s made it. Following a crowd of gumboot-clad people, he gets 10 yards into Te Rapa Racecourse and bumps into someone familiar – his parents.

Kerry Clarkin’s experience of the first ever Fieldays didn’t go exactly to plan, but at least he found a ride home.

The National Agricultural Fieldays moved out to Mystery Creek two years later in 1971 and Clarkin was there, legitimately this time, parking cars for the Young Farmers.

Today, the 58-year-old former skiving schoolboy is about to be involved in his 40th Fieldays.

As member and volunteer coordinator, Clarkin’s role is to make sure the 250-plus volunteers and members of the New Zealand Fieldays Society are well looked after during the event. It’s not a straightforward venture, and Clarkin is kept busy organising everything from tickets and goodie bags to “sausage rolls and a few beers” at the end of the day. Over the

four days a base is set up for volunteers to take time out, have something to eat and socialise.

Clarkin says the volunteers are a “tremendous part” of running the Fieldays. “We try and make sure they feel as though they’re wanted and they get something in return.”

Volunteers come from as close as Hamilton and as far as Whangarei, Auckland and Taranaki.

Clarkin says many are farmers and are up at 4am milking before they head to Mystery Creek to help out for the day.

“Most still have their own responsibilities, so they’re up for an hour, an hour and a half, working on the farm, coming out to the Fieldays for over 12 hours, then heading home and sometimes spending another hour or so working,” he says.

And they are involved in all sorts – car parking, standing at the gates, running competitions, handing out Fieldays Exhibitors, organising exhibits, to name a few.

In fact Clarkin, a dairy farmer, is himself a volunteer. Thousands of hours, countless 5am starts and four decades later, Clarkin is still just a schoolboy jumping a fence. “It’s the buzz of the whole thing, it’s meeting people, from governor generals

Fieldays through the years

Volunteer coordinator Kerry Clarkin will be involved in his 40th Fieldays this year. Photo by: Geoff Ridder.

and prime ministers to some poor bloke who’s stuck in the mud on the side of the road.”

He has two assistants, Roberts and Andrew Taylor, and Clarkin acknowledges that it’s a huge commitment, with planning of the next one starting as soon as the event is over, but says it’s well worth their while. “Brian and I would spend one or two days a week out here [Mystery Creek] year round, plus spend at least an hour on the phone every second day.”

He says it isn’t uncommon to get phone calls at 10 o’clock at night. “You’ll get calls from farmers who live in the middle of nowhere, standing on top of a hill, on one foot, waving their arm in the air trying to get reception, saying, ‘hey I had an idea last night when I was out shifting the sheep.’”

“It’s Fieldays fever,” Roberts chips in, “you just can’t get rid of it.”

Apart from being mentally and

physically stimulating, Clarkin says for him it’s all about the people he works with.

He says it’s been an experience being involved from the early stages.

“I’ve seen firms that have grown from just little tiny pup tents on site to huge conglomerates.”

Fieldays has always been an event based on innovation and Clarkin says this is the area where he has seen the biggest shift.

“Forty years ago when you looked at agriculture in New Zealand, we were at a turning point and you started getting things like disc mowers, combine harvesters and all that sort of thing, so it was very much a tractor, machinery type show. It has changed from that because farming has become very technical.”

For example, last year’s main exhibition in the Innovation For Future Profit feature was a device called CellSense which allows farmers to access information about milk quality in real time.

Starting out parking cars as a Young Farmer, Clarkin went on to run the parking and traffic for the event, was chairman of the Exhibits Committee, vice president and president of the Fieldays Society, a member of the board and “lots of other little things in between”.

Kerry Clarkin says his father once asked him, “was it worth while missing school that day?”

“It certainly was,” he says.

| 2011

Rural bachelors speak out

By Jonathan Carson

Clad in Swanndri, khaki pants and work boots, the eight Rural Bachelor Best of the Best competitors sweet-talked their way through the first round of the competition today.

The Future of Farming presentation marked the start of the ‘Best of the Best’ competition with each bloke being tested on his public speaking ability.

Last year’s Bachelor of the Year, Nick Torrens, from Te Aroha continued his winning form taking out first place with an interactive presentation featuring oversized cue cards to illustrate his speech.

He said family was central to the future of farming and paid tribute to his own family for his success in the industry.

Sustainability was at the core of the presentations with each competitor emphasising the importance of farming for future generations.

Second place went to 2008 Golden Gumboot winner, Mark Woodcock, from Dargaville and 2005 Golden Gumboot and People’s Choice winner, Tony Buckingham, took out third place.

But it was 2006 Bachelor of the Year, Christen Dimond, from Waitomo who had reason to boast.

He was engaged last year and said he was due to be married in December. And despite not placing in the first round he said he already has his prize. “Now I’ve found my perfect match.”

He said it was “love at second sight,” and was happy to not be competing as an eligible bachelor this year.

“The single guys will get a bit of grief,” he said.

Fiancée, Vanessa Robb, said she watched her man compete in 2006.

“I watched him sing at the Rose and Thorn. I can’t remember what song it was but it was quite entertaining.

“He’s lots of fun. And he’s just quite easygoing, nothing really phases him too much, which is probably why he entered in this,” she said.

Mr Dimond said he was a humble guy and didn’t want to divulge his strengths in the competition, but was looking forward to any challenges involving a tractor.

Eight previous Bachelor of the Year winners will compete over four days at Fieldays for the title of ‘Best of the Best’.

Fieldays through the years

Top: Bachelors take the stage at Fieldays. Photo by: Jenna Jamieson.

Right: Christen Dimond, with his fiance Vanessa Robb, is happy to not be competing as an eligible bachelor this year. Photo by: Jenna Jamieson

| 2011

Old tractors get new life

By Kasia Jillings

Top: Alf Pinkerton with his restored tractors. Photo by: Kasia Jillings.

Long-time farmer Alf Pinkerton is dedicated to giving old tractors back their youth.

The most recent acquisition, a 1928 American farm tractor, was a “complete wreck” on its way to the scrap merchant until Mr Pinkerton stepped in.

One year since he bought the old girl, it is fully restored and proudly displayed at the Fieldays Waikato Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club heritage site.

The restoration took around 300 hours but Mr Pinkerton said it’s an enjoyable way for him to keep busy now he’s retired and living in Hamilton.

“Some people collect stamps, I collect vintage machinery.”

Mr Pinkerton said it’s a very rare piece of farm machinery.

“It is from the period when farmers were starting to change from horses to tractors.”

He said restoring tractors and vintage farm machinery is a bit like doing a jigsaw puzzle.

Mr Pinkerton, who has been to more than 40 Fieldays, also has seven stationary motors on display he built from scratch.

He said the stationary motors are like a slice of farming history from before milking sheds had electricity.

Mr Pinkerton’s tractor is on display with 37 others this Fieldays. There will also be a vintage tractor parade daily at 10am.

Co-ordinator of the Waikato Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club Michael Bent said it is the most tractors they’ve ever had.

The club, which has around 200 members, meets monthly and attends Fieldays every year.

Mr Bent said, “It’s a good chance for us to get together and lie about all the things we think we did in our youth.”

Fieldays through the years

| 2012

Ag Art Wear helps students with NCEA

By Zoe Hunter

Top: Year 12 Matamata College student Korri Cunningham is entering a wedding dress made of yellow grain bags and purple tree ties. Photo by: Christel Yardley

Clothing made out of everything rural fills the textile classroom at Matamata College again this year.

Preparing for the college’s 18th anniversary of involvement in the National Fieldays Ag Art Wear awards, students dress plastic models in punched out sheet metal and frost cloth skirts.

Year 12 Matamata college students Ashleigh Andrawartha and Korri Cunningham merge work with play as they design their outfits under NCEA and Fieldays Ag Art Wear guidelines.

With the help of school teacher and head of textiles Melody Priest, the girls earn NCEA credits for their Ag Art Wear entries.

This is Priest’s second year involved in the competition. “It’s all about the students, that’s why we do it.”

Ashleigh and Korri, 16, will enter their designs into the Designer Traditional section.

The event invites designers to create wearable art that uses only materials

sourced from the farm, rural industries or the natural environment.

“The biggest challenge is trying to come up with something new,” said Priest.

Ashleigh’s garment, which she calls Iron Maiden, was inspired by a dress made of discs she had seen in a fashion magazine.

Korri’s is a wedding dress made of yellow grain bags and purple tree ties.

With over $12,000 in the prize pool, the competition challenges entrants to create thoughtful, interesting and unique designs.

The girls say if they win the money will be spent wisely.

“I’ll probably buy gifts for all of the people who helped me first, and then go shopping with the rest,” said Ashleigh.

“I’ll put it into savings,” said Korri.

The designs will be adopted into the country couture family during the four days of Fieldays next week at Mystery Creek.

Both garments will be worn by professional models from Nouveau Management.

| 2012

When it’s time for a toilet stop

By Evie Marinkovich

Fieldays – to Alan Sharp it is a seamless show that includes around 600 jumbo sized rolls of toilet paper, 100 cartons of hand towels, 10 cartons of liquid soap, rubbish bags and liners.

These are used to supply 16 toilet blocks plus 28 portaloos.

At any one time, says Alan, up to 250 people can be on the loo at the Fieldays.

For National Agricultural Fieldays volunteer Alan Sharp, 66, this means months of preparation to ensure the toilets run smoothly over the four day event.

“What started out as a few volunteered weekends on site now becomes my annual Everest to climb,” the Hamilton man says.

Alan sees the Fieldays, in particular the smooth running of the toilets, as his personal goal every year.

That’s when tens of thousands of people daily expect to be able to use available, clean, and fully functioning toilets.

This, for Alan and his team, means a lot of behind-the-scenes work in the months that build up to Fieldays.

He works hand-in-hand with his “right hand man” Neil Quinlan, a team of 26 years.

Alan keeps the toilets operating and serviced while Neil keeps the water flowing.

Tasks include coming out on site at 5am to check the water supply and make sure everything is clean and running well.

They organise the hiring of portaloos, and make sure toilet paper, soap, hand towels, and everything to do with toilets is organised and ready to go.

Always striving for better, each year Alan tries to overcome problems to “put on what appears to the casual eye, a seamless show for all”.

The toilets have upgraded in both technology and comfort since Fieldays began. Alan and many others would set up temporary outhouses – something that would be unthinkable today. Lucky for us, the toilets now range from small blocks of three or four (flushing) toilets to larger blocks with nine or 10 toilets, along with the portaloos.

Keeping the toilets serviced over the four days is no light task. There are six cleaners and two registered plumbers on site to make sure everything runs smoothly, with Alan in the background.

“I have eight radio telephones and so many specialised people at my disposal to get in at the first sign of trouble before little issues become major issues.

“I like to be on site soon after 5.30am to check on the various main contractors and see that all is ready for the public gate which opens at 8am.

Fieldays through the years

Alan Sharp on site at the Fieldays. Photo by: Anita Pearson

“It can be 9am or later before I take a breakfast break. There are always loose ends that need attention.

“Throughout the day we are constantly on call or making progress checks of services and taking remedial actions.”

Along with this Alan needs to ensure all wastage from the event – toilet waste, but also the excess water from food stalls and demonstration kitchens – is collected, removed, and approved for disposal.

“The days of the Territorial army soup kitchens and … hand wash water being dumped on our sandy soil, at the back of the tent, are long since gone.”

The schedule may seem hectic, but the comradeship of the volunteers and sense of achievement in showcasing New Zealand agriculture sees Alan back year in and year out.

| 2013

Kiwis and Irish a great combination

By Libby Wilson

The Irish are here, and they’re ready for some good craic with Kiwi farmers.

Six years ago, government body Enterprise Ireland brought a contingent from the Emerald Isle for a walk-through of Fieldays and liked what they saw.

With more than NZ$300 million worth of trade between New Zealand and Ireland in 2012, it is a small wonder their site gets bigger each year.

Enterprise Ireland director for Australia and New Zealand Paul Burfield said the importance of agriculture in New Zealand and Ireland made the combination a natural fit.

So did the 20 per cent of New Zealanders with Irish ancestry.

“There’s a lot of ‘O apostrophes’ around this place.”

Even so, a physical presence at Fieldays was essential.

“You’ve gotta be able to kick it, feel it, and climb over it.”

But the Irish companies are not jumping in and selling directly to New Zealand.

They are looking to form partnerships with local distributors who know the market better than anyone else.

Burfield estimated Fieldays was a $90,000 to $100,000 investment – testament to their commitment to the Kiwi market.

Hi-Spec Engineering has a New Zealand division, based in Geraldine.

Sales manager Denis Madigan came up for Fieldays from South Canterbury,

but fortunately the tanker on display had a shorter journey.

Madigan is looking forward to some extra exposure for the business, which he hopes will get farmers thinking.

Another of the seven exhibitors on the Enterprise Ireland stand is Joana Ramos, who was launching BioTector’s wastewater analyser to the New Zealand market.

The machine analyses the carbon content in wastewater, and was not as easy to get through customs as Ramos expected.

Ramos was amazed at being surrounded by companies like Hyundai and Fonterra.

“There’s a huge variety that I wasn’t expecting.”

Despite that variety, Phelim Wakely had not yet found any competition for the Wakely Engineeringgrain mills.

While the company already has New Zealand distributors, Wakely wanted to talk directly to the farmers who buy his products.

And coming to New Zealand holds an extra attraction: he can visit his daughter, who lives in Wellington.

HOWDY PARTNER: Enterprise Ireland director for Australasia Paul Burfield says Kiwis and the Irish are a great combination. Photo by: Cheryl Ward

Fieldays through the years

| 2014

First-timers scoop Fieldays award

By Rachel Clarke

Fiat Chrysler New Zealand has won the Jubilee Award for Fieldays 2014 – and it is their first time at the event.

Circling their Fieldays site is a large muddy track that they use to demonstrate their Jeep Wrangler JK-8 Ute to Fieldays’ goers.

When driver and Fiat Chrysler NZ Commercial Vehicle Sales Gary Sanders asked if I wanted to “jump in” and have a ride, I blurted out yes without thinking it through.

Before I knew it I was buckled in and ready to go.

But there was one big, giant catch – a massive drop, halfway through the track, was waiting for me.

Approaching the drop, Gary looked at me and said “you must hold on to the bar there Rachael, it’s steep” – not something I want to hear.

We drop down in front of a large crowd, many capturing the moment on their iPhones. Oh that wasn’t too bad I thought…

“Wanna go again?” he asked.

“Of course,” I answered over-confidently.

We approached the drop, second time round, and Gary left us hanging at the top for what felt like an eternity. The suspense was killing me.

“Do you trust me?” said Gary, smiling.

We dropped more suddenly and faster than last time.

I decided it was time to get out of this thing.

Fiat Chrysler NZ brand activation manager Rebecca Joyce said the team almost didn’t turn up to the awards evening, held on Thursday night at the Village Green, Mystery Creek.

“Some judges said we should come along to the awards yesterday, so yeah about five of us rocked up.

“It feels great. It’s been six months of planning and to be rewarded for it is very satisfying. Everyone back at head office is really, really stoked for us.”

Fieldays through the years

The Jeep Wrangler JK-8 Ute was brought over from Australia especially for Fieldays, and Joyce said they are looking to sell the kit.

“You can fit it [the kit] into any 4-door Wrangler.”

The track itself was designed and built

by Showscape, a Hamilton-based company.

Joyce said it wasn’t a costly project and that they wanted to “keep it local”.

“A few other companies approached us but we decided we wanted to use a local company to support the community down here and because they have everything on site.”

She added that Showscape moved onsite a month before Fieldays to start the excavation of the track, and the track’s design took roughly 3-4 months to decide on.

“We went back and forth for a good couple of months.”

Will they be back next year after their massive success this year?

“Absolutely. Next year we’d like to be in a more prominent position. We know spaces book out pretty quick.”

The team plan on celebrating tonight and having some fun because, according to Joyce, “Hamiltonians know how to party”.

Top: Fiat Chrysler Jeep climbs muddy tracks during demonstrations.

Photo by: Michelle Corbet

| 2014

John Key opens 46th Fieldays

By Audrey Ellis

Top: Key wields the scissors to cut the ribbon and give Te Radar’s locks a trim. Photo by: Adam Edwards

The opening ceremony for the 46th annual Fieldays focused on New Zealand innovation and its international reach.

Prime Minister John Key spoke to the farming faithful and made note of the advances in the productivity of New Zealand’s agriculture.

“Back in the 1970s there were 70 million sheep in New Zealand. Now there are 35 million sheep, but the same amount of lamb is produced.”

Key also made note of New Zealand’s relationship with China, as a record seven overseas delegations watched on.

“China is the single largest purchaser of sheep meat in New Zealand.”

New Zealand can expect 50,000 jobs to emerge in the agricultural sector over the next ten years, and half of those will be “high tech jobs”, according to Key.

Comedian Te Radar was present for the opening, facilitating events and reminiscing about attending the event as a boy.

The Fieldays flag was hoisted up by Kaipaki School students and principal, followed by the New Zealand flag and national anthem.

Key then cut the ribbon and declared Fieldays officially open for 2014, but only after offering Te Radar a haircut with the ribbon cutting scissors.

Spectator Alex Bridger said it was great to hear from Key that New Zealand is being recognised for its agricultural innovation on an international scale.

“It’s really cool that he made a point of emphasising that we are up there with the best of them.”

Fieldays through the years

| 2014

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, wait no it’s a drone

By Don Rowe

Top: Linda Bulk with a drone in the Innovations Centre. Photo by: Evan Xiao

Clouds might be the only thing filling the sky over Kiwi farms if drone manufacturer Aeronavics has anything to do with it.

The Raglan-based firm produces custom-built unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) complete with onboard video cameras capable of transmitting a live feed to the operator Former telecommunications professional Linda Bulk and partner Rob Brouwer, an ex-pilot, started the company with a focus on providing cinematographers and media personnel with airborne cameras.

The devices are used for things like bird’s-eye views of herd animals and aerial shots.

“We saw the potential in the agricultural sector and, in the US and Europe, we’ve experienced a lot of success,” said Bulk.

The drones, ready to fly from $12,000, are constructed from materials such as carbon fibre, which allow for a maximum flight speed of 80km/h.

A payload of a kilogram means the smaller drones can be fitted with sound producing devices and used for tasks such as herding sheep and inspecting stock.

“It’s a pretty grunty little thing,” said Bulk.

“In optimal conditions, it has a battery life of up to 40 minutes.”

John Greenhead, a trustee in several blocks of land near Waiuru, said that while the technology is intriguing, he would hesitate to buy one just yet.

“There’s a lot of wind and turbulence off the pinnacles near our land, so I’d want to be sure it could handle the conditions.”

Greenhead said he would wait until the price came down before investing in an Aeronavics drone.

“It’s a lot of money to have it crash,” he said.

“Too expensive for a bit of fun.”

| 2015

Fencer aims for 60th birthday win

By Te Ahua Maitland

After 40 years of competing, Nick Liefting is preparing to lace up his boots one last time for this year’s Fieldays Golden Pliers fencing competition.

The Pukekohe contractor is set to retire following his 60th birthday. His presence this year will make him the first 60-year-old to compete at the Golden Pliers competition, an achievement which crowns appearances that started when he was just 19.

Liefting has won the Golden Pliers competition twice, and finished first for last 28 years straight, often beating out younger men by hours.

Liefting believes the Golden Pliers is the Olympics of fencing competitions.

“It’s like the 1500m at the Olympics – it’s the event…not only nationally but internationally, it’s a very recognised competition.”

He announced two years ago that 2015 would be his last competition, admitting the body did not function as well as it used to.

“Why go on any longer when the body is starting to say ‘hey, what are you doing?’” he asked.

Although still in good condition (thanks to working out regularly at the gym), he has had his fair share of setbacks including a knee replacement 18 months ago, a shoulder reconstruction, and back pain.

He is known for being first off the line every time during the competition, but says he tends to lose points on the quality of his fences.

“Because I’m quick I haven’t been pedantic with my quality, which the others pick up on… It is judged very severely, with tape measures and spirit levels and everything.”

Over the years he has seen a vast change in fencing. “When I first started you competed and then you walked away, and then 12 months later you gave it another go.

“It is probably easier now for a new competitor from when I first started because they get a judging standards sheet so everybody knows what the judges are actually looking for.”

Although Nick does not train for the Golden Pliers anymore, he does focus on his health and nutrition, comparing the event to an ironman.

“It’s like an ironman, it will take you five hours but the last guy it could take seven… You don’t stop, so you have to be hydrated and well-nourished throughout and to the end.”

He said he hired a personal trainer who set up a nutrition programme for the physical event.

“You can be as fit as you like, but you need to have a nutrition programme for fuel and food intake before and during the competition.”

A highlight for Nick was in 2008, when the winner of the Golden Pliers was set to compete at the International Fencing

Fieldays through the years

Nick Liefting will mark his 60th birthday by competing in his final Golden Pliers fencing competition at Fieldays at Mystery Creek

Competition in Germany held every second year. Although he did not win the Golden Pliers that year, the sponsors offered him a wildcard entry after seeing his performance at Fieldays.

At 53 years old he won the International Fencing Competition, beating the Golden Pliers winner.

Liefting admits he always find finals day stressful but believes nothing really prepares competitors for the main event.

“Competing in the Golden Pliers and putting up a fence are two completely different scenarios. You can be the best fence farmer in the world but you’ll be a disaster in the competition and vice versa.

“A farmer will comment on what you’ve done well, a judge is looking for all your mistakes. And that’s hard for people to handle.”

He has a lot of knowledge and experience when it comes to fencing, and provides beneficial advice for participants or people eager to get involved in fencing competitions.

“Once you know what the requirements are, that’s probably the biggest hurdle.

“It’s not such much building the fence, but where to spend time on the fence and where not to spend the time… then there is the time component and,

also, what the judges are looking for.”

Although this is his last year as a competitor, Liefting will be back next year as a judge, and continue to help out at regional events.

“I want to encourage some of the newer and younger entrants, and coach them about requirements and encourage them in the speed element.”

| 2015

Garments from Nepal go on sale despite earthquake

By Dasha Kuprienko

Top: Claudine Douglas and Nikki Douglas exhibiting their garments at Fieldays. Photo by: Geoff Ridder

Two Waikato sisters at Fieldays selling woollen garments from Nepal, left that country just a day before the April earthquake.

The Douglas sisters, Claudine, 41, and Nikki, 46, had been in Nepal checking on new designs being made for their company, Mt Kiwi.

“We had been getting our new designs made, checking the quality of the product and meeting with everybody. Just catching up, because they are a bit like family to us,” Nikki said.

They had intended to stay longer, but changed their plans and brought their leaving date forward to April 24.

Fortunately, their Nepali contacts and friends were unhurt in the quake, though their villages were affected and production shut down for a few weeks.

Despite the quake, Mt Kiwi got 90 percent of their stock delivered in time for Fieldays.

The goods are knitted by hand at home by Nepali women using New Zealand wool. Nikki said she knows some of the workers were up at night completing the orders.

“There were a couple of things that we couldn’t get completed, some of our new designs didn’t come through.“

The sisters appreciate all the work and said they are lucky to have a lot of their stock in.

One of the main workers overseas is Rita Pudasaini. The Douglases met Pudasaini when she was a nine-year-old selling bags on Kathmandu streets.

“Rita is now 25 and she oversees our business up there [Nepal]. She coordinates our orders and payments,” Nikki said.

Each year the sisters have been donating to Himalayan Trust, and they also helped send Rita’s son to school.

As well as having a support from Nepali ‘family’, Douglas said their own relatives are helping too.

Mum and cousins are happy to help out during Mt Kiwi’s busiest time of the year.

“Mum is going to come down for a few days. She loves selling and interacting with people.” Claudine said.

The Douglas sisters have been selling their jackets, hats, socks and mittens at Fieldays for 10 years.

They said annually the wool jackets are the best-sellers as they go on wholesale only once a year.

Fieldays through the years

| 2015

Catch the bus and avoid the queues

By Shontelle Cargill

Free buses to Fieldays were packed early on Wednesday as visitors took the chance to avoid traffic queues.

To help ease the traffic congestion, Waikato Regional Council has been offering free bus rides to and from the Mystery Creek event for Fieldays ticket holders.

GoBus Waikato regional general manager Glenn McLeod said the types of people who catch the buses out to Fieldays are “normally townies – but there is all walks of life.”

Wednesday morning’s bus was packed with farmers and townies enjoying the free service – some sitting and some just squeezing in by standing in the aisle.

Mcleod said this year Fieldays has laid on a designated bus lane to get through the slow traffic. The bus service drops off passengers at the main gate, which means no trudging from the car park.

Hamilton resident Lynda Brosnan caught a bus from outside her residence to the transport centre to connect with the Fieldays bus.

She chose this bus for its convenience and “so the car doesn’t get stuck in the mud,” she laughed.

Brosnan took the day off work to attend the event for the first time, where she was looking forward to meeting up with a friend.

Chantelle Pumfleet from Hamilton is set to catch the bus every day. She is working at Fieldays this year so she used her Busit ticket to head to work.

“I don’t drive so the best option was to catch the bus,” Pumfleet said.

Top: Chantelle Pumfleet catches the bus to Fieldays every day.

Right: Lynda Brosnan chose the bus for convenience.

Fieldays through the years

| 2017

Steak? Try locust instead

By Bridget Kelly

Fancy some ants in your smoothie? Or how about some crickets on your toast to make your morning a bit more chirpy?

What Next hosts John Campbell and Nigel Latta recently explored the future of farming, and it looks as if insects may be the next big thing that adds crunch to your lunch.

There was plenty of support for the idea at Fieldays.

Dairy farmer Matthew O’BrienBrown sees potential in the world of insect farming.

While he doesn’t think there will be a market for insects in New Zealand, he thinks farming insects here in the future would be a very promising industry for exporting overseas.

“I think there’s definitely potential,” said O’Brien-Brown.

Insects are seen as a food source in other countries, and he thinks New Zealand has a chance to cash in on this Commercial manager for Job Flow, Rusty Knutson, thinks there may be a market for it in New Zealand depending on how they were sold.

“There possibly is (a market for it) I’m sure, it’s a cheap source of protein,” Knutson said .

If they came as ground-up protein he would be all for in his protein shakes in the morning, but he did admit he would rather not be chewing up large bug heads.

Knutson believes bugs should be farmed alongside cows or sheep as an alternative.

“Would I want to see cows and sheep disappear from New Zealand’s landscapes, no I wouldn’t, and would I still eat meat, yes I would.”

Federated Farmers general manager for membership Lyndel Stone said insect farmers would be welcome as members.

“You can’t halt progress so you have to embrace it,” Stone said.

She believes farmers should be open to changing their practices to embrace the future.

Senior policy advisor Nikki Edwards said she would be open to the idea as well.

“I don’t see them being any different from bee farmers.”

Acknowledgements A special thanks goes to the hard-working and talented Wintec feature writing, photography and graphic design students of 2018 for their excellent contributions to this book.

Thanks also goes to their tutors, Richard Walker, Charles Riddle, Stefanie Young, Luke McConnell and Aida Khangholi for their expertise, guidance and support of this project.

The Team Writers

Graphic Designer

Aidan Sami Eeshani Dinesh Blair Voorend Jesse Wood Anna Clausen Candice Gollan Horiana Henderson Caitlan Johnston Shisir Parajuli Aasha Parle Louela Pegarido Marie Brunskill

Rex Alfaras

Photographers Denise van Dam Miriana Wetere-Ryder Souem By Marie Brunskill Terry Su

Published June 2018

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