The national agricultural expo in June featured rain, rain and more rain -- but it seems that the event was also awash with money.
Farmers spent $131.5 million over the four days at Mystery Creek near Hamilton -- a 60 per cent increase on the previous year.
Field days staff said todaytheir annual exhibitors' survey showed that despite the rain on the last three days which kept crowds 10 per cent down on the previous year, sales were huge.
Spending at the event rose from $79.3 million in 2003 and also exceeded the previous record of $123.3 million in 2001.
Total sales including the months since the Fieldays were worth $219.7 million, compared with $225 million last year.
The expo's general manager, Barry Quayle, described the result as "a bonanza" and said the latest figures, based on the 46 per cent of exhibitors who returned surveys, confirmed anecdotal evidence.
Mr Quayle said the survey methodology had been independently checked by a research company and an accounting firm, and the margin of error had been calculated at below 0.05 per cent.
Mr Quayle said the rain discouraged people who liked to visit the field days for an outing or a social event, but did not keep away serious buyers.
"The people who come to buy something don't decide in the week of Fieldays - they've made up their mind weeks out."
He said the planning serious buyers did was shown by the fact that 36 per cent of visitors this year bought their tickets well in advance. There was also a big demand for programmes to be sent in advance.
Gallagher Group national sales manager Brent Pownall told the Waikato Times that sales for the company at the expo were up 40 per cent on the previous year.
"It was our most successful Fieldays ever," he said.
Mr Quayle said while the dairy payout was a factor in confidence, it was not the only driving force that had an impact on spending. He said there had been a lot of amalgamation of farms in the past few years. Waikato Federated Farmers president John Fisher said the spending was better than he had expected.
