Coronavirus: Will it threaten this year's Fieldays?

Last year's Fieldays event attracted 128,000 visitors. Photo / File

The coronavirus pandemic could cast a shadow over the Southern Hemisphere's biggest agriculture event Fieldays, scheduled for early June at Waikato's Mystery Creek.

Asked about contingency planning for the money-spinning four day innovation, technology and education showcase, the New Zealand National Fieldays Society which owns and operates the annual Fieldays, said it was continuing to be guided by information from authorities about the evolving Covid-19 situation.

A spokeswoman said that information was provided by the Ministry of Health and stakeholders would be regularly updated.

The event was fully booked out by exhibitors, she said.

Fieldays is scheduled for June 10-13.

Last year's event attracted 128,000 visitors, including from overseas, and 1059 exhibitors.

An economic impact report by Waikato University's Dr Warren Hughes concluded Fieldays generated $549 million in 2019, $50m up on the previous year. The Waikato region directly benefited from $183m of that.

The study found 2000 full year jobs were sustained by Fieldays in the New Zealand economy in 2019 - 900 in the Waikato alone.

Fieldays was founded in the Waikato in 1968.