Fieldays sales boost brings smiles

Fieldays wrapped up for another year on Saturday with plenty of talk about farmers spending money but a sense of caution hanging over the event.
In a report last week BNZ economists described the event as a bell-wether of the wider agricultural scene.
Conditions across the sector were better than a year ago and cashflows appeared strong enough to allow both increased spending and the repair of balance sheets, the report said.
Ken Walsh, managing director of John Deere dealer AGrowQuip, said that this year's show was more positive.
"Just like chalk and cheese," he said.
The expected upturn was going to be slow coming but it looked like it had started, he said.
Mike Whitty, general manager of marketing at Ravensdown, whose products include fertiliser and animal health, said sales on the first day of the show were double those of last year.
"Farmers are pretty happy this year and I think that's a big step up from where we were last year," Whitty said.