New Zealand Federated Farmers’ national president Wayne Langford.
Fieldays 2025 has been hailed “a cracker” by Federated Farmers’ hierarchy.
“It’s always a great time to catch up with our members and other farmers, but this has definitely stood out as one of the more positive Fieldays I’ve attended,” national president Wayne Langford said.
“I noticed a real shift in the mood this year, no doubt helped by better commodity prices, lower interest rates, and some red tape being cut.”
Langford said it would be interesting to see if that was translated into farmers opening their wallets and making some purchases this year.
This year’s Fieldays attracted more than 110,000 visitors through the gates at Mystery Creek, up 4000 on last year.
The 1200 exhibitors represented 99% capacity of the Fieldays’ site.
A strong international representation was also evident, with a total of 66 exhibitors, up from 49 last year.
International representation also included 23 embassies, and 1054 supporting visa letters were provided.
“Globalisation is a key pillar for Fieldays and supporting our exhibitors in developing global connections and sharing our story on the world stage is a key aspect of the event,” National Fieldays Society chief executive Richard Lindroos said.
“Confidence in the rural sector was apparent, with exhibitors reporting good sales across a range of products and services.
“I think the industry as a whole is on the up,” Lindroos said.
“It felt really positive out there and early indications suggest that our exhibitors had a good event delivering real momentum for New Zealand’s primary and fibre industries, which is forecasted to reach a record $59.9 billion.
“Although the weather was not always on our side this year, it didn’t deter our visitors who came prepared for the conditions.”
Government announcements made at Fieldays included a new Rural Wellbeing Fund.
The fund, $4 million over the next four years, supports organisations to deliver wellbeing initiatives in rural communities.
The initiative is jointly funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Health New Zealand.
Langford, who helped drive the project, said it was “a great win” for rural advocacy groups.
“It’s hugely rewarding to get this across the line.
“I’m absolutely stoked the Government are making such a meaningful investment in the mental health of our rural communities.”
Federated Farmers was supported by other rural organisations, including DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb, Young Farmers and Rural Women.
Langford said the extra $4 million announced at Fieldays to expand the investment in community-based wellbeing initiatives may be matched by industry partners, for a total pool of $8 million.
“The investment is significant in terms of the dollar amount, but the real value will come in having a much more coordinated approach that brings all the energy and focus into one place.
“In practice, we’re going to see the sector coming together to ensure we’re investing in the initiatives that bring the best results and make a real difference in people’s lives.
“That will cut out a whole heap of waste, remove all the duplication, and make sure every dollar invested in rural mental health is working as hard as it possibly can.”
He said that as a country, New Zealand had moved past the stage of simply acknowledging and building awareness of the importance of strong mental health.
“It’s great that we’ve come such a long way with rural mental health awareness, but now it’s time for action.”
Langford said another key Government announcement made at Fieldays was Kāinga Ora deciding to use wool carpet in its social housing.
“Our wool industry is in major freefall, and this move from Kāinga Ora is the parachute we desperately need.”
He said Kāinga Ora was the country’s largest landlord, so its contract had the capability to soak up large volumes of wool, which in turn would help drive up prices.
As well as transitioning to using wool carpet in its new social housing, Kāinga Ora will also use wool carpet in existing homes if the whole house needs recarpeting, such as when renovating older properties.
Langford said another great win for farmers came when Energy Minister Simon Watts announced a package designed to increase the use of solar power on New Zealand farms.
“Early modelling tells us that if 30% of Kiwi farms installed larger solar power systems – of the size we see on some farms already – they could generate as much as 10% of New Zealand’s current electricity demand,” Watts said.
Langford agreed that sort of uptake would be a massive win for security of energy supply and self-sufficiency on-farm, including when rural areas were hit by grid outages.
“The roofs of wool and dairy sheds can be a great platform for solar panels.
“Small- and medium-scale installations can provide a great boost for farm businesses.”