The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Fieldays planning for 50th anniversary

Hamilton News
7 Sep, 2017 10:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
This year Fieldays saw a record 133,588 people come through the gates. Photo / File

This year Fieldays saw a record 133,588 people come through the gates. Photo / File

New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays is preparing for the 50th anniversary event next year with the theme to be the Future of Farming.

Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation says the 2018 event is shaping up to be the biggest and best yet, and will also celebrate the wide-ranging contributions Fieldays has made to the agriculture industry since its inception in 1968.

"We have a really proud history as a world-class agricultural showcase and it has come a long way from an event aimed at getting farmers together and bridging the rural and urban gap," says Mr Nation.

"Fieldays is continually looking to the future and the advancement of agriculture, agribusiness and agritech, and promoting the primary industries in New Zealand and around the world."

A committee of past Fieldays Society presidents and members will organise the 50th Fieldays, alongside extra events, a local museum exhibition and a history book.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The 50th New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays will take place from June 13-16, 2018 at Mystery Creek Events Centre near Hamilton.

Meanwhile, a survey of visitors and exhibitors this year showed 96 per cent of visitors rated their experience as "good" to "excellent" and 92 per cent of exhibitors said they would exhibit again.

The iconic event, billed as the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere, saw a record 133,588 people through the gates - its highest visitor number yet.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Chief executive Peter Nation says he's pleased with the survey results and proud he and his team pulled off another world-class event.

There were 988 exhibitors across 1473 sites, nine of them international exhibitors.

Unexpectedly, Fieldays also reported 10 skin cancers found via the Health Hub visitor app. The Health Hub was a new area for 2017, designed to educate and inform Fieldays visitors about health issues affecting rural and urban communities.

Sustainable practices have become an increased feature of Fieldays, and this year 47 per cent of the event's waste was recycled and reused, preventing it from going into landfill.

A record 11,000 people also travelled to Fieldays by public transport, resulting in a noticeable reduction in road traffic.

"We estimate the public transport provided took about 5000 cars off the road. People were constantly telling us how much easier the traffic was this year," says Mr Nation.

As with other years, hundreds of volunteers ensured the four-day event ran smoothly.

"There were 232 volunteers who generously gave their time to help this year. Every year we're fortunate to have a large group of committed, skilled people help make Fieldays a success. We're hugely appreciative of their efforts."

Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

Which generation wastes the most food?

The Country

The Country: Nicola Willis on 'Buttergate' meeting with Miles Hurrell

Sheep and Beef

Turihaua Angus preparing for Spring Sale


Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Which generation wastes the most food?
The Country

Which generation wastes the most food?

Overall, New Zealanders are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago.

10 Sep 02:05 AM
The Country: Nicola Willis on 'Buttergate' meeting with Miles Hurrell
The Country

The Country: Nicola Willis on 'Buttergate' meeting with Miles Hurrell

10 Sep 01:50 AM
Turihaua Angus preparing for Spring Sale
Sheep and Beef

Turihaua Angus preparing for Spring Sale

09 Sep 10:52 PM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP