Toni Chapman of the Tararua District Council said the Walks and Rides in Tararua brochures were"flying out the door."
By Dave Murdoch
Three beautiful days encouraged a very large turnout of people to the Central Districts Field Days no doubt keen to see the return of the event after last year's last-minute cancellation because of Covid.
Tararua businesses took the opportunity to promote their services and products and reported keen interest and good sales.
There was every kind of business demonstrating once more the versatility of Tararua, which is the foundation of the district's resilience.
Clothing seemed to be very popular. Norsewood's NZ Natural Clothing in the north and Betacraft in the south reported hectic sales as farmers and other customers stocked up on bargain clothes and coats for the winter.
Among the new and interesting machinery items was MacDougalls' automatic milking machine that lets the cow in, washes the udder, fits the cups, milks and records the milk from each udder quarter and even feeds the cow before releasing it, without a human in sight.
Similarly useful and very simple to use is Metalform's latest Tow and Fert machine, which is small enough to be towed behind a quad bike as the farmer follows the herd.
With interest in housing very strong Turton's Farm Supplies are building and selling two-room custom cottages which drew huge crowds and For Farms said they had "outstanding interest" in rural properties.
Fertiliser application and supply is certainly a priority as farmers look to boost autumn growth, Outgro and Tararua Heliworks filling orders for the next couple of months.
Manawatu mayor Helen Worboys said in the programme introduction: "We look forward to Central Districts Field Days as an opportunity to celebrate who and what we are, as we rise above the threat of Covid-19."
Tararua certainly did its part in making the event really great.
Call for drivers to slow down when passing horses as rider recovers from injuries.