As a kid, some 20-odd years ago, my enduring Fieldays memories were of sloshing through the mud in gumboots, eating a Murray Grey beef steak sandwich while prime specimens chewed their cud in a pen a few metres away and demonstration tractors being called on to haul cars out of the mud at the end of the day.
Gumboots and tractors are no longer a requirement with paved or gravel roads throughout the venue.
The "paddock to plate" approach to food has also disappeared, replaced with a range of gourmet (and vegetarian) options - everything from snails in garlic butter and the traditional Hungarian street food langos to the more quintessentially Kiwi West Coast whitebait pattie.
Last year as we wandered among the crop cultivation and harvest machinery my son got to sit up high in the cab of a massive tractor. His future ambitions were sealed there and then: "I'm going to be a farmer".
Innovative gadgets that had made the leap from backyard shed to marketplace caught my eye.
A poultry feeder that opened when the chickens stood on a treadplate would be just the ticket for feeding our suburban backyard hens. No more relying on friends and neighbours when we went away if we had one of "Grandpa's Feeders".
Grandpa's Feeders are a classic tale of Kiwi ingenuity. Mark Kirkham says his father (the ex-dairy farming grandpa of the company name) invented them because he was fed up with rats and sparrows eating his chook feed.
After several tweaks and modifications the feeders appeared at Mystery Creek in 1999. Mark sold eight that year but the phone ran hot in the months after. Last year he sold 150 and though he travels to agricultural shows as far afield as Wales, Fieldays is by far the biggest few days of business the mail order company does.
"Mystery Creek is huge for us. There is no other agricultural show that we've ever done that even comes near it. People go there with the purpose of looking for a deal and buying stuff," says Mark.
So with show discounts on offer it's a good time to check out specials on everything farm-related, whether you have a suburban patch or the whole country spread.
TRAVELLERS' TIPS
The New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays are at Mystery Creek, Hamilton, from June 13-16.
With between 20,000 and 30,000 people attending each day traffic into the event can be slow - snacks for the car are a good idea but parking is quick and easy once on site.
Look out for cooking demonstrations by Herald food writer Nici Wickes, wearable Ag Art, fashion shows, vintage tractors and rural skills showcased in the Golden Pliers fencing competition, cowboy-style horse riding, dog trials, wood chopping and chainsaw action and even a game of hoofball (soccer on horseback). Mystery Creek becomes a small town with banking, food, childcare and parents rooms available.
You can buy tickets online: adults $20, children (five to 14 years inclusive) $10; or at the gate (adult $25, child $15).
* Art lovers can head into Hamilton's Art Post Gallery at 120 Victoria Street (07 838 6928) for a great exhibition of the National No. 8 Wire Art Awards. Our nation's iconic material goes high brow.
