Agricultural showtime
Ninety eight per cent of exhibition sites at the upcoming 44th New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays have been acquired by agricultural related businesses. Outdoor sites are 99 per cent occupied and the sought-after indoor Mystery Creek Pavilion is fully subscribed.
With fewer than 20 sites across the entire 40ha space, Fieldays organisers expect to reach capacity well ahead of previous years.
Vacant sites are mostly concentrated in the Rural Living Area with 13 per cent of its sites still available for businesses that complement the farming lifestyle. The popular Kiwi's Best food and beverage marquee is completely sold out.. There, celebrity chefs will demonstrate exhibitors' premium products.
The Ag Art Wear wearable arts competition, the Innovation competition and the Golden Standard all are accepting entries. Entries close on Wednesday, May 16, For more information see the website" www.fieldays.co.nz
New Zealand National Agricultural Field Days will be held on June 13 to 16 at Mystery Creek Events Centre near Hamilton.
Overflow prosecution
A liquid waste removal company has been fined $35,000 in the District Court at Tauranga after pleading guilty to three offences under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council's pollution prevention manager, Nick Zaman, said the successful prosecution of Pete's Takeaways related to contaminated liquid overflowing from its sewage treatment ponds in June 2011.
The council prosecuted the company for letting liquid waste escape the ponds and flow overland into a waterway, and for depositing waste on land where it flowed into a tributary of Waimapu Stream on one occasion. Both offences occurred following rain.
Zaman said weather conditions were no excuse for polluting public waterways.
"Periods of heavy or persistent rain are not uncommon in the Bay, and this successful prosecution should be a warning to all resource consent holders to adhere to all the conditions of their consent, rain hail or shine," he said.
Saving sustainably
A workshop aimed at making homes and commercial buildings more energy-efficient and sustainable will be held at the NZ Clean Energy Centre in Taupo on Friday, March 23. Called "Budget Different Result: Sustainable Living by Thinking Differently", they begin at at 12.30pm. Russell Judd, who teaches Understanding Energy at Waiariki Institute of Technology, is the moderator.
Among the speakers will be Steve Gledhill (engineer), director at Renewable Energy Technologies; Rob McEwen, executive director at the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles; and Tom Findlay, partner at BFA Accountants. Questions and discussion are encouraged.
The workshop will cover LED lighting, ground source heat pumps, solar hot water, geothermal heat exchangers, electric vehicles and financial models for the implementation and future projections of savings.
For more information see: www.nzcleanenergycentre.co.nz/