Fieldays is usually described as the agricultural sector’s ‘big day out’.
This year the sector looked toward Fieldays as a reflection of how the agricultural sector is reacting to a drawn-out downturn in dairy prices. But as the people continued streaming through the gates, it was clear that the industry is resilient.The total attendance came in at over 130,000 visitors, making this year’s event the second busiest yet. The good news doesn’t end there, it’s estimated that Fieldays has contributed 400 million to the New Zealand economy, and 150 million of that is spent in Waikato businesses.
This year’s theme ‘collaborate to accelerate innovation’ was evident in many different ways. The innovation marquee was full of new ideas to solve old problems. How do you know when your cow is about to give birth? Attach a sensor to its tail that’ll send you a text when delivery is an hour away.
Some of the biggest innovations have been made by way of remote monitoring. You can now monitor everything from the milk vat to the electric fence right from your smart phone. The evolution of apps was also on trend. There’s a new smart phone app to monitor your electric fence from afar, and another one to tell you if a fence in front of you is turned on or not. Whether your data is in a sophisticated management system based in the cloud, or written in ink inside your trusty farm ledger, there’s one thing for sure - farming is becoming more and more efficient.
Aaron Hunt, Rural Advisor at Te Tumu Paeroa, says “It’s tough times out there, so we have to make smart decisions about where and what to spend money on. Fieldays is great because it allows side by side comparisons of products and solutions all in one location.”
The horticulture industry, was also a big winner on the innovation front. Pollensmart’s new artificial pollinator won the Launch NZ Innovation award. The Pollinator acts like a leaf blower, blowing pollen from its outlets onto waiting kiwifruit buds. The device is pulled along by a tractor and collects all the unused pollen at the end. It’s estimated that this new pollinator is 35% more successful than the traditional method of using bees (at a rate of 20 bees per bay).
Peter Nation, NZ National Fieldays Society Chief Executive, said innovation is a key to the success of Fieldays. "We don't grow, we don't advance, without stopping and asking the pertinent questions about where we are, how we got here, and what it will take to move forward," he said.
Te Tumu Paeroa manages over 100 000ha of Māori land all over the motu. We stay at the forefront of farming and horticultural techniques for Māori landowners to benefit from.
