Fonterra’s expected milk price is more than $2/kg MS up on last season and history shows when the New Zealand dairy industry is positive, rural retailers benefit.
The 2014 Premier Feature is Managing Resources for a Competitive Advantage, with Xero and PGG Wrightson combining as joint Premier sponsors.
The NZ accountancy software giant is making its grand debut at Fieldays and will be looking to help dairy farmers manage their extra profit with a new software package aimed at farmers.
Its farming in the cloud technology is designed to link farm budgets with rural suppliers and industry partners to help farmers be more efficient, Xero NZ rural strategy lead Ben Richmond said.
“As access and the adoption of technology continue to accelerate, farmers, together with Xero, can use the power of the cloud to increase efficiency and productivity, thereby lifting the profitability of the rural sector.”
Xero had partnered with PGG Wrightson to enable automatic uploading of invoices from the agriculture company directly to the finance software, already coded, Richmond said.
“For a farmer who in the past has had to go in and manually upload transactions or go through and do a lot of coding, that’s all going to come through seamlessly.”
Xero is talking with other rural retail companies to develop the same link and it has partnered with ASB, and is working with other banks, to automatically link payable account information to online banking, Richmond said.
Farmers would be able to tick any bills they wanted to pay in Xero and it would link to their online banking, he said.
Other exhibitors in the Fieldays premier feature would also highlight areas where NZ’s agricultural sector could optimise, maximise and develop systems and processes to help manage resources effectively and maintain its place among the world’s best, National Fieldays chief executive Jon Calder said.
NZ’s competitive advantage as a leading agricultural and primary producer was its ability to efficiently and effectively manage and convert available resources into protein, he said.
“As a nation, maximising productivity in the way we manage and deploy our resources is something we have done incredibly well to date, and will continue to do so, if we work collaboratively across industry and sectors.”
Companies exhibiting in the premier feature would display solutions on feed sources, nutrient management, animal health, workforce, security, control, traceability, water management and innovative ways to source power, Calder said.
Visitors can expect regular annual competitions at the Fieldays, including the tractor pull, Ag Art Wear competition and the No. 8 Wire National Art Award.
Masterchef NZ judge Josh Emett is returning as celebrity chef in the Kiwis Best Kitchen for three cooking demonstrations.
The Fieldays Innovation Den will take place again on the Thursday. It will feature 10 selected inventions from the Fieldays Innovation Centre, which will be presented in front of potential investors from around NZ.
The Fieldays Rural Bachelor of the Year competition will again include two Australian men competing against six Kiwis for a prize pool of $20,000 and the coveted Golden Gumboot trophy.
For more information on the National Fieldays visit www.fieldays.co.nz
