Most of the volunteers do shifts on all four days and have done so for many years, being very valued members of the Fieldays Family, he said.
On site this week will also be more than 100 emergency service personnel and employees of contractors like Allied Security.
Nation said more than 9000 people were inducted into health and safety, of which 2500 put themselves through the online induction.
The Fieldays site was opened to exhibitors a week earlier this year, during the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend, because buildings and siteworks were becoming more complex every year.
The not-for-profit society had a turnover of $12.5 million last financial year with a surplus of $200,000 to be ploughed back in to site development.
Nation said the whole 113ha grounds containing the 47ha Fieldays site is GPS mapped, above and below ground.
It was the biggest civil contract of its kind in NZ to date, providing outlines of all water, fibre and power services down to 20mm accuracy.
The mapping was preparatory to a master plan over five to 10 years for access roading and parking, internal roading for bigger machinery movements, ticketing booths for large and smaller scale events and a 10-year capital expenditure schedule.
In recent times internal roads have been sealed, CCTV installed throughout and lighting provided to gates 1 and 2.
Generators have also been located for back-up to mains electricity needs at Fieldays – equivalent to a town the size of Te Awamutu.
New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays is based on its permanent site at Mystery Creek, 10 minutes from Hamilton, and is the largest agricultural event in the southern hemisphere.
This year will be the 50th event, running from June 13 to 16.
Fieldays draws people from around the globe – both as exhibitors and visitors.
In 2017 133,588 people visited the event and it generated $538m in sales revenue for NZ businesses.
At the first event, held at Te Rapa Racecourse in Hamilton North in 1969 and known as the Town and Country Fair, there were 80 exhibitors and 10,000 people attended.
Fieldays is run by National Fieldays Society, a charitable organisation founded in 1968 to advance primary industry.
According to an economic impact report by Waikato University, the Fieldays brand value is now $465m and $538m of sales were generated last year.
For every one of the 130,000-plus visitors through the gate in 2017 sales worth $4000 were generated.
Over 80% of respondents rated Fieldays as the most important or equally important annual event in NZ.
Nation says the organisation is pleased to see Fieldays create so many full-time jobs.
“We are crucially aware that many businesses and families rely heavily on Fieldays as a large part of their annual livelihood.
“The spin-off to the food and beverage, accommodation and service industry, particularly in Waikato is great.
“As Fieldays grows so do the service industries that supply our exhibitors and their businesses,” Nation said.
Overall, the Fieldays event in 2017 generated $238m to GDP, an increase of 25% over the 2016 year which was a low spending year for the primary sectors.
Nation said a significant number of companies and organisations had supported Fieldays from year one.
“When we look back it’s astounding how far we’ve come and a number of really special organisations and exhibitors have been with us every step of the way.
“This will mark a huge milestone for our society and everyone involved.
“Not many people can say they’ve committed to something for the last 50 years.”
Just under 50 companies have that 50-year track record, plus a large number of brands that have changed ownership.
These supporters and long-standing stakeholders like the ANZ Bank and Waipa District Council have been acknowledged with medals.
To mark the 50th two books have been commissioned and will be published later this year, one for children and the other to bring the history right up to date after similar books were printed to mark the 25th and 40th anniversaries.
In November there will be a society reunion, at which all volunteers will get a book, to honour their service, Nation said.
