Yesterday saw 24,663 visitors through the gate to visit the 1400 exhibits.
The Fieldays were officially opened at lunchtime, on the event’s 50th birthday.
New Zealand National Fieldays Society chief executive Peter Nation spoke at the opening ceremony of the changes the agricultural industry has seen over the last fifty years and introduced this year’s theme of the future of farming.
“New Zealand and our agricultural industry is vastly different to what it was in 1969 largely driven by our hunger and desire to be leaders in our special industry.” Nation said.
“As a small country at the bottom of the world we have utilised innovation and technology driven off the back of a Kiwi can do attitude to our advantage to make our mark on the world. Like our sporting achievements, agriculture also boxes far above its weight on the world stage. We produce world class food, world class technology and word class farmers.”
The ceremony continued with the raising of the Fieldays and New Zealand flags followed by the national anthem and finishing with ribbon cutting by NZNFS president Peter Carr and patron and the Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy.
