MEDIA RELEASE
13 June 2013

Clear skies and warm weather draw in crowds for the second day of Fieldays

The Southern Hemisphere’s largest agribusiness expo attracted 31,252 people to Mystery Creek Events Centre, where 40 hectares of exhibition space is being utilised by nearly 900 exhibitors, showcasing the latest in technology and innovation.

The quality of the agricultural exhibits is at this year’s event has been high and the Best Site Awards were presented at the Black Dog Bar on Thursday evening. Jacqui Cooper, Client Relations Executive, said that it seemed to get more and more challenging to pick site winners as the bar is constantly being raised.

“Every year, the job of site award judging gets more difficult as the innovation, originality and effort put into site displays is of a higher quality than previous years. Identifying the most exceptional exhibits is a challenge as there are always so many to choose from.”

The Jubilee Trophy, presented to the site that best captures Fieldays’ spirit was awarded to Fieldmaster, for embracing this year’s theme – ‘Getting down to business in the global economy’. Judges stated that it was of exceptional quality and a clear winner. This prize includes $1000 towards 2014’s site fees.

Best Site Award Winners:
·         Best Food Vendor site – One Love
·         Best Rural Living site – Ethan Outdoor Furniture
·         Best Indoor Agribusiness site – Alliance Agricultural Tyres
·         Best International Exhibition Area site – Valagro Pacific
·         Best Mystery Creek Pavilion site – Jobe Valves Ltd
·         Best Premier Feature site – AgResearch Ltd
·         Best Small Outdoor Agribusiness site – Qubik TMC Ltd
·         Best Medium Outdoor Agribusiness site – Can-Am
·         Best Large Outdoor Agribusiness site – Honda Motorcylces NZ
·         Jubilee Award - Fieldmaster

The event also provides a platform to showcase New Zealand’s finest food and beverage within the Kiwi’s Best Kitchen marquee. A real highlight for visitors has been seeing Kiwis Best Kitchen celebrity chef, Josh Emett, cooking with fresh New Zealand produce in the Heathcote Appliances Kitchen Theatre.

Answering questions about cooking, baking and his recent appearance on Masterchef, visitors updated their skills in the kitchen and went home with plenty of handy tips.

Josh said he’s been overwhelmed by the positive response and amazing turnouts, which have clearly gone far beyond his expectations.

“I’m a local guy who grew up here, so there are lots of familiar faces saying ‘hi’, as well as many new ones. I feel quite at home here. The cooking’s great. There are so many people interested in food, from parents and teenagers to young kids.”

Josh believes that at the heart of cooking is getting families to spend time together. He says, ‘the kitchen is the engine room. It’s what it’s all about and it works’.

Also featuring at Day Two of Fieldays was Ag Art Wear’s Rural to Runway Show – which brings the rural sector to life through fashion.

Audience members were treated to an action packed show with stunning garments on display. Standout outfits came from the ‘Designer Traditional’ category which embraced innovation and pushed the confines of the traditional realm, including couture overtones. Audience members applauded with delight. Two more on-site shows remain, on Friday and Saturday at 11am.

With the Ag Art Wear Gala Dinner and Award Show on Friday night, the judges have a tough task on their hands when choosing who will take out the titles for all three categories.

Tomorrow is the final day to experience the Fieldays Seminars, powered by the University of Waikato, where visitors are able to see industry leaders discuss topical issues. One of tomorrow’s sessions includes, ‘Delivering to international markets’, presented by MPI. 

New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays is on now until 15 June 2013 at Mystery Creek Events Centre, 10 minutes south of Hamilton. Fieldays is proudly supported by strategic partners - ANZ and the University of Waikato. Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate, visit www.fieldays.co.nz for more details.

ENDS

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