Fieldays is off to a subdued start in overcast and wet conditions, with the usual throngs of people turning for New Zealand’s biggest agricultural event reduced to a trickle.
The four-day event near Hamilton, which usually draws in around 30,000 people a day, has attracted about 1000 exhibitors – down by about 5 per cent from the norm, Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation said.
The event was canned in 2020 due to Covid-19 but was held in June last year in between lockdowns.
The onset of the Omicron variant meant this year’s Fieldays was put off from June – normally a quiet time for farmers – until this month.
Now that concerns about Covid have abated, is it business as usual for Fieldays?