Dannevirke: Aussie team help ensure field days fun

The H-Team from Fairfax Ag Events in Australia have crossed the ditch to pitch in and help out at the Central Districts Field Days. They are Barry Harley (left), son Aaron and brother Glenn with CDFD event manager Cheryl Riddell (front). Photo/Supplied

Almost immediately after the marquees come down, sheds dismantled and the rubbish cleared, Central Districts Field Days event manager Cheryl Riddell is back at work organising the next one.

Cheryl spends 11 months of the year planning and organising the event and says integral to the success of the Central Districts Field Days (CDFD) is the staff and volunteers who do everything from picking up rubbish, marking out sites and driving forklifts to manning the event's HQ and making deliveries.

For the past several years, Cheryl has been assisted by a small team from Fairfax Agricultural Events in Australia. Barry Harley, his son Aaron and brother Glenn run several field day events in Australia including the country's largest AgQuip.

"The team brings a wealth of expertise and experience to CDFD and it is great to have them on board to help run the event. CDFD has grown substantially over the past 21 years and is now the largest regional field days in New Zealand so having them here is a huge help," Cheryl said.

Barry, Aaron and Glenn, also known as the H-Team, are delighted to be at CDFD again.

"This event is a greenfield event, which is quite different from those we run in Australia," Barry said. "CDFD is unique in this respect as it is a race track designed to keep people off and we essentially have to transform it into a venue of more than 500 exhibitors, which attract tens of thousands of people through the gates."

The H-Team is responsible for logistics and making sure services such as water, power and telephone lines are connected to the various sites. Sites have to be marked out and marquees erected as well ensuring facilities such as toilets are in place. The water supply is augmented with several tanks and a power grid is established.

"It's heady stuff really and hard work. We are often putting in 14-hour days, if not longer, to make sure everything is on site and working properly. It takes about 10 days to set up and about three or four to dismantle everything and turn Manfeild Park back into a race track," Barry said.

Compared to the large agricultural events held throughout Australia, The CDFD is considered a medium-sized event but Barry says it is up there with the best of them.

"CDFD is absolutely on a par with the Australian events. Over the years, one thing we have found is the farming families which attend CDFD are more engaged than some of those in Australia. A greater proportion are genuinely here to buy each year whereas in Australia, we have a lot of droughts and one year is always different to the next in terms of sales," he said.

Barry and Cheryl both agree the event's central location, at Manfeild Park in Feilding, provides easy access for visitors.

"The majority of visitors can travel, visit and return home within a day. Even our exhibitors are now coming from all over the North Island so there is a good range of displays and plenty of entertainment to ensure this is the best day off the farm all year,"Cheryl said.

Central Districts Field Days, Manfeild Park in Feilding, March 13- 15. Gates open at 8.30am each day until 4.30pm on Thursday and Friday. Gates will close at 4pm on Saturday.