Horticulture's big day makes mark

Richard Griffiths leads his Fruit Fed team at the Horticultural Field Days tug o'war competition, one of the many activities making it a must-attend event for industry players. Photo / File

National Horticultural Field Days has achieved its goal of being truly national, says Hawke's Bay A&P Society general manager Brent Linn.

"It now has national credibility and national noise," he said.

There were 72 trade exhibitors, compared with 49 in 2014, at the Showgrounds Hawke's Bay event this month, including five from the South Island. Tickets were redeemed from 3600 people - all active in the industry, he said.

Next year's event would again be held on day three of the Summerfruit New Zealand annual conference "and currently we are working to bring the Horticulture New Zealand conference to Hawke's Bay".

"The date may change from next year, to work around constitutional requirements of Horticulture New Zealand, and we will put it into July - we are working through that process."

The event's business breakfast, Horticulture's Power Breakfast with BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander, had a record crowd of 155, surpassing last year's figure.

Field Days Trade exhibitor Tow & Blow reported brisk business for its portable frost fans.

"At first we thought it wasn't going to be very successful but once people started coming out of seminars we had a great time - we showed a lot of people the machine," director Janice Atkinson said.

"I'd say there would be the potential for 10 to 20 machines - quite a substantial amount.

"There were a lot of buyers looking at two or three machines each. One is going to be doing some testing and if that came off they would take probably 10.

"Interest was huge from a lot of people who had come up from the South Island for the Summerfruit Conference, people from the Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay."

The company exhibited three years ago but experienced a lower level of interest "with a prototype that was very rough".

Grafting-tool company owner Ian Adams won the Ravensdown Innovation award, which included agricultural contractor and 2014 award winner Andy Lysaght, with his latest crop-weeding invention.

Mr Linn said judges were impressed with not only Mr Adams' invention but the sales and distribution plan.

"There are lots of people in garages all around the country who have ideas and inventions, but have rarely get through to commercialisation."

With popular conferences, seminars and an increasing number of exhibitors the Field Days was now a "must-attend" event.

"There was significant industry representation because Summerfruit was in town and Horticulture New Zealand also had its board meeting in Hawke's Bay - it was a Who's Who of horticulture."