20,000 people attend Northland Field Days

Dargaville’s Caitlin Strauss (5) and Ben Strauss (3) with a model high-risk koi carp pest fish that could create major environmental issues for Northland waterways Photo / Susan Botting

Northland Field Days’ future will continue to be relevant into a changing AI-influenced tomorrow, regional leader John Blackwell says.

Some 20,000 people turned out for the 2025 event, which ran from Thursday last week until Saturday at Awakino Pt, near Dargaville.

Blackwell, and Okahu, Kaipara farmer and Northland Field Days committee member, said there would always be a place for the event — New Zealand’s second-largest annual event of its type after the Mystery Creek Fieldays at Hamilton.

The Northland Regional Council (NRC) and former Kaipara District Council (KDC) councillor said farmers in particular liked to be hands-on and talking face to face.

This approach worked well in conjunction with increasingly common AI technology and would continue to do so.

Northland Field Days committee treasurer and NRC councillor John Blackwell with the council-described “farmer’s nightmare” and poisonous-to-animals pasture pest Madagascar ragwort that’s increasingly worrying authorities Photo / Susan Botting

It started 40 years ago at the Dargaville racecourse with 80 exhibitors and is now Northland’s biggest outdoor event.

The event was the Northland Field Days 38th. It has been run annually since 1985, except for two years during Covid-19 restrictions.

Blackwell said the event was hugely popular, with all 400 available sites occupied for the first time, this year.

The 30-year event veteran was among local government leaders who turned out to adjacent NRC and KDC sites this year.

The two councils’ sites cost ratepayers a combined $10,885 — NRC’s $10,000 and KDC’s $884.39.

NRC chairman Geoff Crawford said the $10,000 was money well spent.

“It’s a chance to meet all the right people in one place,” Crawford said.

Click through below to view images from the event:

Image 1 of 15: Whangārei’s Maisie Otto (2) and her mother Alannah Otto were on a family day out at the Northland Field Days where they explored what was what in the NRC site Photo / Susan Botting

The council’s presence allowed farmers and others the opportunity to visit the council in a different setting.

It offered an opportunity for people to ask questions about a wide range of important aspects, including pest control, how to best manage highly erodible land, on-farm freshwater management and potential funding.

“A lot of people in the community are involved with pest control for rats and cats and possums, for example,” Crawford said.

“They could come to the tent and find out more about how to do this.”

The same applied to weeds.

“A lot of people have weeds in their gardens, some of which can be quite bad, and they don’t realise.”

The event was for rural, town and city folk alike.

About 1800 Free ‘Tex-Mex wallaby quesadillas with parmesan mayonnaise’ were this year’s free wild food treats at the NRC’s field days site — used to highlight the important pest control message of keeping the animal out of Northland.

The joint creation by NRC, NorthTec Level 4 cookery students and their tutor Hughie Blues added to a long list of annual wild food treats with a message over the years, including venison bruschetta, wasp larvae ice cream, wild pork rolls, rabbit rissoles, possum pate and goat meat pies.

Former Kaipara Mayor and NRC deputy chair Graeme Ramsay Photo / Susan Botting

Former Kaipara mayor and NRC deputy chairman Graeme Ramsay, who has attendedthe event for 30 years, said the event held a special place in the community and was the backbone of the region’s economy, particularly in rural areas.

Hundreds of hours of volunteering went into making it happen.

“The event highlights innovation in our primary sector to Northland and beyond,” Ramsay said.

“It’s just as important now as it was 30 years ago.”

Another former Kaipara mayor and event attendee for three decades, Dr Jason Smith, said the “kanohi ke to kanohi” (face to face) aspect of the Northland Field Days was important.

He said it was also important for local government to be present.

That gave people an opportunity to speak to their politicians in a setting other than a council building.

“Local government’s important. It’s exactly where the people are,” Smith said.

It also served as an icebreaker for those who had not interacted with council politicians, staff or the council before.

KDC’s tent highlights included the importance of voting in the upcoming October 2025 local elections and more.

Kaipara councillor and event attendee of over 20 years Whakapirau’s Mark Vincent, said people needed to get out and vote.

His will be the only Northland council not to have a Māori ward at the upcoming local elections.

Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson said being at the event was important for his council.

His council’s spending on its site was worthwhile.

Being at the event was a great way to interact with the community, he said.

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.