EXHIBITORS have been working in overdrive preparing for the gates to the country’s largest agricultural field days, AgQuip, to officially open tomorrow.
Some of the 3000 exhibitors from all corners of the country and the world were putting final touches on their displays on Monday, before 100,000 visitors converge on Gunnedah for the three-day annual event.
Among them was Manilla-based business, M&M Stockyards, who has frequented AgQuip for more than 20 years.
Owner Shane McNamara said it was the repeat sales AgQuip generated that kept them coming back each year.
“The benefits we find with AgQuip is certainly the repeat sales we get from people that come through,” he said.
“It’s not only the sales we get from AgQuip, but we certainly get sales throughout the year just by displaying at AgQuip.”
Exhibitors come from far and wide to showcase their products across a 26-hectare site directly to their regional consumers.
Kelly Engineering sees the benefit in making the journey from South Australia for AgQuip every year.
“We’ve been coming to AgQuip now for over 25 years,” Cavin Osborn said.
“We keep coming back because it’s the biggest show in Australia and we get people all over the country come to visit us.”
It’s a sentiment Sydney-based livestock nutrition company, Olsson’s, stands by.
“We’ve been coming to AgQuip now for about 16 years,” Allan Ross said.
“We keep coming back because it’s good value for money in terms of the number of the public that go through the gates, as opposed to other ones where they charge you a fee.
“There’s no fee to get into here so the public patronises it very well and the results speak for themselves.”
Andre Di was unpacking clothes at his Strictly Workwear stand on Monday after making the return journey from Sydney.
“This is our 27th year here,” Mr Di said.
“It’s the people that keep me coming back.
“I just love dealing with down-to-earth country people.”
Shearing Supplies NSW has been heading to AgQuip from Dubbo for 30 years.
“It’s a good field days,” owner Meg Bush said.
“We always do well here. It’s just another way of advertising.”
So is it the best field days in the country?
“Of course it is,” she said.
Commonwealth Bank AgQuip, Australia’s biggest field days and one of the largest agri-events in the world, is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
Gates open from 9am to 5pm Tuesday and Wednesday, and 9am to 4pm Thursday. AgQuip, on Blackjack Rs, is a unique event offering free visitor admission and free parking.
Old and new head to AgQuip
GUNNEDAH’S Owen Jones has been heading to AgQuip since it started in 1973.
On Monday, the 70-year-old was back on site checking out the exhibits ahead of the official opening today, where he met first-time visitor Shane Kennewell, of Parry Logistics, Tamworth.
Mr Jones, a former Mullaley farmer of 40 years, used to shop around at AgQuip, but now he’s a self-confessed “vintage tractor tragic”, showcasing collections with Gunnedah Rural Museum.
“I come every year,” Mr Jones said.
“When I was farming, it was a marketplace. You can see everything at one point. It brings a lot of customers to town and puts Gunnedah on the map.”
World champion wood chopper David Foster was also out and about on Monday as part of his duties as the Atlantic Oil ambassador.