Field day season kicks off across Australia

Starting off the season is the Tocal Field Days in NSW's Hunter Valley, which is celebrating its 40^th anniversary and is on from March 3 to 5. In the same week the Wimmera Machinery Field Days, which is marking 60 years, is on in Victoria from March 5 to 7.

The Association of Agricultural Field Days of Australasia (AAFDA) represents the interests of field days across Australia and New Zealand and chairman Bruce Wright said altogether these field days generated an estimated $2 billion in sales per annum.

"We estimate there's over 10,000 businesses and community organisations that participate in field days and over a million people that visit them," he said.

"We believe these figures are actually conservative."

Mr Wright said with field days generating such a massive economic opportunity for the regions they're based, COVID shutdowns hit hard.

"We are still dealing with the recovery out of COVID and many events have also been affected by fires and floods in the last three years," he said.

"The challenges in the last five years have been unprecedented but not only have these events survived, they're starting to thrive again.

"Field days really are a great opportunity for local, regional, national and international businesses to engage with rural communities."

Mr Wright is also the driving force behind the Primex Field Days held in Casino in northern NSW.

The event is celebrating 40 years in 2024 and is on May 16 to 18.

"As far as I know, Primex is the only family-owned field days," Mr Wright said.

Primex will feature a range of industry hubs from education and careers; affordable housing; business, innovation and agritech; forestry and timber; and health and wellbeing.

The South East Field Days are being held in Lucindale, SA, on March 15 and 16.

Secretary Nicole Crosby said a new addition to last year's event, the AgTech Centre, would be back even bigger and better in 2024.

The centre will feature speakers including soil scientist Mel Fraser.

"We introduced the AgTech Centre last year," Ms Crosby said.

"Being a new initiative it wasn't quite full last year, so it's been fantastic to be able to fill it this year."

Regular features including the always popular South Australian Yard Dog Association state championships and the Scrap Metal Art Competition return this year.

Wimmera Machinery Field Days president Tim Rethus said an addition to this year's event would be a biosecurity hub.

"It's a new innovation for this year, which really highlights how this area is becoming more and and more important to our farm businesses," he said.

The Wimmera Machinery Field Days was one of the last events to be held before Victoria's COVID lockdowns in 2020, but then it had two years of shutdown.

It made a triumphant return in 2023 and Mr Rethus said attendees can expect an even bigger event this year.

"Coming out of COVID, there wasn't a lot of equipment available to show," he said.

"This year exhibitors have a lot more equipment to show, so it will be a return to more of a look and touch event, rather than see and hear."

There will be plenty of new equipment on show, including at the Traction Ag site where the new Fendt Rogator 937 spray applicator will be on display.

The Fendt Rogator 937 is improved from previous Rogator models with a new chassis, larger engine and horsepower offering, Fendt cab with excellent visibility for the operator and options on the tech-stacks available, using either a RAVEN Viper4+ terminal and associated hardware or a Fendt AgControl system.

All models have AGCO Power 8.4L engines and are equipped with Fendt Liquid Logic liquid management as standard, with liquid capacities up to 6000L and dry spinner systems with capacities ranging from 253 to 330 cubic feet for combo-ready units.

Mr Rethus said the field day site at Longerenong was looking a picture this year.

"The site's looking really good, we've had quite a wet summer so we've got good grass cover," he said.