The 2016 Australian National Field Days (ANFD) have been hailed a success, with 14,000 people attending the three-day event.
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ANFD manager Jayne West said Saturday’s crowd figure of 7,000 – achieved despite a sluggish start to the day as the morning gloom lingered – was a fantastic way to wrap up another successful year at the Borenore site.
“It’s up a little on last year’s Saturday,” Mrs West said.
“We initially thought it would be a disaster following Friday’s weather.”
The attendance figures do not include the 500-strong contingent of exhibitors, 40 per cent of whom have already reserved their place for the 2017 edition of the field days.
Mrs West nominated Mitsubishi selling 11 cars over three days and Leichts Country Industries’ sale of seven cattle crushes as her personal highlights from the event, which commenced on Thursday.
Manildra’s MSM Milling was the feature exhibition and Mrs West said they had received plenty of feedback from farmers interested in changing their canola handler.
One of the businesses which didn’t have an agricultural focus was Parkes Caravans.
Owner Steve McGuire said it was important to support the field days as an exhibitor.
“We like to support the show and make people aware of our products,” Mr McGuire said.
“It’s important to be part of a community-run event.”
People young and old were checking out the caravans.
“There’s also young families wanting to give their children an experience they’ve had themselves in the past,” Mr McGuire said.
Grape and prune grower Peter Cremasco traveled from Yenda in the state’s south-west, his second visit to Borenore 35 years after his first.
“It’s been worthwhile making the trip, it’s a good day out,” Mr Cremasco said.
“It’s a beautiful day and it’s very well organised.”
Like many at the field days, Mr Cremasco had was confident the coming harvest would be a profitable one but hoped the rain stayed away.
“The season is looking good so far, we’ve had enough rain now,” he said.
“A warm, dry spell would be lovely and improve our chances for a good season.”
In a first for Australian field days, Telstra was showing off the latest in their home automation systems.
The telco’s smart home concepts included futuristic automated doors and lights and air-conditioning powered by sensors connected to a home network.
Telstra’s business development specialist said the system could send an image of a person knocking on the door to a homeowner’s mobile or notify them when their children have arrived home.