Fieldays: community and connection for farming families

By: Bhupinder Kaur

Each year, Mystery Creek turns into a buzzing celebration of rural life at Fieldays, New Zealand’s biggest agricultural event. From the latest tractors and high-tech machinery to traditional farming tools, Fieldays brings together the past, present, and future of farming.

It’s not just an expo, it’s a gathering of people who work the land, raise families on farms, and care deeply about the future of rural communities.

Kiwifruit orchardists Tejpal Singh and Gurkirtan Singh, who live near Hamilton, have been attending Fieldays for the past 10 years and said they are always looking for new ideas and equipment. “Every year, there’s something better, we don’t miss it,” Tejpal Singh said.

Phil and Bryanne Weber from Whanganui said they keep returning each year not just for the gear, but for the people and the chance to learn something new. “It’s where we feel part of a bigger farming family,” Bryanne said.

Family Farmers with a Purpose

Fieldays also brings families together from across the country. Davinder Kaur, Mamta, and their family travelled from Waiuku, near Auckland, with a clear goal of exploring and buying tractors and other farming machinery for their kiwifruit farm.

“It’s not just about coming for a look,” Mamta said. “We plan every visit, compare options, and take back ideas that really help on the farm.” For them, Fieldays has become a yearly routine that combines learning with family bonding.

The Tractor Pull: Tochan with a Kiwi Twist

One of the loudest and most exciting parts of Fieldays is the Tractor Pull race. Big tractors race down a muddy track while dragging heavy weights, with cheers from the crowd rising as engines roar.

The event carries a sense of familiarity for many, similar to “Tochan,” the tractor-pulling competitions held in Punjabi villages. At Fieldays, it comes with a Kiwi twist, big screens, cheering families, and safety barriers, adding to the festive atmosphere.

Fieldays may be full of technology, deals, and displays, but at its heart, it remains about people. Farmers helping farmers, families making memories, and traditions, old and new, living side by side in the fields of Waikato.

Bhupinder Kaur is an international student from India. She is studying the Graduate Diploma in Communication at Wintec