The East Coast Farming Expo is being hailed a huge success by farmers, exhibitors and visitors alike.

The Wairoa hosted two-day event, held for sheep and beef farmers on the East Coast, is known as a no-nonsense affair that strives to bring the best of talent and innovation together.

Event manager Sue Wilson and the Wairoa Community Development Trust had to move quickly to meet COVID rules and regulations, much to the appreciation of the many who attended.

“We became known as the little event that could,” says Mrs Wilson. “We felt it was so important we find a way to safely run the Expo for the community.”

Omicron meant a couple of tweaks to the programme, including South Island speakers beaming in virtually rather than attending in person. Raupunga lad Sir Ian Taylor was one of those and his inspirational words were a real highlight for many, including Mrs Wilson.

“The calibre of speakers who continue to be willing to support the Expo has always been outstanding. They are so positive and passionate about farming and extremely keen to share their stories.”

Also speaking at the 2022 Expo were Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, entrepreneur Logan Williams, the inspirational Shaz Dagg, and National agriculture spokesperson Barbara Kuriger.

“Exhibitors had some real quality conversations with farmers and were able to catch up with clients and meet new ones. It wasn’t about selling, but more about gaining and sharing knowledge, although there were some great sales done.”

People of all ages took the opportunity to watch and learn some working dog training techniques and working dog nutrition.

Mrs Wilson was chuffed to see many younger people attending with exhibitors like Growing Future Farmers and Telford both showcasing options for the next generation of farmers. Schools from Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne attended, while Kahungunu Executive Wairoa had the vaccine bus onsite.

Trade exhibitor Haydn McKinley, Agilis Vet’s lower North Island territory manager, said the face-to-face connection with farmers was a real highlight. “Physical interaction and time out of your normal everyday work environment to attend a forward-thinking event like this is so important for keeping ahead of new technologies and learning ways to improve your business.”

Wools of NZ national wool manager Simon Averill reiterated his words. “It is in times like this that the rural community needs to come together and share experiences and ideas,” he said. “It was a real highlight for me to get together with like-minded people and tell our story. It is a real credit to the organisers for making it happen.”

Agricom’s eastern North Island sales manager Tim Jefferd also had plenty of praise for the Expo team for putting it on in the face of so many challenges. For him, the highlight was listening to Sir Ian Taylor. “He was inspiring and you could tell he had the audience captivated,” said Mr Jefferd. “With COVID limiting events over the last two years, pressures on processing plants and all the other challenges farmers face each day, it was pleasing to see a good number who travelled to participate in good discussion with exhibitors. Farmers particularly appreciated the key industry leaders like National’s Barbara Kuriger and Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, who spoke on topical matters and challenges facing our industry.”

Olivia Sanders, NZ Cashmere business development manager, made the long trek up from Otago for the Expo. “We loved the highly-engaged farmers who came through and the quality conversations we had,” she said. “We found farmers to be forward thinking and open to opportunity.”

It was critical for the start-up company to attend events like the Expo to raise brand awareness and connect “meaningfully” with farmers. “It’s been challenging to do these things without field days and shows.”

Taranaki-King Country MP Barbara Kuriger said it felt quite special to see all the tents, displays and businesses at the Expo during a time when so much has been cancelled. “Having people there face-to-face to talk to each other was a real highlight,” she said. “You can only do so much on a Zoom and it’s just not the same as sitting around a table when you can look each other in the eye, feel the intensity of their concerns, see happiness and read body language.”

While the agriculture and horticulture industries had been “relatively lucky” in comparison to tourism and hospitality, it was not without its issues and Ms Kuriger said there were some very big issues on the horizon including carbon emissions, water storage and more, and she appreciated the opportunity to chat with farmers on some of these at the Expo.

Plans are already underway for the 2023 Expo and Mrs Wilson is promising even bigger and better.

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