Fieldays 2026

Fieldays revue from the Chair

BNNZ had another smashing success at the Mystery Creek Fieldays in mid June, where we once again set up a live biochar demo at the Forestry Hub and cooked up treats for the punters. The weather held and the crowds showed up, and people were in generally good spirits for the event.

For anyone who's never been to the Fieldays, picture a mid-size farm taken over by merchandise. This year's show was packed to the rafters with big equipment, shiny utes, tools and clothing for outdoor work. There were food trucks and boutique tasting opportunities, lots of technology, and heaps of specials to entice buyers...a few of us reckoned that for some vendors this four-day period probably brings in as much sales volume as the silly season.

Amidst all this hoopla, the BNNZ camp kitchen with authentic vintage cookware (and equally authentic personnel) stood as a bit of relief to visitors. Kudos to John Wraight of Char Pae for the vision, the gear, and the execution of our Charbeque Central, where every time someone asked "What are you selling?" we got to tell them all we were doing was giving out food and samples. We cooked up hundreds of venison sausages made from deer culled from the Kaingaroa Forest as part of a pest control initiative, and as a bonus this year we also roasted sweet corn grown by committee member Simon Day...with biochar, of course.

This year's outing marked an inflection point in terms of our message: For the first time, we didn't find ourselves explaining biochar from the basics to many of our visitors -- instead, they came to us already well-informed and seeking detailed advice on producing, sourcing, and using it. We may be able to look back a few years from now and say this was the year we came in from the fringe and "went mainstream" in the eyes of the farming community. Andrew and Toula had a steady stream of engaged folk at the Southland Carbon booth as well, and generously supplied a bulk bag of top grade biochar for a prize drawing.

A huge thanks to all the volunteers who put in the hard yards setting up and running our exhibit: John W, John M, Trevor, Simon, Dylan, Betsy, Thabiso, Helmut, and to the society members who came and said hello. Also, gratitude to Adele Maurice and the MPI team for the organisational finesse required to pull off a big venue like the Forestry Hub. Of course, a big hand also goes to the Farm Forestry volunteers, who graciously conceded the role of sausage slingers despite a bit of friendly rivalry behind the scenes.

The exhibit made the finalist cut for the Fieldays Sustainability Awards, although we were pipped at the post for the top prize. Despite that, we made almost half a cubic metre of good quality biochar across the four days, and in doing so put 168 kg of CO2 into safe, long-term storage. Plans are already afoot for the next one, and we may take the show on the road to some other events in the meantime.

Phil Stevens

Executive committee chair