The Fonterra marquee was a hive of activity during the Fieldays 2024. Over four days, the Co-op hosted thousands of farmers in its dedicated farmer lounge, serving barista-made coffee and a range of food and beverages made with Fonterra dairy ingredients – including our famous Fieldays cheese toasties.
It was a great chance for the Co-op team to catch up with farmers and families as we celebrated the Co-operative spirit with our theme: “Better together starts here”.
Members of the Board and management team were on hand to chat with farmers and answer their questions. Fonterra’s CEO for Greater China, Teh-han Chow, also attended and shared some of the success stories from that market.
In our public area, we had a range of activities and experiences showcasing the Co-op’s innovation and sustainability. This included the chance to get behind the wheel of a Fonterra Milk Tanker. Our tanker team were on hand to answer everyone’s curious questions about their milk runs.
The “Dairy Run” marble race proved popular with both kids and their parents and provided a fun example of the journey from ‘grass to glass’. The kids made good use of the craft and activity area while their parents talked shop.
Within our farmer lounge we had trade show stands providing farmers and visitors alike with the chance to review our global products, ingredients and see the range of customers we work with around the world, with representation from NZMP, Organics, Nutiani & Anchor Food Professionals.
Future farmers also had the chance to chat about options with the Co-op at our dedicated Fonterra careers stall within the wider Fieldays Careers and Education Hub.
“Fonterra has been attending National Fieldays for decades and it is always an excellent event to be part of. We really enjoy the chance to chat with our farmers about life on farm and share some of our delicious dairy goodness with them. Teams from across all areas of the Co-op were involved in bringing the Fonterra Fieldays experience to life,” says Andrea Perez, General Manager Brand Experience.
Time Out Tour
Another highlight was the Time Out Tour. This is an initiative by Fonterra, the Rural Support Trust, ANZ, Bayleys, BDO, Datamars Livestock and the Ministry for Primary Industries to raise awareness of mental health wellness among farmers.
After two successful events in Southland, broadcaster and farmer Matt Chisholm brought the tour to the Fieldays.
Visitors had the opportunity to hear Matt, All Black Carl Hayman, Surfing for Farmers’ Matte Kirke, and Clinical Psychologist and farmer Sarah Donaldson speak on both the Thursday and Friday of the Fieldays and it was standing room only at both events.
The Time Out Tour is now travelling throughout the country with events in Waikato, Manawatu, and Canterbury over the coming months.
Visit www.rural-support.org.nz/Time-Out-Tour for more information.