23 June 2006 New Chairman for the 2007 South Island Agricultural Field Days

At the recent Annual General Meeting of the South Island Agricultural Field Days Society, Paul Wright, of Sheffield, was elected Chairman of the 2007 Field Days organising committee. Paul has been on the committee for eight years and during that time he has been responsible for the “new inventions competition".

Paul and his wife Nancy farm a 700ha property North West of Sheffield, Canterbury. They run a large scale mixed cropping unit specialising in lamb and cattle finishing, seed potatoes, small seeds and cereals and some legumes. Paul and Nancy have two small sons, James and Alex. Paul follows in a tradition of the Wright family who have given service to the rural sector in Canterbury for generations.

"I am standing on the shoulders of the committees before me", said Paul Wright, "and I have inherited a Field Days and a committee who are in great heart. I have been through the evaluations from the 2005 Field Days and they are an overwhelming reinforcement of the vision I have for the 2007 event. We will be sticking with our knitting, as our name suggests", continued Wright, "and running an event specifically for the agricultural/rural community. Our exhibitors are emphatically behind us in their endorsement that we run midweek, avoid arts and crafts type exhibits and try even harder in our comparative demonstrations programme. This is where we have come from since 1951 and my time at the helm will see us do what we do best."

The next South Island Agricultural Field days will be held on the Lincoln University Farm site 28 - 30 March 2007. For more information contact the secretary 03 3253832 or email: costelle@lincoln.ac.nz