The National Agricultural Fieldays in Waikato has been postponed until later this year due to the Omicron outbreak and uncertainty around Covid-19 restrictions.
The National Agricultural Fieldays is held at Mystery Creek in Waikato. Photo: supplied
The Mystery Creek event, held annually in June, is the largest agricultural trade show in the Southern Hemisphere and normally attracts over 100,000 people.
Organiser had signalled earlier this month a decision on the fate of the 2022 event would need to be made shortly, to give exhibitors and contractors certainty and ensure there was enough time to prepare the Mystery Creek site.
National Fieldays Society chief executive Peter Nation said in an update to stakeholders that holding Fieldays later in the year would give all involved confidence and breathing room.
"The Fieldays pack-in and build commences in April - with a large number of contractors on site, this would not be possible under the red traffic light setting and whilst we can hope for a change in traffic light settings soon, this is crystal ball gazing at best," he said.
Nation said the Omicron outbreak had also meant that resourcing has become a significant issue for all Fieldays stakeholders, with a tight labour market and employee absenteeism due to ill health and isolation restrictions.
"This decision [to postpone] did not come lightly but will ensure the physical Fieldays event can operate to its full potential."
Fieldays 2022 is now expected to run over four days from 30 November to 3 December.