THE WIMMERA Machinery Field Days are back with a vengeance.
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Three years after the last event in 2020 the Wimmera's largest event kicked off yesterday with a large crowd braving cool and blustery conditions to browse among the hundreds of exhibits at the Longerenong site.
Big ticket items to attract attention included new releases from sprayer manufacturer Goldacres, a precision agriculture weeder to provide inter and intra row weeding and the new Seed Hawk iCon air seeder for planting.
Along with the big gear, organisers said they have put in extra work to provide new experiences at the field days.
WMFD manager Vanessa Lenehan said this year the field days committee had unveiled the Market Square concept around the centre of the field days site, featuring a number of local food and wine producers.
Ms Lenehan said there were also a range of new attractions, including the Rev It Up Racing simulator and the Level Up gaming space, while there are a steady stream of speakers in the auditorium, ranging from Agriculture Victoria presenters, experts on farm planning through to sessions on careers in agriculture.
Exhibitors from across Australia have come to attend the three day event, held at Longerenong, north-east of Horsham, while the crowd had a strong Wimmera Mallee element to it but also featured many visitors from South Australia and NSW.
WMFD committee president Tim Rethus said he was excited to see the event up and running.
"It creates such a buzz, not only at the event itself but also out through the community, you can see what the extra visitors to the Wimmera mean to local businesses," he said.
He said the crowds showed that in spite of the increased ability to research big ticket machinery purchases online there was still a place for physical field day events.
"Nothing beats seeing the products for yourself, learning and connecting with the manufacturers and suppliers and finding solutions to on-farm problems."
Ms Lenehan commended the efforts of the various community groups, including local schools and sporting clubs that use the field days as a fundraiser by manning the gate or running food stalls inside the event.
"Support from our community groups is paramount to the success of the field days."
Horsham Rural City mayor Robyn Gulline said the field days was a major event in one of the nation's biggest grain producing regions.
"Agriculture is the main industry in western Victoria and the field days are an opportunity for farmers and industry to learn from each other and share innovative solutions and technological advances," she said.