Fieldays still going strong

For some it's the tractors, others love the new gadgets, and most are out for a bargain.

But for the semi-rural female, a highlight of Fieldays for the past few years has been the Rural Bachelor of the Year competition.

This year eight eligible bachelors stepped up to take part in a competition that includes everything from dancing with cheerleaders, to more practical (and rural) tasks such as fencing and using cutting horses to work with cattle.

We caught the bachelors strutting their stuff with the cheerleaders and those girls did pretty well with some of the, well, less graceful boys.

Some bachelors took to it like a duck to water (perhaps a result of some practice sessions in the milking shed?) and treated the gathered crowd to some booty-shaking. The contestants were all very easy on the eye as well - it'll be a close competition between the boys this year.

Of course it's not all about the bachelors. There is still plenty to see and do at Fieldays - although this year there did seem to be less people out and about experiencing the event.

Even with the Waikato turning on weather so good gumboots were actually an option rather than a necessity, crowds were noticeably smaller compared with a couple of years ago.

There are still some great bargains to be had and my friend and I managed to leave with a swag of jackets, beanies, and polar fleeces along with the ubiquitous socks that everyone seems to buy at Fieldays.

Said friend was also jammy enough to win a rather swish pair of gumboots during a rural bachelor competition at the Skellerup stand. However possibly our best bargain was a free ride back up the hill to the car park area courtesy of a couple of tractors shuttling back and forth with stock crate hitched up.

The big tractors that go for the same price as a house in Balclutha were still there, along with the usual water tanks, fencing, milking systems, clothing companies and plenty of kiosks selling hot dogs on a stick, hot chips and steak sandwiches.

Reports are that farmers are still keen to spend money, despite the recession and a lower dairy payout than last season, however there are either a lot less tyre kickers around this year or Fieldays retailers are really being optimists.

Either way, Fieldays is a rural institution that has been through recessions in the past and no doubt will go through more in the future - just as long as they keep running that bachelor of the year competition.

View scenes from Fieldays 2009 here.