Fieldays weather – the worst is over before it starts

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Spare a thought for Fieldays exhibitors putting the final touches to their stands tomorrow – it’s going to be wet.

The New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays is held at Mystery Creek Events Centre, 125 Mystery Creek Road, Hamilton, New Zealand. [NIWA]

NIWA, the official weather forecasters for Fieldays, is predicting heavy rain at Mystery Creek tomorrow, one day ahead of the official opening of the 50th year of the event.

Meteorologist Seth Carrier says the maximum temperature will be 16°C with winds south-southwest and then becoming west-northwest in the afternoon and gusts of 50-60km/h.

Opening day on Wednesday will be better. Mr Carrier is forecasting partly sunny conditions with the possibility of isolated showers. However, the total rainfall is likely to be 3mm or less and the maximum temperature 15-16°C.

Similar temperatures are expected throughout the four-day event, with the warmest day forecast for Saturday, when it will top out at 17°C – but rain is predicted for that final day.

The best days to attend Fieldays this year are most likely to be Thursday and Friday when it will be mostly sunny with little wind.

Weather is also the theme of NIWA’s Fieldays stand at Mystery Creek this year, handily indoors in the main pavilion.

Forecasters and climate scientists will be on hand to talk to farmers about the weather and the latest climate science developments - always an issue of keen interest in the rural community.

Climate adaptation

An inventive new tabletop game aimed to get farmers thinking about being proactive in the face of climate change will be centre stage on the NIWA stand.

The game uses 3D-printed pieces and specially-designed play money - pitting farmers against the odds of expected increases in extreme rainfall.   

The game – called the Climate Adaptation Challenge – sees players get five rolls of a 12-sided dice. Three sides feature “severe flood” four sides “high flood” and five sides “no event”. Each roll simulates 10 years on a farm.    

Players can insure themselves against the impact of a flood dice roll by using NIWA “play money” to, for example, raise the floor of their farmhouse. A member of NIWA’s social science team will be on-hand to give advice and support players' decision-making.   

There are two versions of the game – one for dairy, one for dry stock. A workbook, called Adapting to Climate Change, has been put together for farmers to take home and use as they plan for climate change.   

The NIWA exhibit will also enable farmers to explore expected regional climate changes where they live.

Climate Change guide

Download the workbook: Adapting to Climate Change [800KB PDF]

Climate change

And to coincide with Fieldays, NIWA is also launching its new one-stop climate change web page which explains everything you need to know about climate change and outlines the climate change research NIWA is undertaking.

Climate change

Climate change effects are accelerating, driving the need for actions informed by sound climate knowledge.

Find out more

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