By Tanya Steele
Beautiful weather set into the picturesque countryside saw community and exhibitors alike tee up for the annual Wandin Silvan field days event at the WandinEast Reserve.
Held on Friday and Saturday over 11 and 12 October the sun came out for the first time in a few years for the vital networking and community get-together.
In its 55th year, the horticultural, agricultural and farm machinery field days event saw big crowds and Wandin Silvan Field Days President Brad Finger said the weather’s been good to them.
“We have a few more exhibitors this year – like the blacksmith and the kelpies,” he said.
Brad said it’s a big job getting together, but worth it.
“There’s something for everyone,” he said.
Located in Gruyere and a local grower himself, Brad said he’s taken over the running of the festival from his father in the last two years.
“It’s good for networking and for the community,” he said.
In some ways, Brad said hosting such a large event is becoming more challenging for vendors to bring in large machinery and equipment to display.
“Everything, costs are going up but you try to keep gate costs down,” he said.
Bringing together horticultural and agricultural producers allows them to showcase their products and services and enables visitors direct contact with the local growers and producers of the Yarra Valley region.
The displays feature a variety of exhibitors from as far as Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia, as well as from regional and country Victoria, along with a large number from local and metropolitan areas.
Paul Stafford Chainsaw Carver, a local chainsaw sculptor entertained the crowds, doing live demonstrations throughout the two-day event.
Awarding six categories to vendors on Friday, Brad gave the innovative category to Landwatch, Redshed won Light Machinery,
“Seville tractors won heavy machinery, Supergas won President’s choice and Brandt won the best-presented display,” he said.
The Yarra Valley Machinery Preservation Society won the award for general interest with their collection of working machinery from days gone by.
Restored by dedicated members, the sight, sound and smell of these machines from the past entertained both young and old.
The Field Days event remains a stalwart presence in the agribusiness calendar and local primary school students got involved, designing the flyer for the exhibition handout this year.
Justin, manager of Irribiz in Silvan said he has been part of the Wandin Silvan Field Days festival for the better part of 20 years and was also pleased about the sunshine
“I’ve seen a few and it’s rare that it isn’t raining,” he said.
“Normally it’s very wet this time of year.”
The locally-based irrigation business has a large number of berry growers and many greenhouse and flower growers.
“We basically cover everything from residential to agricultural irrigation – we are solutions-based,” he said.
“We help with everything from service to installation.”
Irrigation has evolved over time and Justin said that nowadays residential installations for tank water to basic to very advanced style setups.
“There’s also incorporating UV sterilisation filtration packages,’ he said.
Saturday saw the crowds turn out in droves, enjoying the displays of new equipment, like chainsaws, ride-on mowers, plants, local community organisations like the CFA and CWA, animals and tractors galore.
Justin said it’s a community-focused and a great way to network.
“It’s great that the weather has been good,” he said.
