Bay of Plenty Farmers Urged to Prioritise Wellbeing as Fieldays Gets Underway

Bay of Plenty farmers are being encouraged to use this week’s Fieldays event to reflect on their wellbeing and farm safety, as new figures show more than 1400 work-related farming injuries were recorded in the region last year.

The annual agricultural showcase at Mystery Creek near Hamilton opens on Wednesday, 10 June and is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors over four days, with more than 1100 exhibitors displaying the latest technology, equipment and services for the primary sector.

ACC injury prevention leader James Whitaker said the event provided a valuable opportunity for farmers to step away from day-to-day pressures and assess how they were managing both safety and wellbeing on their farms.

“Fieldays is an awesome event and one that our rural communities look forward to every year,” Whitaker said.

“We are encouraging farmers to take a moment during the week – where they have some time and space off farm – to reflect on their processes and ensure they are prioritising wellbeing.”

ACC accepted 1412 work-related farming injury claims in the Bay of Plenty in 2025, costing $8.6 million to support recovery.

Whitaker said injuries affected not only the injured person but also their families, colleagues and businesses.

“We know that when a person sustains an injury, it has a flow-on effect to their family, their friends and their workmates, so it is always better to prevent the injury from happening in the first place.”

ACC data show that soft-tissue injuries accounted for nearly two-thirds of agricultural claims nationally, with lower back and spinal injuries among the most common.

Whitaker said farming could be physically demanding and mentally taxing, making it important for farmers to look after themselves as well as their businesses.

“New Zealand farmers are some of the best in the world at what they do, but they’re not so great at looking after themselves.”

ACC partners with rural wellbeing programme Farmstrong, which will have a presence at Fieldays throughout the week.

An ACC-funded study conducted for Farmstrong found 58 per cent of recently injured farmers linked their accident to stress associated with farm work, while one in four said stress was a major contributing factor.

The research identified exhaustion, lack of sleep, isolation, and difficulty taking time off as factors that increased the risk of injury.

Former All Black Sam Whitelock, a Farmstrong ambassador, is also attending the event and encouraging farmers to adopt the organisation’s “Five Ways to Wellbeing” framework, which focuses on connecting with others, giving, taking notice, learning and staying active.

Fieldays runs from 10-13 June at Mystery Creek Events Centre in Waikato.