South East Field Days

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (15:23): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister please update the chamber on her recent visits to the South East Field Days?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:24): I thank the honourable member for his question. As I hope all members are aware, field days are held across various regional locations in South Australia and play a pivotal role in bringing the community together. I had the opportunity last week to call by just prior to the start of my home field days, the South East Field Days, known as the 'friendly field days'.

I had the opportunity to meet with the secretary of the South East Field Days event, Nicole Crosby, and I want to say thank you for the time and generous hospitality given to me in briefing me about preparations for the event, along with an overview of some of the stalls that were set up for the two days. It was wonderful to hear about the large uptake in support for space at the grounds in light of recent times where, as a result of COVID, we saw a much smaller event in recent years.

The South East Field Days are primarily agricultural with an emphasis on catering for the needs of families. The majority of the exhibits are self-staging outdoor exhibits, along with two large pavilions that offer craft and clothing, along with wines and food from across the Limestone Coast region.

The South East Field Days are a project of the Lucindale Lions Club, with money raised through the event going back into the field days site for maintenance and upgrades to ground work, along with supporting other local projects in the South-East community, but of course it also provides an excellent opportunity for members of the South-East to come together.

I understand that it was anticipated that the event would draw in over 15,000 people from across the region, which speaks to the significance of the event. While I was there I took the opportunity to speak with some of the stallholders, including Grain Producers of South Australia, Rural Business Support, the Wine Grape Council of South Australia and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, all of whom offered attendees a wonderful opportunity to connect to key representatives from the industry and associated bodies.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank all the PIRSA staff, who had a large presence at the event as well. I was able to call by and speak with PIRSA staff from a range of different divisions. There were stalls focusing on fisheries, biosecurity, plant and animal health, and forestry, which had been set up ready to offer information to the South-East community. It was timely to view the biosecurity stand, which had preserved examples of footrot in livestock, which I know has been a topic of conversation in recent weeks in parts of the South-East.

The PIRSA tent was a wealth of knowledge across a range of areas and provided the perfect opportunity for attendees to obtain a range of relevant information. The Agtech Centre, which was run by the Struan Research Centre, provides an excellent opportunity for agricultural technology businesses to promote new technology and innovation with farmers and agricultural retailers throughout the South-East region.

Once again, I want to thank the organisers for their incredibly hard work in preparing for this event. Events like this do not just happen, they require large amounts of planning and preparation. I am advised the event was very much a success and would like to say well done to all.