The South Island FCANZ promo trailer was on-site for the full three days of the biennial South Island Agricultural Field Days at Kirwee in Canterbury this March.
Board Member Nick Terry and FCANZ Executive Director Jaime Bigwood were on-site and available to talk about everything fencing related, from the benefits of membership to the Certificates in Fencing and how to find a fencing contractor.
The numbers attending this event seemed to be much better than at some of the other regional events so far this year. The trailer was placed between the Cowboy Challenge and the fencing competitions, and near Association Partners Waratah, Strainrite and Beattie, making for an excellent, unofficial “hub”.
There was a lot to talk about over the three days, including the Join & Win triple-entry promotion that was being run on-site and the very old fencing that was brought along by Doug Taylor and parked up near us. Many conversations were held about what the benefits are of FCANZ membership, with the realisation that it costs less than a pie per week being something that caught the ear of many.
Attending these large events is an important part of our strategy of raising the profile of the Association and, in turn, making people aware that fencing is a skilled trade. While we might not talk to everyone, more often than not, those who we do speak to (who aren’t fencers) are looking for someone to do their fencing for them. Quite a few FCANZ branded builders pencils were given away, mainly to those people looking for contractors’ as it was the easiest way to ensure they had the FCANZ web address. They were all referred to the “Find a Fencing Contractor” directory and hopefully have been in touch.
The media opportunities that can come with these events are also key, and we were able to leverage two of these to highlight that fencing is a skilled trade.
On the Wednesday, PGG ran a termination knot “fencing challenge” for the Rural Roundup lads Andy & Lashes. A very quick coaching session from Nick and Rathgen Fencing’s Tom Rathgen, and the competition was on. “It ain’t for the faint hearted or the people with office hands that’s for sure”, said Lashes. This session resulted in a great live on-air interview with Nick and a very funny (cringeworthy) video, both of which appeared on the Rural Roundup’s Facebook page. Pop on over if you want to see them in action (spoiler alert: the office-based Aucklander won by a long way!) Big thanks to Tom Rathgen for helping out with the Fencing Challenge and putting up a cracker post & rail fence around the PGG site.
Thursday gave us a slightly different opportunity when Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and his team stopped by. While I
chatted with the team about fencing and the need for it to be recognised as a trade, Chris had a lesson in tying termination knots from Nick, who was quite impressed with the Minister’s abilities.
“For what I understand was a first attempt, he did well. He might need to wear gloves next time though,” Nick said. Mr Hipkins and his team also spent time leaning on the gate talking about the Lean on a Gate programme and rural mental health, which provided valuable exposure for the work Wiggy & his team do. It was great to see that team photo show up on the Minister’s Facebook page.
It was great to see several new members sign up over the course of the event, and we look forward to seeing them at events and hearing their thoughts on how the Association can help their business. Come along and say hi to the team at Mystery Creek in June, and then Southern Field Days in Waimumu next February.
Written by Jaime Bigwood
Published in WIRED issue 77/June 2025 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ
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