It's South Island Dairy Event (SIDE) time again, and Ashburton farmer and outgoing SIDE chairperson Jonathan Hoets is encouraging Mid Canterbury dairy farmers to head along to this year's event.

"We have moved SIDE back to the regions after being at Lincoln last year.

"It's in Timaru this year, which makes it more central for local Ashburton people."

The event has a new date this year.

Traditionally held in Winter, SIDE will now take place in Autumn, running from April 7–9, to avoid clashing with busy periods on-farm.

The three-day conference is the largest of its kind in New Zealand, designed by farmers for farmers, and features a range of keynote speakers, networking opportunities, and workshops with industry experts, including farmers, researchers, consultants, and accountants.

Independent economist Cameron Bagrie returns to this year's event, speaking at the SIDE breakfast on the last day of the conference.

"He will speak on the state of agriculture and build on what he did last year," Hoets said.

Although Hoets has handed over the reins as chairperson, he remains actively involved in the event and serves on the SIDE governance group.

"The focus this year is to bring some really granular information so farmers can come to the event and build that knowledge into their business."

Other keynote speakers include Olympic Rower Emma Twigg, military veteran and leadership specialist Dr Ellen Ford and podcaster and dairy farmer Sam Owen.

Jamie Mckay, host of The Country radio programme, will MC the event.

2025 SIDE co-chair and Southland dairy farmer Abby Rawcliffe said this year's event has a strong focus on science innovation and agri-tech.

"We had the idea that we could do a sort of speed dating session on the new science and innovation happening."

Rawcliffe said it provides an opportunity to show farmers where their DairyNZ levy money is being spent.

"We pay our levies, and we often don't know what our levies are going toward and what research and development is going on out there."

Rawcliffe said it gives researchers and scientists the chance to showcase what they are doing and farmers the chance to question it and see if it would be practical on-farm.

"We thought we would do little snippets of each thing, and then farmers have the opportunity to network with presenters afterwards."

BrightSIDE, a conference segment aimed at people entering or new to the dairy industry, is making a comeback this year, running alongside the main event.

BrightSIDE attendees will listen to keynote speaker Emma Twigg before attending practical workshops.

"It's about hands-on experience and putting them in front of industry professionals.

"It's very focused on opportunities within the industry and keeping people in the sector."

In what Rawcliffe describes as an "exciting opportunity", SIDE will be offering a $3000 scholarship to a recipient who attended this year's conference or has attended in the past.

"They can put that money towards doing a university course or industry training to further their development."

Rawcliffe said that every aspect of this year's SIDE event focuses on how to achieve a one per cent gain in all aspects of your farming business.

"Farmers can learn about them, take the home and action them, and that develops the industry."

With the event’s new location and timing, Rawcliffe encourages farmers to take advantage of the opportunity.

“It’s right on their doorstep. Even if they can only attend for one day, it’s better than nothing. It’s a chance to take a break from farm life, broaden their knowledge, and expand their networks.”

SIDE 2025

When:

Field Trip: Monday, April 7

Conference: Tuesday, April 8 & Wednesday, April 9

Where: Southern Trust Events Centre, Timaru

Registration and ticket sales: https://www.side.org.nz/Event-Details/Registration

By Claire Inkson