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Prime Minister John Key - Source: ONE News -
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People flocking to a huge event on the farming calendar will be keeping an ear on Alan Bollard.
The Reserve Bank Governor will on Thursday make his latest announcement on the official cash rate, and any drop from 2.5% means more spending power for the thousands attending Waikato's Fieldays.
Many checking out the hundreds of exhibitions and demonstrations at the annual field days admit they are feeling a fair bit of financial pain currently.
Farmers spent almost $300 million on stock, equipment and new technology at the event last year.
But are the tough economic times forcing farmers to put the brakes on their spending this time?
"We're quite surprised, it seems to be going well even with the economic problems," says one farmer.
Prime Minister John Key, who opened the event, is taking a close interest in the pressures on the farming sector as they struggle with a much lower than forecast dairy payout and a volatile exchange rate.
Farmers hope there will be some relief if the official cash rate is cut further on Thursday.
Key is sympathetic to the idea too.
"Our big aim is that if the Reserve Bank governor does cut rates tomorrow (Thursday), it flows through to what consumers are paying because in the last cut Alan Bollard made it ended up with banks and not consumers," he says.
Farmers are also grumpy banks seem slow to pass on the benefits of cuts to the official cash rate.
"People that have borrowed to a high level will be feeling it. I wouldn't mind if they were down a bit," says one farmer.
However, at the Fieldays, there still seems to be plenty of optimism about the future of farming.
More than 130,000 visitors attended the four-day event last year and organisers are hoping to see an even bigger turnout this year despite the economic downturn.
