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Ruralco’s 29^th annual Instore Days has proved to be a great success despite cautious expectations leading up to the event.

Group CEO, Robert Sharkie says there was some nervousness pre-Instore Days given the current economic environment. “We know it’s hard work out there at the moment, but we have been pleasantly surprised with the positive response to our Instore Days. It’s great to see that level of confidence within the farming community as we come together to celebrate all things agricultural.”

It's also good for the local community, with plenty of businesses benefiting from the influx of suppliers and farming folk coming to town for the two-day event, which ran from Thursday 6 to Friday 7 July. “A big thank you to the Ashburton community for its support of this event. While it can be a bit disruptive with the extra traffic and pressure on parking, Instore Days is great for the town, with plenty of increased retail activity. The hospitality sector also gets a boost with more visitors staying and eating in Ashburton,” he says.

While the Ashburton, Rakaia and Methven stores all experienced high numbers of visitors, Ruralco’s online presence continued to grow during Instore Days, with the first online sale recorded at 2am on the first day. “It’s great to be able to meet our member’s needs in a variety of ways. Yes, it’s about pricing, but it’s also about providing meaningful and sincere service. We know that our business is intricately intertwined with our farmers’ businesses – we are very attuned to that, and we genuinely care about what happens to them.”

There’s been even more cause for celebration this year as the farming co-operative gears up for its 60^th anniversary next month. From humble beginnings in 1963 when a group of Mid Canterbury farmers got together to find ways to lower agricultural input costs, the co-operative has grown beyond its original catchment, having a national reach through its online presence and card network.

Instore Days is part of that long held tradition and remains a great opportunity for the farming community to come together, to meet with the Ruralco team and other industry players to hear first-hand about products, services, new initiatives and technologies which can assist all farming operations. This year over 80 supplier businesses participated onsite and online, with an extensive network of card merchants also participating through their own stores, and with more than 2,000 members attending the two-day event.

“The original intent to support farmers has remained unchanged. We’ve had farmers’ backs for 60 years and we will continue to do so for another 60,” says Robert.