NAMPO Harvest Day is one of the largest agricultural exhibitions in the country and possibly the world, taking place every May since 1974. This week-long expo, this year held between 16-20 May, is hosted by Grain SA, and includes all stakeholders in South African agriculture and draws tens of thousands of visitors each year. The Crop Floral Biology and Environments (CFBE) research team at FABI is conducting planting date maize trials across the country to assess the factors contributing to poor yields at late planting dates as part of Grain SA’s climate resilience consortium, funded by Department of Science and Innovation, Technology Innovation Agency and the Maize Trust. One of the trial sites is located in Bothaville, Free State at the NAMPO grounds and was effectively used to demonstrate to the public and stakeholders the process and importance of this research. Dr Robert Mangani, Ms Ofentse Mathibela and Dr Nicky Creux represented the Grain Research Programme at this premiere event, using posters to engage with the public and stake holders during the event. There was a great deal of interest, particularly from small holder farmers, who highlighted a need for better access to information within the sector. We see our participation in this event and the annual GRP stakeholder meetings as a first step to improving the flow of information within the community to better tackle the grand challenges facing agriculture in South Africa.