Open Country opens butter plant
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
With the launch of its first wireless farm monitoring camera FMC-IP1, dairy automation company DeLaval now offers farmers the possibility of true real-time monitoring over their livestock and buildings from smartphones, tablets or computers.
By giving farmers the freedom to monitor without being on-site, activities such as calving can be monitored more efficiently, and alarms can be checked visually.
DeLaval product manager farm supply Eva Ramvall says in an industry where cow comfort and welfare are vital to productivity, the ability to efficiently monitor the herd, from wherever the farmer happens to be, is important in maintaining a well-functioning operation.
The Farm Monitoring Camera system has been specifically designed for ease of installation and to withstand the dirt and humidity of barns as well as outdoor weather conditions. It also provides a night vision function and sound, in addition to motion detection and a recording function. This makes it ideal for a wide range of monitoring tasks, from animal and property monitoring to checking grain driers during harvesting.
The camera will be made available during the coming twelve months in all its main markets, says DeLaval.
The National Wild Goat Hunting Competition has removed 33,418 wild goats over the past three years.
New Zealand needs a new healthcare model to address rising rates of obesity in rural communities, with the current system leaving many patients unable to access effective treatment or long-term support, warn GPs.
Southland farmers are being urged to put safety first, following a spike in tip offs about risky handling of wind-damaged trees
Third-generation Ashburton dairy farmers TJ and Mark Stewart are no strangers to adapting and evolving.
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
Fonterra chair Peter McBride says the divestment of Mainland Group is their last significant asset sale and signals the end of structural changes.