Halter goes global, but NZ farmers remain core to innovation
Virtual fencing company Halter is going global but for founder Craig Piggott, New Zealand farmers will always remain their main partners.
A new task management system allows farmers and agricultural contractors to keep track of job and time records with an app, helping reduce mistakes and saving time.
FarmBackup’s app, called Task, allows users to ditch the paper job sheets they use to keep track of daily tasks and times worked.
The digital platform collects and collates data to provide the information needed for correct invoicing, machine analysis and calculation of salary. It integrates with the most commonly used accounting systems, says FarmBackup’s co-founder Anders Knudsen.
“As an administrator, you get a better overview of submitted job sheets and tasks planned for the future, instead of a pile of job sheets to look through and transfer.”
The system handles all registered work and payroll digitally, taking advantage of the already high digitalisation in farming and contracting, where everybody uses a smartphone and keeps it close to their side during the working day.
FarmBackup in 2018 launched a digital marketplace for agricultural services, making it more transparent who was offering combine harvesting, cultivating, drilling, etc. Many contractors and farmers across New Zealand have joined the marketplace, so the arrival of the Task app is sure to be of interest.
Development of the Task app saw the developers team up with a group of farmers and contractors who delivered valuable feedback during developing and testing.
FarmBackup will continue to develop the app to suit its users in the best ways possible and has already engaged with the first contractors in NZ.
With the current situation in the European farm machinery market being described as difficult at best, it’s perhaps no surprise that the upcoming AgriSIMA 2026 agricultural machinery exhibition, scheduled for February 2026 at Paris-Nord Villepinte, has been cancelled.
The Meat Industry Association of New Zealand (MIA) has launched the first in-market activation of the refreshed Taste Pure Nature country-of-origin brand with an exclusive pop-up restaurant experience in Shanghai.
Jayna Wadsworth, daughter of the late New Zealand wicketkeeper Ken Wadsworth, has launched an auction of cricket memorabilia to raise funds for I Am Hope's youth mental health work.
As we move into the 2025/26 growing season, the Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) reports that the third quarter results for the year to date is showing that the stagnated tractor market of the last 18 months is showing signs of recovery.
DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown is urging dairy farmers to participate in the 2026 Levy vote, to be held early next year.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling for nominations for director roles in the Eastern North Island and Southern South Island electoral districts.
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