SIAFD knocks it out of the park!
While the temperature was struggling to reach about 5 degrees and the horizontal hail had enough grunt to slice cheese, the SIAFD committee knocked it out of the park by delivering another great event.
Launched at the South Island Agricultural Field Days, the Shelbourne Powerspread caught the eyes of the Innovation Competition judges who awarded it first place in the imported machine category.
It is sure to catch the eye of anyone wanting to move solid or liquid manures efficiently.
Built in the UK and imported by Toplink Machinery, the Powerspread is available from 7.5 to 15 tonnes capacity. Comprising a tank through which runs a central rotor with paddles, it takes material fed via a water-tight guillotine style door onto a 1.4m wide overshot discharge impellor.
A simple reversible driveline consisting of two main chains ensures minimal maintenance.
Depending on the consistency of the material a uniform spread pattern of up to 26m can be achieved, and in the event of a blockage the impellor can be lowered away from the main body to clear obstructions.
Targeted at contractors or large scale farmers, the Powerspread Pro 2300 holds about 10.5m3. All up it weighs 11.5 tonnes and can easily be pulled by a tractor of 140hp.
Its low loading height ensures it can be filled easily by tractor frontloaders or telehandlers.
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.