John Deere Names 2026 Technician of the Year Finalists
John Deere has announced the finalists for its 2026 Technician of the Year Awards, with 30 regional finalists being named in five award categories.
In Australia it runs six outlets in Victoria, and in New Zealand its nine depots cover the North Island from Waipapa to Gisborne in the east to Stratford in the west.
Its new showcase depot in Feilding was opened during the recent Central District Field Days after seven years operation in the area. "The new outlet will allow Cervus to expand its local operations and add value to our customers' businesses," says branch manager Dan Clavelle.
As part of the proceedings led by pseudo-farmer Te Radar, and attended by Cervus and John Deere staff from around the world, Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy cut the symbolic green ribbon to open the depot and noted "agriculture is a long term investment, and those with foresight look at the broader picture when making investment decisions".
He said Manawatu is the agri-hub of NZ with diversity encompassing dairy, beef, cropping and vegetables; 50% of the total NZ lamb kill happens within two hours of Feilding.
Guy asked people to remember that though the dairy sector is going through tough times, other sectors are positive in the overall picture: beef is up about 33% with sales of $3.2 billon, horticulture is delivering $4b and wine $1.6b.
Reflecting on calls by Labour leader Andrew Little to hold a 'dairy crisis summit', Guy commented "the Opposition appears to have very strong 'anti' views on many topics affecting agriculture, be it the TPP agreement, water storage or RMA reforms, and while appearing to make a lot of noise, they fail to come up with viable alternatives".
