UK Politician Alistair Carmichael Praises "Positive Spirit" of NZ Farmers
A leading British farming politician says he's impressed with the positive attitude of New Zealand farmers that he met during his recent trip here.
DataCore, a cloud software programme, is GEA's innovation showpiece for launch at Fieldays.
DataCore expands the iCore milking point management system to allow farmers to remotely control the system and in due course access herd management data.
GEA dairy farming R&D team leader Mark Jones explains, "we want farmers to be able to record information on a cow when they notice it in the paddock, have this alerted when entering the shed and automatically have it drafted all via iCore".
Farmers will also be able to access milking information such as flow, yield, conductivity and milk analysis with all the information stored in one central place, via a smartphone/tablet web browser device that will offer a better visual display of the data than that available in bail.
Limited internet access is no barrier to using the system as it is platform independent and can run on any device. DataCore would simply store the data until it has internet access to upload to the cloud, while continually using safeguards to protect data and maintain functionality for farmers in all situations.
While the initial release will have basic functionality, i.e. control over iCore, future upgrades, such as integration with herd management systems, will mean a simple upgrade to the existing software.
In the near future the system will integrate with GEA's iDentity herd management software. There are plans to enable farmers to pass on information to third party herd management systems LIC Protrac, DairyPlan C21 and Farm 360.
Running a tight and self-contained ship is the key to the success of the country's largest dairy farmer, says Blair Robinson, the new man at the helm of Dairy Holdings.
Federated Farmers president Colin Hurst and his family raised a glass of milk last week to toast the start of a new addition to their farming operation at Makihihi, south of Timaru.
A Palmerston North shearer has been sentenced to six months' community detention and 12 months' supervision after being found to have physically abused three lambs while shearing them.
Power Farming has launched a joint venture in Southland.
Food rescue charity Meet the Need has released its 2025/26 Impact Report, revealing a record year of growth alongside a stark warning: demand for food support across New Zealand is rising faster than supply can keep up.
As we move into the second half of 2026, the Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) reports that Year-to-Date figures ending June 30 saw new tractor deliveries hitting 1,386 units or 10.7% ahead of the same period in 2025.
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