100 years of Farmall Tractors
Returning after an enforced break, the Wheat and Wheels Rally will take place on the Lauriston -Barhill Road, North-East of Ashburton on 6-7th April.
While the automobile industry heads full tilt down the electrification route, heavier industries such as trucking and construction appear to prefer a hydrogen-fuelled future.
UK-headquartered JCB is currently evaluating a Loadall 542-70 prototype, offering 4.2-tonne lift and seven-metre reach, burning hydrogen instead of diesel.
JCB notes the “green machine” – as well as ditching the more normal JCB yellow for a lime green similar to a competitor – does everything that would be asked of its diesel-powered equivalent, with the benefits of zero emissions and a lot less noise.
Developed by engineers at the JCB engine factory in Derbyshire, the reengineered 4.8-litre (94hp/75kW) four-pot block is said to be far less complicated than a hydrogen-powered fuel cell and lends itself to incorporation into all types of traditional powertrains.
The same 4.8-litre hydrogen block has also been installed in several other JCB machines, including a backhoe loader, with the fuel stored in a variety of locations – not always in the engine compartment – providing sufficient capacity for the machine to undertake a full day’s work.
Moving forwards, JCB is investing £100m on a project to produce what it calls “super-efficient hydrogen engines”, with a team of 100 engineers already working on the development, with another 50 being recruited. At this stage, the company is targeting late-2022 when the first hydrogen powered machines will be available for sale, incorporating a new block that is expected to cost roughly the same as a diesel equivalent.
Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.
Shipping disruption caused by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea has so far not impacted fertiliser prices or supply on farm.
The opportunity to spend more time on farm while providing a dedicated service for shareholders attracted new environmental manager Ben Howden to work for Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL).
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.