increase font size
Outgoing TAMA president Ian Massicks (left) hands over the reins to Mark Hamilton-Manns.
The Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) has a new president: Mark Hamilton-Manns, of John Deere, took the reins from the president of six years, Ian Massicks of Kubota NZ, after his six years in the role.
TAMA represents the interests of importers and manufacturers of tractors and machinery, keeping an eye on legislation and safety, and trying to ensure edicts originating Parliament are workable when they reach farms. It also strives to ensure that modern agricultural machinery, sourced from many countries, meets required NZ standards, and it provides members with historical data on sales by area and machine type.
Asked how Fieldays was panning out for TAMA members, Massicks commented, “I arrived at Fieldays with a little apprehension, but have found little negativity, and indeed there was some business being done,” despite the market for tractors to the end of June being down around 20%.
Massicks said, “while that’s disappointing, it comes off the back of 2014 which was a very big year for sales, and one could argue that 2015 is just coming back to a little normality.”
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.
With June ending and following the most upbeat National Fieldays for several years, tractor dealers are reporting a lift in sales.
First up to the podium at the recent Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) Conference in Wellington, Minster for Agriculture, Todd McClay, reflected on a difficult 12 months, but hinted at signs that things were turning the corner, saying “when ag does well, New Zealand does well”.
A 2022 Nuffield scholar, Lucie Douma, was brought up on a Southland dairy farm and as a hobby likes the risky business of trail running and ultra marathons.
The recent Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) conference in Wellington was signalling cautious optimism on the back of rising milk and store cattle prices and drops in interest rates.
Effective from 1 January 2026, there will be three new grower directors on the board of the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR).
The National Wild Goat Hunting Competition has removed 33,418 wild goats over the past three years.
New Zealand needs a new healthcare model to address rising rates of obesity in rural communities, with the current system leaving many patients unable to access effective treatment or long-term support, warn GPs.
Southland farmers are being urged to put safety first, following a spike in tip offs about risky handling of wind-damaged trees
Third-generation Ashburton dairy farmers TJ and Mark Stewart are no strangers to adapting and evolving.
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imports into the US is doing good things for global trade, according…
Seen a giant cheese roll rolling along Southland’s roads?
