Changing of the guard at TAMA
Deere NZ territory manager Jaiden Drought was elected new president of the Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) at its August annual meeting.
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.”
New Zealand dairy processors are welcoming the Government’s commitment to continuing to push for Canada to honour its trade commitments.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a resolution adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to declare 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Waikato herd health veterinarian Katrina Roberts is the 2024 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand has no intention of backing down in a trade dispute with Canada over dairy products.
There have been leadership changes at the Hamilton-based Dairy Goat Co-operative, which has been struggling financially in recent years.