European tractor registrations down
A total of 108,800 tractors were registered across Europe in the first six months of 2022, with 31,900 tractors of 37kW (50 hp) and under and 76,900 of 38kW and above.
A gel that deters starlings from roosting in tractors – raising a sky-high risk of fires – has been launched by Shoof International.
Tractor fires caused by birds are preventable, yet every year plague farmers and contractors.
Starlings are renowned for building nests in the dark recesses under tractor hoods or in the nooks behind work lights on cab roofs, their nests readily catching fire from hot exhaust pipes or shorting electrical cables. Shoof’s new product Wingo is for applying to the places on tractors or machinery that birds favour as roosting points.
Wingo is a vegetable-based gel oil containing pepper and cinnamon; birds don’t like the feel of the gel on their claws, the astringency of the pepper triggers an alert reaction and the scent of the cinnamon jogs their memories for as much as two years. The gel comes in a standard caulking gun cartridge for applications to favourite spots -- mirror stalks, work lights, hydraulic hoses and along the crest of a tractor’s hood.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.