Moving the earth for good reasons
The benefits of sub-soiling and soil aeration are well known, not least their ability to create vertical fissures that help water and nutrients penetrate to plants roots, so helping increase production.
Subsoiling offers improved drainage and creates healthier soil conditions with increased worm activity, ultimately resulting in higher yields.
Many subsoilers tend to leave an uneven surface and are often unable to go deep enough to penetrate the compacted pan layer to achieve the required results. Alpego claims its Super Craker overcomes this problem with specially designed legs that enter the ground surface at an optimal angle, allowing the machine to penetrate through the compacted pan layer to depths of up to 600mm, while breaking the pan with minimal mixing of the subsoil into the upper soil profile.
Alpego says the profile of the soil is left in a way that in a dry season the moisture stored deep down can move freely up the soil profile to the plant, and yet in a wet season the opposite occurs with the excess moisture freely draining away, resulting in higher cropping yields in all seasons.
The machine should prove to be popular with contractors and maize growers looking to improve crops suffering from soil compaction.
Made from Swedish high tensile rated steel in the construction and cast-iron clamps to fix the legs to the frame, three models are offered from 3 to 5m working width, suitable for tractors 100 to 500hp.
A choice of shear-bolt or hydraulic auto-reset systems protect the rig from stones and trash.
The 500mm or 600mm legs allow the user to work at different compaction depths, and a Franter double-spike rear roller crushes clods left on the surface, leaving a level and semi-cultivated finish ready for the next pass before final planting, while also helping to conserve moisture.
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
World Veterinary Day falls on Saturday 27 April.
The Director General of MPI, Ray Smith says it's important for his department to celebrate the success of a whole range of groups and people around the country.
A small company which mobilised veterinarians around the country to deal with Mycoplasma bovis was one of the winners in this year's Biosecurity Awards, held at Parliament.
One of the country's top Māori sheep and beef farms is facing a five-year battle to get back to where it was before Cyclone Gabrielle struck just over 14 months ago.