Mountain Warrior's words of wisdom
The Mountain Warrior Shane Cameron is coming back to his roots as key note speaker at the East Coast Farming Expo Property Brokers Evening Muster in February.
Smartphones, farming apps and better coverage have all helped improve rural communications in recent years.
The latest in rural communications will again be high on the agenda at the East Coast Farming Expo.
Several communication specialists are exhibiting at the event on March 6 and 7 at the Wairoa A & P showground.
“Communication on farms needs to be as real-time as possible to enable more timely and accurate decision making,” says expo director Dave Martin.
“The old saying ‘knowledge is power’ is more relevant today than ever because of the speed at which modern business operates. Being remote no longer needs to be a barrier to operating effectively in the modern farming business environment,” he says.
“Increasing internet speeds and cellphone coverage, online sales reports, cloud recording and banking and financial programs allow many farmers the same instant access to decisionmaking tools as in a city business environment.”
Award-winning Gisborne radio communications company Colvins is attending the expo for the third time.
“The biggest development in radio communication in recent times is the advancement of the digital radio platform,” says manager Scott McSloy. “Digital radio provides better voice clarity and allows packets of data to be sent over the network.”
Colvins has installed at least 30 farm communication systems in the East Coast region.
“Most of these systems use solar-powered repeaters that we have specifically developed for the purpose,” McSloy says. “Being solar-powered allows the repeater to be placed at a convenient location for maximum property coverage.”
He says these radio systems have become an integral part of their farming operation.
Colvins will have this equipment on display and operating at the expo, for site visitors to see and try the features. They also have portable demonstration repeaters available for onfarm trials.
Gisborne Net’s Ronald Brice says getting more technology onfarm and more communications helps with safety.
For information or to buy tickets go to: www.eastcoastexpo.co.nz
New Zealand dairy farmers are set to be the first in the world to receive access to a new digital physical milk pricing tool that enables them to fix the price for their physical milk.
State farmer Pāmu is opening its farm gates this summer in an effort to give the rural sector the opportunity to see how large-scale, multi-system farming is delivering productivity and profitability across New Zealand.
A five-year study has found that the cost of reducing emissions without technology may be significant and unsustainable for Northland dairy farmers.
DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.
While the Government has moved quickly to make commercial hauliers' lot easier during the current fuel crisis, they appear to be stuck in the creep box when it comes to the agricultural industry.
Waikato farmers have been told that the Government’s new planning system legislation and the region’s Plan Change 1 (PC1) “won’t mesh together very well”.

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