Ravensdown’s HawkEye Pro Wins Technology Award at Southern Field Days
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
With autonomous prime movers tipped to become more popular - particularly on broad acre operations - a recent trial by an AgXeed AgBot T2-7 SERIES, working in combination with the Väderstad Carrier XL 625 cultivator, achieved an impressive 80 hectares in just 20 hours over two paddocks, suggesting that autonomy is ready to compete with conventional tractors in the field.
The trial was held on 16-17 December 2025 in the Uckermark region in North-Eastern Germany – a month after the machine’s launch at Agritechnica. It included challenging field shapes, obstacles and hilly terrain, across loamy, sandy soil.
Featuring a 230hp diesel-electric drivetrain, the AgBot T2-7 Series maintained working speeds between 9 and 12kph, with power to the ground via a track system that achieved grip, but also offered very low ground pressure, helping to protect soil structure and safeguard future yields.
The machine was designed to directly compete with a standard tractor for key field applications including soil cultivation, seedbed preparation, seeding, stubble cultivation, or mulching fully autonomously. The trial combined it with a 6 metre Väderstad Carrier XL 625 and the ability to work consistently 24 hours a day, ensuring maximum effectiveness and efficiency when time windows are tight.
Planning and control are achieved via the AgXeed TraXwise planning portal, allowing farmers to pre-plan the complete task in advance and monitor the AgBot in real time, from job commencement to completion.
While the District Field Days brought with it a welcome dose of sunshine, it also attracted a significant cohort of sitting members from the Beehive – as one might expect in an election year.
Irish Minister of State of Agriculture, Noel Grealish was in New Zealand recently for an official visit.
While not all sibling rivalries come to blows, one headline event at the recent New Zealand Rural Games held in Palmerston North certainly did, when reigning World Champion Jack Jordan was denied the opportunity of defending his world title in Europe later this year, after being beaten by his big brother’s superior axle blows, at the Stihl Timbersports Nationals.
AgriZeroNZ has invested $5.1 million in Australian company Rumin8 to accelerate development of its methane-reducing products for cattle and bring them to New Zealand.
Farmers want more direct, accurate information about both fuel and fertiliser supply.
A bull on a freight plane sounds like the start of a joke, but for Ian Bryant, it is a fond memory of days gone by.