Fieldays hold out the begging bowl
OPINION: When someone says “we don’t want a handout, we need a hand up” it usually means they have both palms out and they want your money.
Two new products added to the hum on the Rurtec stand at Fieldays last month.
In fact, the Lanati cordless handpiece was such a hit that all stock sold out and the product is now on back order, says Rurtec founder Ian Carr.
The handpiece is powered by a rechargeable lithium battery, making jobs quick and easy.
“Convenience is the key for knocking dags off sheep in the yards before loading them for transport or prior to running them into the shed for shearing,” he says.
“There was positive reaction to the Lanati, to the point where we’ve had to organise another shipment to keep ahead of orders.”
Carr says the handpiece is also handy to have in a ute or on a bike for use in the backblocks. “It’s great for quickly cleaning up flystruck sheep.”
Dairy farmers also liked it, many buying it for tail trimming. Frank Fransen and his son Tim were amazed how quick and easy tail trimming can be, with little chance of cutting into the skin.
Also new at Fieldays was Rurtec’s new Adlam harness, which combines the prolapse functionality of the Bearin harness with restraint as enabled by the Adopta harness.
Federated Farmers says it is cautiously welcoming signals from the Government that a major shake-up of local government is on its way.
Ashburton cropping and dairy farmer Matthew Paton has been elected to the board of rural services company, Ruralco.
The global agricultural landscape has entered a new phase where geopolitics – not only traditional market forces – will dictate agricultural trade flows, prices, and production decisions.
National Lamb Day is set to return in 2026 with organisers saying the celebrations will be bigger than ever.
Fonterra has dropped its forecast milk price mid-point by 50c as a surge in global milk production is putting downward pressure on commodity prices.
The chance of a $10-plus milk price for this season appears to be depleting.

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