UK Politician Alistair Carmichael Praises "Positive Spirit" of NZ Farmers
A leading British farming politician says he's impressed with the positive attitude of New Zealand farmers that he met during his recent trip here.
Aimed at the contractor market, or at end users who demand a top-quality machine to achieve low operating costs, the Bunning Lowlander GT4 muck spreaders, imported into the North Island by Hamilton-based Ag and Civil Limited, fits the bill.
Designed to spread all types of manure, the key 105 Compact and 150 models both feature a fully welded, heavy-duty construction, using 4mm steel plate for the sides and 5mm thick material for the floor. With capacities of 12.6 and 16.6 tonnes respectively, a 1500mm wide, tapered body can carry loads of 12.9 to 21 cubic metres. This is moved rearwards, by a variable speed hydraulic floor drive, utilising a combination of 16mm/32 tonne capacity floor chains and full-width beaters.
At the rear of the machine, dynamically balanced, twin vertical beaters take their drive from a centrally mounted gearbox, with an intermediate cushioned drive to protect against shock loads.
In the event of an immoveable object shear bolt protection in the beater driveline prevents damage.
Equipped with 10mm thick Boron steel flights and cutters, the rotors offer spreading widths of up to 16 metres, depending on material, with a rear canopy for spreading fine materials like chicken manure.
Meanwhile, a lift-off configuration, means the rotor module can be quickly removed to allow the trailer to be used for other haulage duties.
Both machines feature on-board weighing systems, in the case of the 105, a Topcon GT400 system, while the 150 model uses a full specification ISOSCAN application rate controller, allowing a targeted application rated by automatically adjusting the floor speed to travel speed, or via a predefined application map can be loaded via the USB port. The system also allows live weighing using 20-tonne weigh cells situated on both axle and drawbar.
Standard equipment includes a rear vertical slurry door, 1000 rpm PTO input, hydraulic brakes and parking jack, with the whole machine covered by a three-year warranty.
Potatoes New Zealand has congratulated Peter Reynolds of TA Reynolds Ltd in Pukekohe on being awarded the Horticulture New Zealand Bledisloe Cup, recognising a lifetime of service and contribution to New Zealand horticulture.
Signing up to a benchmarking tool is not about competition, but about improving collectively, says Ximena Puig and Alvaro Luzardo who are 50-50 sharemilkers at a 164-hectare (effective) dairy farm in Eketāhuna in the Lower North Island.
A leading British farming politician says he's impressed with the positive attitude of New Zealand farmers that he met during his recent trip here.
OPINION: With 10,500 dairy farms, New Zealand continues to punch above its weight around the world.
The Southern Dairy Hub (SDH), which runs a demonstration farm for South Island farmers, has a new general manager.
Esther Guy-Meakin has been announced as the new chief executive of the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB).

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