It's all about the gear

These have been used for planting out the maize that will used by other machines in harvesting at the event.

Ashburton-based Euro- Agri brought a Lemken combination consisting of an Azurit precision planter and Solitair seed wagon to the site in mid- October to plant out two of the three varieties of maize.

Product specialist Eliot Schofield says EuroAgri is the sole South Island distributor for Lemken, a German brand with a 243 year history. He says R&D on the Azurit line has been done in New Zealand.

“New Zealand has some of the most varying conditions in the world,” Schofield told Rural News.

The planter features what is called DeltaRow technology, in which each row effectively becomes two close rows, with seeds set in a zig-zag pattern and with the fertiliser band between them.

Commenting on the logistics of getting machines to customers, Schofield says it’s still quite difficult.

SIAFD chairman Hayden Dorman reviews the layout at the Kirwee field days site.

“But getting into the country isn’t the hard part now, it’s build slots.”

With gear being purchased all over the world and the continuing knockon effects of Covid, some machines are 12 or even 18 months away between ordering and coming out of the factory, he says.

Then, they are 12 weeks on the water before they get here.

Schofield says freight costs have “pretty much tripled” on what they were three years ago.