On Your Behalf: Health and Safety Checklist for Vineyards and Wineries
Keeping healthy and safe during vintage 2026
The LifeGuard comprises a plastic arch that flexes during a rollover to absorb the impact and protect the rider.
Ag-Tech Industries has added a lighter, lower-cost item to its QuadGuard range of crush protection devices.
The company is already known for its ATV LifeGuard – a flexible crush protection device (CPD) that folds around to create a ‘survival space’ for a rider during a rollover.
The new model weighs only 7.2kg, about half that of the LifeGuard product. It comprises a plastic arch that flexes during a rollover to absorb the impact and protect the rider. It can also create a survival pocket under the machine.
Ag-Tech says the structure’s greater rigidity may create more survival space in some situations than its more expensive CPD.
Unlike the LifeGuard, which may be re-used after a rollover, the QuadGuard must be replaced if it has been deformed. In use, the LifeGuard will require more maintenance to ensure the integral cables are kept at the correct tension, whereas the QuadGuard has no moving parts.
The QuadGuard has five years life expectancy which will be monitored annually and confirmed in 2024. Whereas the LifeGuard can be used indefinitely subject to regular maintenance and eventual refurbishment.
Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell has resigned after eight years in the role.
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
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.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.