SIAFD knocks it out of the park!
While the temperature was struggling to reach about 5 degrees and the horizontal hail had enough grunt to slice cheese, the SIAFD committee knocked it out of the park by delivering another great event.
Farmers wanting to shift solid or liquid manures should note Toplink Machinery’s UK-made Powerspread.
Launched at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, it won first place in the imported machine category.
Made in the UK and imported by Toplink Machinery, the Powerspread is offered in a range from 7.5-15 tonnes capacity.
It comprises a tank through which runs a central rotor with a paddle design. Material is fed via a watertight guillotine style door onto a 1.4m wide overshot discharge impellor.
A simple, reversible driveline of two main chains ensures keeps maintenance to a minimum. Depending on the consistency of the material a uniform spread pattern up to 26m can be achieved.
In the event of a blockage the impellor can be lowered away from the main body to clear obstructions.
Targeted at contractors or large scale farmers, the Powerspread Pro 2300 holds about 10.5m3 and weighs 11.5 tonnes all-up.
It can easily be pulled by a tractor of 140hp and its low loading height ensures easy filling by tractor frontloaders or telehandlers.
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.