Kuhn Group Sales Dip 9% in 2025 but Orders Signal Recovery
Kuhn Group recorded net sales of NZ$2.27 billion in 2025, finishing around 9% lower than in 2024.
Machinery giant Kuhn has developed a new power tiller (rotary hoe) -- the EL402 R – with a working width of 6m and a transmission driveline for tractors up to 400hp.
Said to be ideal for fine and regular tilth seedbed preparation, the machine uses a 550mm diameter rotor and 144 carbide coated blades to mix and turn large volumes of crop residues at high daily outputs.
Moving between jobs is easy with a transport width of only 3.0m and the inclusion of a transport support wheel assembly.
In outdoor market gardening, plot flood-irrigation is common, requiring paddocks that are perfectly flat and level. So the design of the EL402R includes rollers wider than the cultivation width to achieve a clean finish at the machine sides that eliminates ridges and creates a level finish between passes.
Likewise, at the centre of the machine there is an offset between the link of the two rotors and the two rollers, resulting in a flat, level finish after the machine’s passage.
Component reliability is seen in the machine’s cast iron gearboxes with built-in oil circulation, reinforced drive shafts, cut-out clutches, metal face seals and reinforced rotors.
The power tiller is also equipped with a monitoring unit installed in the cab, to inform the driver if a torque limiter or oil temperature device is activated in one of the machine’s three gearboxes.
In advance of the Budget, Finance Minister Nicola Willis put a clear damper on expectations and delivered accordingly.
Farmers should be cautiously optimistic as the 2026/27 season kicks off, says DairyNZ.
RaboResearch senior analyst Emma Higgins expects the 2026/27 dairy season to be another profitable one.
The new dairy season is kicking off with plenty of risks to the forecast farmgate price, both upside and downside, says ANZ agricultural economist Matt Dilly.
A potential showdown between the top two Federated Farmers leaders looms at the farmer lobby's annual meeting later this month.
FarmIQ Systems has developed a free land management app to help remove barriers to New Zealand farmers and growers adopting digital tools.

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