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.
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) and Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network are calling for investment in a proposed new training pathway for rural GPs, warning that many rural practices are struggling to recruit while a large share of the existing workforce nears retirement.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Synlait has swung to second-half profit as operations stabilise, but the dairy processor still posted a $75.4m annual loss.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.

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