JOHN FELL has a large business in Kawerau with a huge work force, yet he’s never had any problems with ACC, Health and Safety, unions, strike action, or even wage negotiations.

WAIKATO FARMER Dave Muggeridge’s farming philosophy is simple: keep grass in good condition and monitor growth weekly.

EARLY SPORE counts point to a potentially severe facial eczema season with vets advising clients to heed the warning signs and protect stock.

    FERTILISER SPREADING speed and accuracy have risen for a Timaru dairy farm manager since he began using Tracmap, the company says. Chris Edge, milking 830 cows on 220ha at Pleasant Point, west of Timaru, first had his whole property digitally mapped by TracMap, then six months ago began using the company’s TracLink farm fertility and nutrient management system. Traclink allows use of a computer to order fertiliser and to select the paddocks to be spread. The software interface allows the farmer to note the type of fertiliser to apply, volume, supplier, timeframe for applying it, any notes on application and the area it needs to be spread on.  All fertilizer is applied on the Edge farm Temuka Transport, who until January 2012 relied on Edge noting the required fertiliser applications on a farm map, and leaving it in their letterbox for the truck drivers to collect.  Now Edge nominates paddocks from a computer map, this information being sent directly to Temuka Transport’s GPS systems.  This has greatly simplified the process, Edge says. “Our internet connection is very slow; I can submit an order in 10 minutes, or five minutes if the internet is quicker.” Software allows farmers to…

A VERSATILE 9-tine Jumbo Buster Ripper has slashed cultivation time by 60-90 hours for Northland farmer Sam Burke.

Industry body DairyNZ has come out in support of Ravensdown and Ballance Agri-Nutrients' voluntary suspension of sales and use of Dicyandiamide (DCD) treatment on farm land until further notice.

Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd backs the move by Ravensdown and Ballance Agri-Nutrients to voluntarily suspend sales and use of Dicyandiamide (DCD) treatment on farm land until further notice.

The Fonterra Shareholders' Council, which represents the cooperative's 10,500 Farmer Shareholders, said it was important for regional councils to work closely with affected farmers and re-examine nitrate level targets following the announcement by Ravensdown and Ballance to suspend the sale and use of Dicyandiamide (DCD) treatment on farm.

Further research is the key to developing nitrification inhibitors which help farmers reduce environmental impacts while meeting potential international trade requirements, Ballance Agri-Nutrients research and development manager Warwick Catto says.

Ravensdown has suspended the sales and application of its eco-n product which contains DCD.