Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative. The co-op will also be charging farmers an extra $3 per livestock unit processed immediately to bolster its balance sheet.   The Alliance board has also approved an increase in the number of shares required to be held per livestock unit processed (standard shareholding) from 12 shares to 16 shares per livestock unit processed.  Alliance Group’s new chair Mark Wynne says New Zealand’s red meat sector has been impacted by weaker global market prices. “Farmers, proces ..read more

While Nokia is more likely recognised for mobile devices, a major investment of €70m (NZ$126m) by global farm machinery brand AGCO at its facility in Linnavuori, in Nokia, will see the plant establish a new laboratory for testing combustion engines running on alternative fuels, alongside a range of electric solutions, including hybrids, fuel cells and high-voltage battery technology. Building on more than €100 million already spent at the plant over the past five years, and where around 1000 staff are employed, the new 11,000m² buildings will be completed through 2024/25. They will include a ..read more

Evan Paxton and his family at Riverview Farms, Dargaville, are one of New Zealand’s leading suppliers of kumara. Located two-and-ahalf hours north-west of Auckland, the 200ha farm crops around 60ha of kumara and also fattens prime lambs and beef cattle. Using the local Delta Co-op to pack, market and transport the family’s crop throughout NZ, the Paxton’s know it’s critical they keep their machines humming. “If we do have a breakdown, especially on a key tractor like the 7230 or 7290 we use for groundwork, or our moulding or spray tractors, it pretty much stops the whole day. Until they’re f ..read more

There can't be many heavy metal fans who haven’t heard of Basildon, situated about 40km east of London and originally created in 1948 to deal with the population boom after the Second World War. At the heart of its industrial area, the Basildon tractor plant this year celebrates its 60th anniversary, and to mark the occasion New Holland has made a special, one-off version of the T7.300, that will be on display at exhibitions throughout the year. Following a tradition that began with the Silver Jubilee 7810 in 1989 and the Golden Jubilee T6.180 and T7.270 tractors in 2014, the graphics on the ..read more

Think of a RAM 1500 or a Chevrolet Silverado and compare them to a Ranger or a Hilux: One is obviously a truck, and the other is a ute. Take the same idea and apply it to sideby- sides, and you will see there are standard machines, then there is the recently released Polaris Ranger XD 1500, which creates a whole new category of its own: the Extreme Heavy Duty. Along with its XD 1500 NorthStar Edition model, the XD 1500 is equipped with a 3-cylinder ProStar, fuel injected 1500cc engine pushing out 110hp and 142Nm torque, mated with the SteelDrive transmission that, as the name suggests, uses ..read more

Dairy farmers can easily track the performance of their replacement heifers and ensure they reach their genetic potential. Weighing technology can help farmers to meet crucial heifer liveweights at first mating and calving boosting in-calf rates and increasing milk production, says Gallagher head of animal performance and traceability Brian Rose. New data from LIC shows that too many farmers are not weighing their heifers when they return from grazing – and are missing out on big genetic gains as a result. LIC believes the impact on farms is huge, leading to poor heifer fertility and product ..read more

A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years. Nathan Back, DairyVets says the new ‘Pacifica’ strain of the bacterial disease has recently become more common in NZ. A new cattle vaccine, Lepto 4-Way, has been developed to provide an immune response against this strain and is being recommended by Back. Back says the decision to switch leptospirosis vaccines is to better manage the risk that leptospirosis is now presenting on farms and within the local community. “This is particularly import ..read more

Two major red meat sector projects are getting up to a combined $1.7 million in funding from the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB). The decision follows consultation with sheep and beef farmers on the distribution of interest and dividends generated from the NZMB’s $79 million reserves fund towards industry good projects. Up to $700,000 will go to the Informing New Zealand Beef genetics project (INZB) and up to $1 million to the Eliminating Facial Eczema Impacts (EFEI) programme. Kate Acland, chair of the NZMB and Beef + Lamb NZ, says the two projects will deliver significant benefits to red mea ..read more

Angus Barr and Tara Dwyer of The Wandle, Lone Star Farms in Strath Taieri have been named the Regional Supreme Winners at the Otago Ballance Farm Environment Awards in Dunedin. Angus and Tara have been managing The Wandle since 2020 and are focused on producing quality over quantity while caring for the land. The Wandle is one of seven farms owned or leased by Lone Star Farms. This sheep and cattle, breeding and finishing operation uses a flexible cropping and re-grassing system. The 2550ha (2400ha effective) property features 700ha of irrigated land, along with 500ha of tussock country on t ..read more

South Waikato farmer Helen Mandeno recently delivered a speech at Beef + Lamb NZ's annual meeting in Nelson. She spoke in support of her remit on B+LNZ seeking majority consensus from levy payers before advancing policies that may threaten NZ's pure, grass-fed and non-GE status. Here's part of what she said: I believe strongly that the potential risks to human and animal health and the risk to our industry reputation of altering the rumen of our ruminants through methane vaccines, methane boluses, feed additives and GM grasses is of such huge consequence that all NZ farmers should get a say ..read more