John Deere has expanded its repair and replacement part offerings, with the Vapormatic brand officially added to its range of ‘Alternative Parts’ in New Zealand. A subsidiary of John Deere, UK-based Vapormatic has served the agricultural industry for more than 70 years exporting a range of more than 30,000 tractor and agricultural machinery parts and accessories to 90 countries. The addition bolsters John Deere’s Alternative Parts offering, with JD Australia and New Zealand director of aftermarket and customer support, Emma Ford, commenting: “These parts have been manufactured to fit John De ..read more

In a move that will make harvesting operations easier, particularly in odd-shaped paddocks, Kuhn has announced that GPS section control is now available on the FC 9330 RA mower conditioner, the GA 13231, and GA 15231 four-rotor rakes. GPS section control automates the raising and lowering of mower units (FC 9330 RA) or swathing rotors (GA 13231 / 15231) at the headland or during manoeuvres. Automation allows the operator to concentrate on the task of driving, and GPS section control automation will provide extra productivity during intensive work, at peak season, or when operating in restric ..read more

Hastings-based Hustler Equipment recently unveiled the Combi RX² Series 2 multi-feeder wagon (series 2). The Series 2 builds on the success of the Combi RX multi-feeder range, launched in 2019, that had built a reputation for its ability to feed any feed type, ease of loading and visibility. The Combi RX brought to market a simple and unique pusher design which eliminated high maintenance chains, bars, gearboxes and the constant adjustments associated with conventional feed-out wagons. “After more than five years of invaluable market feedback from users and owners, the release of Combi RX ..read more

Females are dominating the veterinary profession worldwide and many farmers are welcoming this change in the composition of the profession, says Britain's Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) Professor Christine Middlemiss. She says one of the changes since she graduated in 1992 is the greater number of females entering the profession. Middlemiss was in New Zealand recently to meet her fellow CVOs from NZ, Australia, Canada and the US. The CVOs keep in regular contact with each other and meet once a year for face-to-face discussions. She says issues discussed this time included microbial resistanc ..read more

A five-year randomised survey of herbicide resistance on New Zealand arable farms has found widespread high levels of resistance - with 71% of farms affected in the worst-hit region - South Canterbury. "It's at higher levels than we thought," said Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) senior field officer Ben Harvey. The survey, conducted in association with AgResearch, is the country's first national benchmarking of the problem of herbicide resistance. Going region by region over all New Zealand's major arable farming areas, farms were chosen at random from the FAR database. Weed seeds were ..read more

OPINION: Thanks to the much-needed review of the methane science being announced, the topic of agricultural emissions is back in the discussion along with all the associated misinformation. Groundswell NZ is taking a keen interest in this review and believes it has the potential to completely re-shape how we view agricultural emissions. The latest science has discovered that both methane and N2O may be irrelevant as GHG’s due to water vapour’s role in climate change being grossly underestimated. Both emissions are trace gases that have an atmospheric concentration of 1.8ppm (parts per millio ..read more

OPINION: Quite recently I had an interesting chat with one of our local business owners. They run a garage and vehicle service centre in town. They provide a great service to our rural community, good people with the support of a good team. When we moved into the area several years ago, other local farmers recommended them to us. I asked if they had been busy lately, as I recalled not being able to get one of our vehicles in for a warrant before Christmas. The answer was yes, they were still very busy, but they were finding it quite different now, to their normal. They seemed to be getting a ..read more

OPINION: The recent Federated Farmers / Rabobank 2024 Farming Salaries Report revealed strong growth in farm salaries over the past two years. The numbers speak for themselves: weighted average salaries rose by 11% for dairy sector roles, by 17% for sheep and beef roles, and by 14% for arable roles. The increases have come even though the agricultural sector facing a raft of challenges in the past two years – farm owners have been facing higher input costs and interest rates. Despite this, farm employers across the dairy, sheep and beef, and arable sectors have continued to invest strongly i ..read more

The low unemployment environment is one of the key factors driving on-farm salaries higher over the past 24 months, says Rabobank general manager for country banking Bruce Weir. “Many farm owners have found it incredibly difficult to source skilled labour over recent years, and this has played a key role in lifting wages as employers have had to pay more to attract and maintain good staff,” he says. Another major driver of salary growth – particularly for the dairy sector which has a greater reliance on overseas workers – was the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), he points out. “Introduc ..read more

Fonterra has appointed a new chief financial officer, seven months after its last CFO’s shock resignation. Commercial Director for Fonterra’s Global Markets business, Andrew Murray steps into the CFO role on August 1. Fonterra chief executive  Miles Hurrell says Murray is a highly experienced senior finance leader with strong expertise in driving profitable growth and delivery of large-scale business transformation.  “Andrew has been a real asset to the Global Markets team, with an enterprise leadership mindset, and I welcome his appointment to the Fonterra Management Team,” says H ..read more