Innovation takes centre stage at Fieldays 2025 awards event
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
Coming to the fore following the carnage of Cyclone Gabrielle, Starlink became well known for providing internet access even in NZ's most inaccessible places.
Now a new agreement is about to benefit farmers and growers.
CNH has announced an agreement with Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, to bring industry-leading satellite connectivity to farmers. The collaboration will provide customers of CNH brands with robust and affordable high-speed connectivity, further unlocking the benefits of a fully connected fleet.
Starlink's advanced satellite network offers reliable, low-latency internet, enabling intelligent machines to communicate and coordinate efficiently, enhancing productivity and yield.
The system seamlessly integrates with the CNH FieldOps digital platform, giving users visibility of their machines and providing data from any location, at all times.
It also offers users greater data streaming capabilities by keeping their farm management devices consistently connected, regardless of location.
Prescription spraying is another potential situation where Starlink's fast and reliable transmission technology will benefit farming operations. A lack of connectivity in some markets can make farm logistics challenging.
CNH's FieldXplorer platform uses AI to transform drone images into a field map that distinguishes between weeds and crop.
Using a Starlink connection, the manufacturer says they can now export that data near instantaneously to create a prescription spraying map for the machine.
The result is farmers being able to apply crop protection products sooner, controlling weeds earlier, helping to improve crop yields.
"We're thrilled to offer our customers access to industry-leading satellite connectivity, enabling them to maximise the potential of our full suite of precision technology in even the most challenging rural environments," said Stefano Pampalone, agriculture chief commercial officer at CNH.
Questions are being raised about just how good the state of the dairy industry is - especially given that the average farmgate payout for the coming season is set to exceed $10/kgMS.
A leading financial and banking advisor says he doubts if most dairy farmers fully understand the dynamics of banking.
Dairy farmers are shoring up their balance sheets, with almost $1.7 billion of debt repaid in the six months to March 2025.
Virtual fencing company Halter is going global but for founder Craig Piggott, New Zealand farmers will always remain their main partners.
A former Fonterra executive is the new chair of the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ).
New Federated Farmers national dairy chair Karl Dean is looking forward to tackling the issues facing the sector.
OPINION: A last-minute compromise ensured that the election of the new Federated Farmers national dairy chair wasn't a repeat of…
OPINION: Just as it's healthy for cockies to get out of the shed and off the farm occasionally to get…