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Irish farmer Ger Daly with his invention.
Surgery to fuse four discs in his lower back prompted beef farmer Ger Daly, in County Galway, Ireland, to think again about how to do heavy lifting on his farm.
Calving 120 - 130 beef suckler cows meant that some calvings would need help -- lifting and inverting calves to clear their airways. The age-old option of throwing a calf over a five-bar gate to let gravity clear the airways was no longer an option, so Daly got practical.
He designed the Pro-Revive animal resuscitator, a clever device made from two GRP panels and a steel frame that mounts to a five-bar gate; it could just as easily be fitted to a quad or UTV on a typical Kiwi farm.
In opera,tion the unit is laid flat on the ground, from where the calf is slid onto the platform. Cranking a winch causes the two halves of the unit to pivot around its central hinge, causing the boards to rise, placing the calf in the best position to clear its mouth and airways, with low stress for animal and operator.
Daly recommends using a hand operated air pump at the same time to get oxygen into the animal’s lungs.
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The Government wants to make sure that rural communities get a level of service that people who live in cities often complacently expect.
The Irish Minister of State for Rural Communities says his country and New Zealand face very similar challenges on a range of issues related to agriculture, including climate change, biodiversity and rural depopulation.
Over 1,000 Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers in the Hawke’s Bay have now been immunised against measles.
Hato Hone St John is urging Kiwis to have a safe summer this year.
Labour's agriculture spokesperson Jo Luxton says while New Zealand needs more housing, sacrificing our best farmland to get there is not the answer.
Profitability issues facing arable farmers are the same across the world, says New Zealand's special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr.
Over 85% of Fonterra farmer suppliers will be eligible for customer funding up to $1,500 for solutions designed to drive on-farm efficiency gains and reduce emissions intensity.
Tighter beef and lamb production globally have worked to the advantage of NZ, according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
Groundswell is ramping up its 'Quit Paris' campaign with signs going up all over the country.
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