Halter goes global, but NZ farmers remain core to innovation
Virtual fencing company Halter is going global but for founder Craig Piggott, New Zealand farmers will always remain their main partners.
How do you get the best out of a farm business when the payout’s low?
By using the right tools, said Drury dairy farmer Sue Dyer, speaking at recent CRV Ambreed workshops on how technology can be better used to achieve herd improvement goals.
Dyer has used CRV Insight online herd recording app since its launch in 2012 and says it has helped her increase her farm’s productivity.
“I carry my smartphone with me everywhere, so having access and being able to enter data about my cows wherever I am on the farm – in the paddock, shed or at home – is a no brainer.
“I get a great snapshot of how my 370 Friesian, Friesian-cross cows are performing, information about my individual cows, and a full range of reports.”
Global growth consultants Frost and Sullivan recently predicted that by 2018 New Zealand would have 90% smartphone and 78% tablet ownership.
Andrew Singers, information management and information technology manager at CRV Ambreed, says the dairy industry needs to keep up with a growing demand for technology on the go.
“There is still a huge amount of work to do to help dairy farmers adopt and use herd management technology to its full capacity,” he says.
CRV Ambreed herd improvement products and services for dairy farmers include the free workshops referred to above.
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.