Learnings from tractor incident
A near miss experienced by a North Island farmer worker when their tractor ‘park’ gear failed, has been shared as the latest Safety Alert from Safer Farms.
With farm vehicle accidents far too frequent it’s interesting that the Blackhawk, from Farm Angel, can be a life saver.
It can’t prevent an accident, but it can keep a watchful eye on riders or drivers and raise an alert if something goes wrong.
On a quad, side-by-side or any other vehicle, sensors continuously monitor speed, acceleration and GPS co-ordinates, and an inclinometer detects lean. If it detects a roll-over it sends a message via satellite to the home base, prompting action, and in the worse cases calls emergency services out within the ‘magic hour’ to the seriously injured.
The message contains GPS co-ordinates, especially good on large properties. The use of geo-stationary satellites means no reliance on mobile phones which might have poor coverage in remote areas.
The system can also be specified to allow the vehicle operator to send and receive text messages via satellite link, up to 10m from their machine – good for emergency or breakdown.
And there’s a security angle: the Blackhawk can be used as a tracker if a vehicle is pinched, and its ignition system can be shut down remotely.
Halo tags allow only authorised employees to start the machine, and management gets to see where and when it is being used. The tag has a small panic button in case the operator gets into trouble and needs to summon help.
A snoop feature allows monitoring of operator behaviour: it will keep an eye on novice riders, or discourage bad behaviour, looking at speed, acceleration and braking, and so encourage responsible and safe operation.
Packages are priced from $19/month and can be tailored to suit all enterprises.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
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.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
OPINION: Talking about plant-based food: “Chicken-free chicken” start-up Sunfed has had its valuation slashed to zero by major investor Blackbird…
OPINION: Synlait's financial woes won’t be going away anytime soon.