SIAFD knocks it out of the park!
While the temperature was struggling to reach about 5 degrees and the horizontal hail had enough grunt to slice cheese, the SIAFD committee knocked it out of the park by delivering another great event.
Launched at the South Island Agricultural Field Days, the Shelbourne Powerspread caught the eyes of the Innovation Competition judges who awarded it first place in the imported machine category.
It is sure to catch the eye of anyone wanting to move solid or liquid manures efficiently.
Built in the UK and imported by Toplink Machinery, the Powerspread is available from 7.5 to 15 tonnes capacity. Comprising a tank through which runs a central rotor with paddles, it takes material fed via a water-tight guillotine style door onto a 1.4m wide overshot discharge impellor.
A simple reversible driveline consisting of two main chains ensures minimal maintenance.
Depending on the consistency of the material a uniform spread pattern of up to 26m can be achieved, and in the event of a blockage the impellor can be lowered away from the main body to clear obstructions.
Targeted at contractors or large scale farmers, the Powerspread Pro 2300 holds about 10.5m3. All up it weighs 11.5 tonnes and can easily be pulled by a tractor of 140hp.
Its low loading height ensures it can be filled easily by tractor frontloaders or telehandlers.
Applications have now opened for the 2026 Meat Industry Association scholarships.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) says it is backing aspiring dairy farmers through a new initiative designed to make the first step to farm ownership or sharemilking easier.
OPINION: While farmers are busy and diligently doing their best to deal with unwanted gasses, the opponents of farming - namely the Greens and their mates - are busy polluting the atmosphere with tirades of hot air about what farmers supposedly aren't doing.
OPINION: For close to eight years now, I have found myself talking about methane quite a lot.
The Royal A&P Show of New Zealand, hosted by the Canterbury A&P Association, is back next month, bigger and better after the uncertainty of last year.
Claims that farmers are polluters of waterways and aquifers and 'don't care' still ring out from environmental groups and individuals. The phrase 'dirty dairying' continues to surface from time to time. But as reporter Peter Burke points out, quite the opposite is the case. He says, quietly and behind the scenes, farmers are embracing new ideas and technologies to make their farms sustainable, resilient, environmentally friendly and profitable.