increase font size
The Oroua Bobby loader.
New proposals pending, from August 1, for safe handling of bobby calves, pose fresh challenges for stock handlers.
Animals must have shelter before and during transport, and during loading and unloading should be able to walk on or off the truck. This latter point will be well received by truck drivers, who risk back and other injuries from repetitive hefting of calves from ground level to truck.
So a product seen at the recent Central Districts Field Days offers benefits for stock handlers and animals.
The Oroua Bobby Loader is made from H4 tanalised timber to NZ building specifications and meets with MPI approval. It can be delivered onsite fully assembled and go straight to work.
The loader, with a 2.4 x 3m footprint and 3m height, is designed to hold 17-25 calves, depending on breed/size. It has a wooden non-slip deck that drains, and a Colorsteel roof and side cladding to keep wind and rain at bay.
Attention to detail sees screw fasteners and bolts throughout, so there’s no risk of injury to livestock or people.
Twin swinging gates, made from tubular steel, are favoured over a slide-action gate, so there’s no jamming caused by tracks filling with debris.
With the livestock handlers in mind, a standout point is the OSH approved access ladder with handrail, and an inspection platform that gives easy access to the pen, particularly on wet days.
Manufacturer and supplier Ivan Wildbore says the units can be tweaked to suit buyer’s requirements such as loading height, which might vary from 1100-1200mm.
Accessories include an extended loading ramp, water troughs and teat feeders.
AGCO has released details of the new SB.1436DB small square, or conventional baler, that rather unconventionally, produces two rows of bales per field pass, so doubling the output over a traditional single baler producing 14-by-18-inch bales.
After establishing its own engine facility in the UK in 2004, followed by an Indian plant in 2010, JCB currently builds around 500 of its Dieselmax engines every day and hit the one million units milestone in late 2024.
You cannot go far in farming without encountering fasteners such as nuts and bolts, given that expensive plant, machinery and buildings are held together by them and your gates would not fill gateways if they were missing.
Increased efficiency has been a key driver for New Zealand’s farmers to meet the challenge of increased demand with fewer resources.
Designed to allow customers to adopt technology and reduce costs, John Deere’s Precision Essentials Programme, offers those customers the option to either buy all their precision agriculture (PA) technology upfront, or select only the hardware and software that will be most valuable to their business.
Commodity prices and interest rates play a huge role in shaping farmer confidence, but these factors are beyond their control, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre.
DairyNZ is supporting a proposed new learning model for apprenticeships and traineeships that would see training, education, and pastoral care delivered together to provide the best chance of success.
Two agritech companies have joined forces to help eliminate manual entry and save farmer time.
The recent squabble between the Cook Islands and NZ over their deal with China has added a new element of tension in the relationship between China and NZ.
The world is now amid potentially one of the most disruptive periods in world trade for a very long time.
Former Westland Milk boss Richard Wyeth is taking over as chief executive of Canterbury milk processor Synlait from May 19.
OPINION: Nearly four years after buying a 75% stake in Southland processor Mataura Valley Milk (MVM), A2 Milk is still…
OPINION: Fonterra isn't backing down in its fight with Greenpeace over the labelling of its iconic Anchor Butter.
