Fonterra eyes EcoPond pilot to reduce on-farm emissions
Fonterra has invested in a new effluent pond mobile dosing service to support farmers to reduce emissions and make progress towards its on-farm emissions reductions target.
Kiwi dairy farmers tend to be lagging behind the northern Europeans in their handling of dairy effluent.
The Europeans realised long ago that efficient effluent use would go far in replacing bought-in fertilisers.
For ten years the Euro’s have also quit traditional splash-plate application, now instead favouring dribble bar or trailing shoe applicators.
These help reduce the amount of nitrogen lost to the atmosphere as ammonia, while also addressing the problems of odour and complaints from neighbours.
German specialist Vogelsang, a big player for years, has taken another step in placement accuracy, so reducing crop contamination and improving plant uptake of nutrients.
New skid technology for its Blackbird trailing shoe linkages embodies a beak-like point said to ensure an even flow of slurry while also penetrating the soil surface more easily.
The Blackbird series also uses its maker’s precision distributor/macerator — the ExaCut ECQ, located at the centre of the boon structure. Its large internal diameter and oversized distributor plates keep the slurry moving, under control and distributed more accurately.
The unit also has a large maintenance port at its heart, allowing access to all internal components so that servicing can be done without dismantling the distributor, the outlet cover or the outlet hoses and feed lines.
Also, because the rotor runs at lower speed, it needs 50% less power, and exerts less pressure on the cutting blades and inside the distributor, all these factors extending the service life of the unit.
Hose layouts are modified to prevent the typical ‘v-shaped’ spread pattern as work begins.
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.