Fieldays hold out the begging bowl
OPINION: When someone says “we don’t want a handout, we need a hand up” it usually means they have both palms out and they want your money.
Spotted at Fieldays, and following a theme first seen in the New Holland ‘police’ tractor, Case IH New Zealand has unveiled a special edition ‘fire’ tractor as part of a partnership with Fire and Emergency NZ.
The Case IH Farmall tractor has flashing lights and a siren and is finished in livery typical of fire trucks everywhere.
Although it won’t be used to fight fires, the Case IH fire tractor will assist Fire and Emergency NZ to spread the message about fire safety in rural regions.
Case IH operations manager Tim Fanning says “Fire and Emergency NZ plays a vital role in helping keep our communities safe, so we are delighted to partner with them to help them engage with the public in a fun and unique way”.
Fire and Emergency’s national advisor fire risk management, Rob Goldring says the partnership and tractor will enable them to “talk with rural communities about developing greater resilience, especially in fire prevention and volunteer sustainability”.
Federated Farmers says it is cautiously welcoming signals from the Government that a major shake-up of local government is on its way.
Ashburton cropping and dairy farmer Matthew Paton has been elected to the board of rural services company, Ruralco.
The global agricultural landscape has entered a new phase where geopolitics – not only traditional market forces – will dictate agricultural trade flows, prices, and production decisions.
National Lamb Day is set to return in 2026 with organisers saying the celebrations will be bigger than ever.
Fonterra has dropped its forecast milk price mid-point by 50c as a surge in global milk production is putting downward pressure on commodity prices.
The chance of a $10-plus milk price for this season appears to be depleting.