Alpego eyes electric power harrow
Distributed by OriginAg in New Zealand, Italian manufacturer Alpego recently showed its three metre Alysium electric power harrow at the Italian Eima Event, taking away an innovation award.
Following its acquisition of the Lely grassland business, Fendt, part of the global AGCO group, has invested €20m (NZ$34m) at its Wolfenbuttel factory in Lower Saxony.
It has also announced that the facility is now fully operational for the production of both round balers and Tigo forage wagons.
Following the takeover in 2017, the formally known Welger Werke had a history of agricultural engineering, particularly balers, dating back around 123 years.
Manufacture of loader wagons started in September with all models of the Fendt range being assembled in a newly equipped 4,200m² production hall. A further 10,000m² of logistics space has also been added to support the loader wagon assembly.
Despite the industry suggesting the market for loader wagons was at best static, with major player Claas withdrawing from the sector earlier in the year, Christoph Groblinghoff, chairman of the Fendt management board, commented, “Because the market for loader wagons is manageable worldwide, we want to, and must, build the best loader wagons for our customers”.
During the factory upgrades, the works were completely gutted and a new single line for the balers installed, which, through process optimisation, has allowed all the balers to be produced on the same production line. The same strategy has been applied to the loader wagon assembly line with eight ranges and 25 models available. The investment has also created employment for a further 60 staff.
On the edge of the hot, dry Takapau plains, Norm and Del Atkins have cultivated a small but exceptional herd of 60 Holstein Friesian cows within their mixed breed herd of 360 dairy cows.
The DairyNZ board and management are currently trying to determine whether, and to what degree, their farmer levy payers will support any increase in their levy contributions.
Milk production is up nationally, despite drought conditions beginning to bite in some districts, according to the latest update from Fonterra.
Dry conditions are widespread but worse in some places, with rain and drought affecting farms just a few kilometres away.
The Government's plan to merge the seven crown institutes presents exciting possibilities for plant technology company Grasslanz Technology, says chief executive Megan Skiffington.
Agribusiness leader Rob Hewett is the new chair of listed carpet maker Bremworth.
OPINION: Results of regional New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA) are trickling in but there's a worrying trend emerging.
OPINION: It seems that the work rate of some parliamentarians is well below par.