Feed pad with rubber matting hailed as game changer
For Otago farmers Michelle and Rogan Borrie, a newly constructed feed pad on one of their three farms has been a game changer.
With a working width of up to 9.50m, the Claas Disco 9700 butterfly disc mower is available in five versions with the choice of tine or roller conditioner units and swath merging.
Combining Max Cut mower beds with quick knife change and the Active Float suspension, new features include the flow-optimised wear skids-first seen on the Disco 8500, 9300 and 1010 in 2022-offering the ability to increase cutting height by 15mm.
New swinging arms on all 9700 models can be hydraulically extended laterally by 300mm or pulled inwards by 50mm to adjust the cutter-bar overlap when turning corners or working across slopes, helping to avoid unmown strips of grass. The swing arm travel can be infinitely adjusted from the cab between 8.80 and 9.50m. When folded into transport position, the arms automatically retract to a height of less than 4.0m.
Suitable for tractors of up to 500hp, the 9700 RC (roller conditioner) and Auto Swather versions are specifically developed for lucerne and whole-crop silage, where material is gently crushed by two counter-rotating polyurethane rollers, with minimal leaf shatter. One, or both belt units can be folded up hydraulically when working without swath merging.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.