Waikato dairy effluent breaches lead to $108,000 in fines
Two farmers and two farming companies were recently convicted and fined a total of $108,000 for environmental offending.
A new addition to Farmchief’s extensive range is aimed at using organic waste on farm, notably the West Maelstrom rear discharge manure spreader.
Built by the West family business in Shropshire, UK, the machine is available in nominal capacities of 8 or 14 cu.m with corresponding tare weights of 3.5 or 6.0 tonnes respectively.
It comprises a heavy-duty y-shape body with the bed chains -- twin 14 mm items for the model 8 and twin 18 mm for the model 14 -- moving material to twin, vertical rear beaters which rotate at 400 rpm. These have replaceable blades which shred material to a fine consistency for a uniform spread up to 12 m.
Overload protection is by a driveline slip clutch with the 1000 rpm input shaft equipped with a wide angle set-up.
The Maelstrom series particularly suits farmyard manures but can be equipped with a hydraulically actuated vertical guillotine style door to handle semi solid material or slurry.
LED lights and tractor style tyres are standard on both models and the larger machine has a sprung drawbar.
Options include light protectors, onboard weighing systems and GPS telemetry for proof of placement.
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.