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Outgoing TAMA president Ian Massicks (left) hands over the reins to Mark Hamilton-Manns.
The Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) has a new president: Mark Hamilton-Manns, of John Deere, took the reins from the president of six years, Ian Massicks of Kubota NZ, after his six years in the role.
TAMA represents the interests of importers and manufacturers of tractors and machinery, keeping an eye on legislation and safety, and trying to ensure edicts originating Parliament are workable when they reach farms. It also strives to ensure that modern agricultural machinery, sourced from many countries, meets required NZ standards, and it provides members with historical data on sales by area and machine type.
Asked how Fieldays was panning out for TAMA members, Massicks commented, “I arrived at Fieldays with a little apprehension, but have found little negativity, and indeed there was some business being done,” despite the market for tractors to the end of June being down around 20%.
Massicks said, “while that’s disappointing, it comes off the back of 2014 which was a very big year for sales, and one could argue that 2015 is just coming back to a little normality.”
As we move into the 2025/26 growing season, the Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) reports that the third quarter results for the year to date is showing that the stagnated tractor market of the last 18 months is showing signs of recovery.
With June ending and following the most upbeat National Fieldays for several years, tractor dealers are reporting a lift in sales.
First up to the podium at the recent Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) Conference in Wellington, Minster for Agriculture, Todd McClay, reflected on a difficult 12 months, but hinted at signs that things were turning the corner, saying “when ag does well, New Zealand does well”.
A 2022 Nuffield scholar, Lucie Douma, was brought up on a Southland dairy farm and as a hobby likes the risky business of trail running and ultra marathons.
The recent Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) conference in Wellington was signalling cautious optimism on the back of rising milk and store cattle prices and drops in interest rates.
The Government is set to announce two new acts to replace the contentious Resource Management Act (RMA) with the Prime Minister hinting that consents required by farmers could reduce by 46%.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change would be “a really dumb move”.
The University of Waikato has broken ground on its new medical school building.
Undoubtedly the doyen of rural culture, always with a wry smile, our favourite ginger ninja, Te Radar, in conjunction with his wife Ruth Spencer, has recently released an enchanting, yet educational read centred around rural New Zealand in one hundred objects.
Farmers are being urged to keep on top of measures to control Cysticerus ovis - or sheep measles - following a spike in infection rates.
The avocado industry is facing an extremely challenging season with all parts of the supply chain, especially growers, being warned to prepare for any eventuality.
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