Lanaco and Blueair Launch World-First NZ Wool Air Filter
New Zealand wool is reaching new heights as air filtration companies move away from synthetic products to biodegradable alternatives.
The new Health and Safety at Work Act has put the spotlight on employers and organisations.
They must identify risks they or their employees are likely to encounter daily, so the launch of an online app called Onside will be of interest to many.
The app allows farmers to develop their own Health and Safety Plan by working through pre-populated lists of potential risks, overlaid on a satellite map of the property.
The system saves time and allows farm staff or visitors to be aware of risks and how to manage them, to reduce incidents and improve farm safety overall.
Contractors or visitors will need to be encouraged to sign-in on a smartphone as they cross a virtual 'geo-fence' -- typically farm boundaries -- and will then be advised of risks and asked to acknowledge them.
New risks can be updated by the farmer in real-time and visitors can report any new risks via their smartphones. All information is cloud-stored -- no paperwork -- and offline capability applies in areas of poor cellphone coverage.
The technology allows users to map boundaries of the enterprise, uses photos rather than written descriptions to show known risks, and allows users to access instructions for emergencies in real-time.
Farmers and industry experts in health and safety contributed to the development and technology partner Jade Software wrote the app. It has huge potential in a complex, but necessary part of a modern farm.
A free trial is offered for the month of April.
South of the central Hawke’s Bay town of Waipukurau is Taniwha Station – a highly successful 550ha bull beef farming operation.
Beef + Lamb NZ funded research has shown that some simple changes to pasture management could help farmers make better use of rainfall and build resilience before dry conditions hit.
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When Northland leather worker Vernon Suckling started making horse saddles 50 years ago, quad bikes and side-by-side vehicles were unheard of.
Alliance Group has confirmed that eligible farmer-shareholders who supply and continue to back the business will receive up to $20 million later this year, following the strategic investment partnership with Dawn Meats.
With a general election under five weeks away, Rural News is asking major political parties about their policies and positions on key issues facing the primary sector. We will run their responses to each question over the next four weeks. The ACT Party and the Greens didn't respond in time.
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OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.