increase font size
Alpine Buildings' Hot-Box Rafter.
Alpine Buildings, Timaru, claims to be New Zealand's first company to make complete kitset buildings and is well known for developing a bird-proof rafter called Zero-Bird-Perch.
Its latest advance, which is being launched at National Fieldays, is the Hot-Box Rafter, said to be NZ's first completely hot dip-galvanised, bird-proof rafter; it is expected to last at least 2.5 times longer than anything else available.
Molten zinc, in which the steel is immersed, coats the surfaces inside and out, unlike sprayed zinc 'galv' which largely only protects outer surfaces.
Preventing birds perching, with their resultant mess, will keep buildings looking smarter for much longer.
Walking around the Fieldays this year, expected most of the conversations to be about machinery purchases and farm infrastructure upgrades. Instead, one topic seemed to keep cropping up more frequently with farmers – the price of PKE.
A leading British farming politician says he's impressed with the positive attitude of New Zealand farmers that he met during his recent trip here.
A new digital assistant is now helping Ballance Agri-Nutrients farmers speed up nutrient information and ordering.
OPINION: At Fieldays this year, one theme kept surfacing across the sector: global shocks are no longer something that happens “over there”. They are now translating quickly into local, farm-level impacts through increasingly complex and connected channels.
As the dust settles after Fieldays, we're once again reminded of the sheer volume of technology now available to New Zealand dairy farmers.
Now in its fourth year, the 2026 Fencing Industry Awards, formed part of the proceedings of the FCANZ Conference, held in Nelson during August.
DairyNZ deputy chair Cameron Henderson has been re-appointed unopposed for another term.
OPINION: The stats speak for themselves.
Farms across the upper North Island are trialling different pasture mixes as part of a research programme that aims to build greater resilience into farming systems.
Election years are always a concerning time for farmers, according to DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown.
The Ballance Farm Environment Awards are coming to the West Coast of the South Island.
OPINION: It seems Canterbury processor Synlait is still in the doldrums.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.
