Grabbing bales made quick and easy
Front end loader and implement specialist Quicke has introduced the new Unigrip L+ and XL+ next-generation bale grabs, designed for users who need strength, efficiency, and soft handling in their daily tasks.
In agriculture, the emphasis for the last 150 years has been on using technology to know more about orchards, fields, and crops, which has been great, according to Watermetrics.
“We’ve uncovered inefficiencies, learned more about our land, and optimised inputs through tools like weather stations, soil moisture probes, sensors, satellites, flow meters, and more. But as often happens, yesterday’s solutions have created today’s problems.
“Technology has enabled us to deeply understand our land and crops in the modern farming landscape through numerous tools. We’ve accumulated a treasure trove of data to maximise our yields and optimise our resources.”
But, there’s a hitch – we are now navigating through a sea of data, often struggling to decipher it into actionable strategies, it says.
“Farmers in New Zealand are getting more and more data. Some of it’s expensive. Some providers are backward in sharing it.
“There are data gaps which can make a data stream unreliable. You can pay a lot for data that just doesn’t do the job accurately enough in important situations. Some data is confusing like a trigger point to irrigate and noticeably varying responses from an irrigation.
“Authorities want you to show that you are using data to manage water and nitrogen and be environmentally responsible and there can be variations around how- given the data interpretation.
“Dealing with data and transforming it into meaningful, actionable insights is actually quite difficult. Farmers are good at solving puzzles but they don’t have time to solve mysteries. Mysteries require improved analysis and interpretation of data for resolution. At the end of the day this is grasping the key indicators that affect plant health and yield. This leads to profit and we all want that.
“Historically, many agricultural companies have operated by amassing asymmetric information – having more knowledge than the next person.
www.watermetrics.co.nz
Farmer-owned co-operative Ravensdown is winding down the operations of its agritech subsidiary C-Dax following a long decline in sales.
The recent East Coast Farming Expo, held over two days at Wairoa, offered an insight into the current state of agriculture on the east of the North Island, at a time when the locals are remembering the second anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle.
A Research programme supported by Beef+Lamb NZ is investigating the potential of ‘accelerometer’ sensors for early detection of conditions such as facial eczema (FE) in sheep.
In the past year, the Farmer Time for Schools programme which seeks to connect New Zealand school students with farmers, has experienced further growth.
Fresh Carriers Co. Ltd (FCC) and Zespri have completed the first ever kiwifruit charter powered by a low-emissions fuel.
New Zealand lingerie brand Rose & Thorne is expanding its virtual bra fitting service in an effort to provide rural women in with better access to specialised advice.
OPINION: Two Australian cheesemakers have rescued the iconic Tasmanian cheese company King Island Dairy.
OPINION: World famous liqueur maker Baileys is the latest to dabble with plant-based products.