Fieldays hold out the begging bowl
OPINION: When someone says “we don’t want a handout, we need a hand up” it usually means they have both palms out and they want your money.
While New Zealand is the land of the bale feeder that cleverly unrolls a bale in the paddock, much feed is wasted when stock trample it on the ground.
So there's a place for simple, low-tech stock feeders, as made by QC Engineering, Napier, and sold under the AgBrand and Red Barns brands.
The company offers a broad range of styles from basic 1.6m diameter units, with 12 positions and capable of feeding 30 animals, to larger units of heavier construction and wider access points, that can accommodate bull beef animals over 24 months of age.
A range of rectangular and oval feeders will suit larger mobs, can hold up to three large round bales, and suit feeding out hay or silage as supplements for animals feeding on break crops such as fodder beet or kale.
The company also manufactures modular feed fences useful for constructing feed pads, and accessories such as liners for round units, allowing meal, pellets or nuts to be fed efficiently, and covers for feeders used in inclement conditions.
All construction uses heavy gauge steel for the framing, and quality galvanising for a long, trouble-free life.
Units are easily broken down for movement or storage and use a bolt or removable pin system to fix panels together.
The modular design can be extended to meet changing situations or number changes, and is easily customisable around farm buildings and feed-pads.
Moves are afoot to get a team of Australians over here to help repair North Canterbury's irrigation machinery, ravaged by the big windstorm of late October.
As you approach Hastings from the south along SH2, the colour of the west-facing hills are a good indicator of a drought.
Global beef trade is expected to grow steadily over the next five years, driven by increasing demand from Asia and strategic export expansions by South American countries.
Carpet maker Bremworth is reinstating solution-dyed nylon (SDN) into its product mix but says wool carpets remain central to its brand.
While New Zealand may be under siege from braindead, flesh-eating monstrosities, that doesn’t mean lambing can stop.
OPINION: As negotiations advance on the India-New Zealand FTA, it’s important to remember the joint commitment made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the beginning of this process in March: for a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial agreement.
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