Farmers warned to upgrade as 3G shutdown looms
As the clock ticks towards the 3G mobile network shutdown, farmers are being warned to upgrade or risk losing connection to their supply chain.
Rural internet suppliers have improved their time-of-day (TOD) performance over the last 12 months, now matching ADSL and VDSL in urban areas.
The internet speed monitoring company TrueNet says time-of-day variances on fixed wireless are worse than ADSL, but the actual speeds overall are faster.
TrueNet says TOD is a critical performance criterion and ISPs serving the rural sector have responded by matching standard connections with Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) funded connections at 95% or better.
The company says fixed wireless is now a viable and successful technology in rural regions and places between ADSL and VDSL in performance.
“As fixed wireless gains in popularity it’s expected to suffer from some congestion as demand grows, so it’s good to see that the rural wireless speed has settled around 78% of best hour speed.”
New research suggests sheep and beef farmers could improve both profitability and emissions efficiency by increasing lamb weaning weights, with only marginal changes in total greenhouse gas emissions.
With six months until the election, Federated Farmers says the Government is running out of time to deliver its long-promised reform to the country's freshwater system.
Herd improvement company LIC has entered the Indonesian market.
Two forestry companies have been sentenced for road failures that led to the death of Coromandel truck driver Greg Stevens.
The situation in the Middle East has been a major influence on markets over recent months and the market for key farm inputs continues to move at pace, with pricing and availability shifting quickly across several key products, according to a major stockfood seller.
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) has signed on to a formal complaint filed with the United Nations requesting an investigation into whether the government's changes to New Zealand's pay equity laws amounts to systemic discrimination against women.

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