Winston's crusade
OPINION: A short-term sugar hit. That's what NZ First leader Winston Peters is calling the proposed sale of Fonterra's consumer and associated businesses.
The biggest silo ever made in a New Zealand workshop and transported in one piece rolled out of the Mercer Stainless manufacturing plant in Christchurch early this morning.
The 500,000-litre silo, which weighs 28 tonnes empty, was transported 48kms in a four-hour trip to Fonterra's new dryer factory at Darfield, west of Christchurch.
Ross Coppard, branch manager of the Mercer Christchurch operation, says this giant silo is one of 22 of varying sizes being built for Fonterra's site, an order worth several million dollars to the company.
"We started work on the first of the silos back in September 2010 and are now getting to the end of the order, which has been a substantial one for the company. South Island dairy is very buoyant at present and as the largest stainless steel fabricator in the region we are optimistic about the future in this sector," he says.
The silo, which stands 22m tall with a diameter of 5.8m, was too large to load on to a truck in the factory. It had to be taken out by crane for loading on to the truck out in the yard.
"Only one transporter in the South Island can carry this load. It has a special trailer that extends in length and also extends in width, allowing the silo to get very close to the road while also being able to pass under power lines."
Mercer planned to leave the factory before 3am today to be off the road by 6.30am.
Once at the site, it will take Mercer Stainless a day to erect the silo and three more days to complete assembly. The silo will be used to collect the raw milk from tankers before it goes into the factory for processing.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
Rural retailer Farmlands has reported a return to profitability, something the co-operative says shows clear progress in the second year of its five-year strategy.
According to a new report, the Safer Rides initiative, which offered farmers heavily discounted crush protection devices (CPDs) for quad bikes, has made a significant impact in raising awareness and action around farm vehicle safety.
OPINION: In the past weeks, much has been said and written about one of New Zealand's greatest prime ministers, James Brendan Bolger, who died just a few months after his 90th birthday.

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