New pasture guide launched to support farmers in a changing climate
A new publication has been launched that offers a comprehensive and up-to-date resource on commercially available grazing pasture species in New Zealand.
Massey University is living the ‘future of farming’ theme at National Fieldays this year with robots, future foods artificially intelligent farm assistants, and a focus on health and wellbeing.
This is the university’s first year as a partner of the Fieldays event overall, and its second year partnering in the health and wellbeing programme.
Massey’s stand in the main pavilion will display an artificially intelligent farm assistant.
The screen-based prototype will allow people visiting the stand to ask farm-related questions of an avatar. Voice recognition technology and pre-loaded farm data will enable the avatar to quickly analyse the question and put forward answers and solutions.
The stand will also have plant-based proteins, including soy patties that look and taste like meat, and bread made from nut and cricket flour.
Massey’s College of Health will have a stand in the Health Hub, where they will be asking crowds to play a spin-the-wheel style health promotion game designed to engage people in conversations about health and wellbeing.
It will cover different health topics including nutrition, exercise and social life, to expand people’s knowledge so they can better look after themselves and others.
Two Massey dietetic students will run a ‘sugary drink’ activity, where people can try different drinks, like flavoured waters, to find out more about sugar in drinks and the alternatives.
Massey knowhow will also feature on other sites.
The C-Dax stand (site F25) will show the C-Dax pasture meter robot developed with graduates from Massey University and representing the future of smart farming.
The robot uses pasture meter technology to measure pasture, autonomously allowing for its optimum use while saving labour costs. Massey mechatronics graduates Mitchell Hampton and Tim Sutcliffe, now working with C-Dax on the next stage of field trials, will front the display.
The robot has been entered in the Fieldays Innovation Awards.
On the Massey Agritech Research Centre stand the professor of robotics, Johan Potgieter, will talk about the future of farming.
This talk and networking event will be hosted by Massey’s Alumni Foundation on Thursday June 14 from 5.30pm at The Verandah.
Bedford truck
Massey’s first exhibit was brought up on a Bedford truck by a young Ralph Sims, now a Massey professor at the forefront of climate change issues.
In that truck, Professor Sims had farm machinery teaching equipment and a tent.
In 1975, Sims also started the tractor pull competition as a way to educate drivers about good driving to save fuel.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
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