Husband and wife team’s special love of Ag Aviation
John and Janet Spence are unique in the agricultural aviation scene in New Zealand.
Alan Beck a pilot and chairman of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association, says it’s now socially unacceptable for farmers not to remove electric fence or television wires strung across gullies.
Beck is frustrated that some farmers don’t make a priority of removing wires. And while Federated Farmers – as an organisation -- supports him, some of its members don’t, so he’s now getting the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to take action against farmers who won’t remove dangerous wires.
“CAA is looking at a procedure where pilots have to report an incident involving a dangerous wire and CAA will get WorkSafe NZ to make the farmer deal with it,” Beck told Rural News.
“It’s not acceptable that 27 pilots have been killed including Peter Robb in Whanganui. There have been 14 wire strikes in the last year including one where our vice-chairman hit a wire in Hawkes Bay and was really lucky not to be killed,” he adds.
“A lot of farmers don’t think there is too much risk. It’s only when one of our pilots hits one and gets killed or badly injured that they are very, very, sorry.”
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Sheep and beef farmers Matt and Kristin Churchward say using artificial intelligence (AI) to spread fertiliser on their sprawling 630ha farm is a game changer for their business.
Commercial fruit and vegetable growers are being encouraged to cast their votes in the Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) board directors' election.
A unique discovery by a Palmerston North science company, Biolumic, looks set to revolutionise the value and potential of ryegrass and the secret is the application of ultraviolet (UV) light.
A New Zealand company is redefining the global collagen game by turning New Zealand sheepskin into a world-class health product.
With further extreme weather on the way, ANZ Bank is encouraging farmers and business owners impacted by the recent extreme weather and flooding to seek support if they need it.
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