Stihl Launches BT140, Its First Battery-Powered Auger
With battery tools becoming more widespread and more importantly, productive and reliable, it was only time before we saw augers or post-hole borers.
Vantage New Zealand and Precision Farming are partnering with Trimble Agriculture with the aim of transforming NZ farming practices.
The companies used this year’s Fieldays to launch what they describe as a ground-breaking connection.
The connection between Trimble Agriculture’s vehicle guidance products, via Trimble Ag Software’s API and Precision Farming’s software platform, aims to introduce a seamless connection for farmers and rural contractors to digitise and automate fertiliser and spray application processes, inventory management and record keeping.
Vantage NZ co-founder Jemma Mulvihill says the collaboration supports the company’s goal of transforming farming practices across the country and providing farmers with enhanced options and greater efficiency.
She claims the move will offer farmers cutting edge technology and expert knowledge to optimise their agricultural operations.
The partnership is also claimed to help streamline workflows and improve reporting accuracy while maximising the use of both new and existing Trimble Agriculture equipment.
“With Trimble Ag Software now connected by Precision Farming, manual steps will be eliminated and proof of application will be automated,” Mulvihill explains. “The result will be more accurate and reliable application records for compliance reporting and decision making with minimal effort.”
Farmers utilising Trimble Agriculture’s vehicle guidance products will now also have the advantage of digital reporting for self-spreading. Meanwhile, contractors will be able to digitise their workflow and gain a work-in-progress view for fleet management.
With enhanced data management and analysis capabilities, farmers will be able to make more informed decisions and optimise their spreading and spraying practices. The aim of which is to ultimately improve productivity and reduce costs.
Precision Farming’s chief operating officer, Chloe Walker, says its partnership with Trimble Ag Software builds on the company’s efforts to help farmers easily manage their environmental data using smart technology and common sense.
“Farming today relies heavily on data, with an app or online platform for just about everything, often making things confusing and time-consuming,” she adds.
“Precision Farming’s world-class technology simplifies things by enabling different systems to work together and talk to each other. This means data from Trimble Agriculture-enabled vehicles can now be automatically transferred to farmers’ Hawkeye or My Ballance accounts or spread/spray diary within Precision Farming."
Walker claims that Trimble Agriculture’s integration with Precision Farming will give farmers peace of mind knowing exactly what has been spread where and when, as well as giving contractors a wider range of vehicle guidance technologies to choose from.
Farmgate lamb prices are down by 8%, beef cattle by 4.5% and farm expenditure up by 4.2%.
Kiwifruit growers are watchful but remain optimistic as concerns around the potential effects of the El Niño weather pattern this season.
Almond hulls sourced from Australian orchards may have the potential to help New Zealand cows reduce emissions, boost milk yield and lower input costs.
Striking a balance between meeting the needs of industry to speed up approval time for products but on the other hand ensuring that risks are properly assessed.
Surprised, humbled and quite thrilled. That’s the reaction of James Allen, one of the founding partners and now chief executive of AgFirst, on being made a life member of the Institute of Rural Professionals.

OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…