Shearing legend hooked on CanAm
Sir David Fagan, world-renowned competitive sheep shearer with 642 shearing titles worldwide and a knighthood to his name, now runs beef and dairy operations near Te Kuiti with wife Wendy and son Jack.
While Nokia is more likely recognised for mobile devices, a major investment of €70m (NZ$126m) by global farm machinery brand AGCO at its facility in Linnavuori, in Nokia, will see the plant establish a new laboratory for testing combustion engines running on alternative fuels, alongside a range of electric solutions, including hybrids, fuel cells and high-voltage battery technology.
Building on more than €100 million already spent at the plant over the past five years, and where around 1000 staff are employed, the new 11,000m² buildings will be completed through 2024/25.
They will include a training and visitor centre, a production hall for machining cylinder heads and manufacturing CVT components, alongside a new paint shop and testing capabilities for remanufactured engines.
The new production hall will also house a new machining line with a high degree of automation for manufacturing the cylinder heads of AGCO CORE engines.
The €70 million investment will also allow the facility to expand the manufacturing of CVT components for AGCO’s Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra brands, with plans to produce more high precision transmission components.
Juha Tervala, managing director of AGCO Power, says that the investment will allow the company to grow its remanufacturing capabilities.
“Remanufactured products are stripped down to their individual components, inspected, cleaned and fully rebuilt. We have remanufactured used engines toward a circular economy since 1990. Any product improvements are based on the latest revision, as they are repaired, before the thoroughly tested and painted engine is signed off with a full factory warranty.”
Tervala says that the facility currently produces around one million gear wheels and axles annually, but this will double after the new facilities come fully on stream.
Farmers appear to be backing the Government's recent Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms announcement.
For the first time, all the big names in agricultural drone technology are being brought together under one marquee at the National Fieldays.
Fonterra has announced an improved third quarter performance – with a profit after tax of $1.15 billion, up $119 million on the same period last year.
The Fieldays Innovation Awards competition has attracted a diverse and impressive array of innovations from across the primary industries, highlighting the growing importance of technology shaping the future of farming.
Coming to the fore following the carnage of Cyclone Gabrielle, Starlink became well known for providing internet access even in NZ's most inaccessible places.
From this winter farmers will have a greater choice of feed types and blend options than ever before, thanks to Farmlands' purchase of animal nutrition company SealesWinslow.
OPINION: Imagine if the Hound had called the Minister of Finance the 'c-word' and accused her of "girl math".
OPINION: It's good news that Finance Minister Nicola Willis has slashed $1.1 billion from new spending, citing "a seismic global…