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.
Global tractor manufacturer AGCO – the home of Massey Ferguson, Fendt and Valtra – has released a totally new engine design.
This comes as a result of a €1 billion investment at the Linnavuori engine production plant, near Nokia in Finland.
With what appears to be a growing list of alternative fuels, which hold potential for future use – including as hydrogen and natural gas, in both compressed and liquid forms. AGCO suggests that the way forward to utilise these “alternative” fuels is a new engine, designed from the ground up to be compatible with them – rather than adapting existing engines.
The company claims their new CORE engine family can be easily developed to run efficiently with different fuels as they become adopted as replacements for fossil diesel.
Compression ignition engines have been with us for over 130 years and remain the most practical solution in many applications. While electric vehicles are becoming more common, AGCO notes that battery capacity is not yet enough for off-road machinery applications, except for compact machinery – typically less than 75hp.
It says the chief advantage of diesel fuel is that it has a high energy density and is reasonably safe and easy to handle.
Thermodynamic principles also mean that higher compression ratio engines are more efficient.
Unfortunately, however, engineering constraints created in handling the higher temperatures involved puts a limit on their ultimate size.
The first engine from the new family is the CORE75. This is a 7.5L block, which delivers 1,450 Newton-meters (Nm) of torque at 1,300rpm (revolutions per minute). This is the highest in its power class, according to AGCO.
By reducing engine speed at maximum torque by 200rpm, fuel economy is improved, with a specific consumption of only 188g/ kWh.
Already fitted in the latest Fendt Vario 700 series tractors, the company claims it marks not only a new generation of flexible engines, but also a firm commitment to the internal combustion engine as a power unit for many years yet.
Designed as a multi-fuel engine, the CORE units are likely to be seen across the whole AGCO range and beyond.
Newly appointed National Fieldays chief executive Richard Lindroos says his team is ready, excited and looking forward to delivering the four-day event next month.
More than 70 farmers from across the North and South Islands recently spent a dayand- a-half learning new business management and planning skills at Rabobank Ag Pathways Programmes held in Invercargill, Ashburton and Hawera.
Government ministers cannot miss the ‘SOS’ – save our sheep call - from New Zealand farmers.
A tax advisory specialist is hailing a 20% tax deduction to spur business asset purchases as a golden opportunity for agribusiness.
Sheep and beef farmers have voted to approve Beef + Lamb New Zealand signing an operational agreement between the agricultural sector and the Government on foot and mouth disease readiness and response.
The head of the New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers organisation NZKGI says the points raised in a report about the sector by Waikato University professor Frank Scrimgeour were not a surprise.
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