Time to think and plan
Winter can often be a quieter time where an opportunity exists to reflect on what has worked well in the past and think about improvements to help make your farming operation more efficient.
JUST IN time for break feeding during late autumn and winter is this new release from Taragate, called the Auto Fencer, seen at Central Districts Field Days.
Bolted to the front frame on a quad, it can carry electric fence reels and many standards, and also spades, shovels and tools.
The Auto Fencer can lay out one reel of tape as the quad moves forward and with a further attachment can lay out two or three reels. Meanwhile the standards can be treaded in or collected from the quad seat.
It is fully galvanised and the spring loaded clamp makes the load secure.
Also new was Taragate's end insulators made from polycarbonate.
"Previous insulators made from glass filled material grew lichen and moss, which led to power leakage," says part-owner Kerry Powell.
Also, the glass-based insulators would deteriorate over time, becoming brittle, and the wire guides would break off.
The new equipment is available New Zealand-wide from Taragate dealers.
Tel. 07 843 3859
European dairy giant Arla Foods celebrated its 25th anniversary as a cross-border, farmer-owned co-operative with a solid half-year result.
The sale of Fonterra’s global consumer and related businesses is expected to be completed within two months.
Fonterra is boosting its butter production capacity to meet growing demand.
For the most part, dairy farmers in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tairawhiti and the Manawatu appear to have not been too badly affected by recent storms across the upper North Island.
South Island dairy production is up on last year despite an unusually wet, dull and stormy summer, says DairyNZ lower South Island regional manager Jared Stockman.
Following a side-by-side rolling into a gully, Safer Farms has issued a new Safety Alert.

OPINION: Meanwhile, red blooded Northland politician Matua Shane Jones has provided one of the most telling quotes of the year…
OPINION: This old mutt has been around for a few years now and it seems these ‘once in 100-year’ weather…