Farming smarter with technology
The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry professionals from across the country.
Tillage, drilling and planting specialist Vaderstad has expanded its offering with the addition of the new 7.25-metre-wide, XL 725 to the Carrier XL range of disc cultivators – spanning working widths from 4.25 to 12.25 metres.
Carrier XL 725 is available with 510mm diameter TrueCut discs, CrossCutter Discs or the recently introduced CrossCutter Disc Aggressive configurations. To suit different farming needs, the cultivator can be equipped with a wide range of front tools, rear roller/packer options and the small seeder BioDrill 360 unit.
In addition to the new model, the Carrier XL 425-725 family is also being updated with frame enhancements, including a strengthened parallel linkage for the rear packer. To allow easier set-up and guide the operator, all models are now fitted with new visible scales to help operators monitor the overall working depth and the front tool depth.
The new Carrier XL 725 also features a new transport height position scale for a safer road transport. The wider models, Carrier XL 625 and Carrier XL 725, can also be equipped with a new wheel axle, as well as 560/45 R22.5 wheels, approved for 40km/h road transport.
“Carrier XL is a well-known, versatile machine concept, that can help the farmer save passes, decreases machine costs per hectare and provides the best start possible for the coming crop, says Wolfram Hastolz, director tillage product management, at Väderstad.
“The new Carrier XL 725 will slot well into the product range.”
Carrier XL 725 is now available for order, with delivery from early 2024.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the 2025 Fieldays has been one of more positive he has attended.
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Recent results from its 2024 financial year has seen global farm machinery player John Deere record a significant slump in the profits of its agricultural division over the last year, with a 64% drop in the last quarter of the year, compared to that of 2023.
An agribusiness, helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sector, has picked up a top innovation award at Fieldays.
The Fieldays Innovation Award winners have been announced with Auckland’s Ruminant Biotech taking out the Prototype Award.
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