Wairarapa’s Bradley Wadsworth blends farming and technology
Bradley Wadsworth lives on the family farm – Omega Station – in the Wairarapa about 30 minutes’ drive east from Masterton.
Rules governing the flying of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) changed on August 1 with the introduction of Civil Aviation Authority Rule 102.
Yamaha Motors NZ wasted no time in getting the new certification, clearing the way for the company to fly its R-Max helicopter UAV. The test flights were done near Auckland.
The R-Max is powered by a 246cc engine and has a 28kg payload. It was designed in Japan at the request of the country's Ministry of Agriculture Forest and Fisheries, which sought an unmanned vehicle for crop spraying. It should suit the widely varying topography of NZ.
"We have developed a robust safety policy for the operation of the R-Max," says Yamaha NZ general manager Daryl Lovegrove.
Wool Impact and ASB have signed a new partnership with the bank set to provide financial backing to support the revitalisation of New Zealand's strong wool industry.
OPINION: Farmers have been clear: it is getting harder, not easier, to find and keep good people.
Last week marked New Zealand Sign Language Week and a South Canterbury tanker operator is sharing what it's like to be deaf in a busy Fonterra depot.
As fuel and fertiliser prices rise and with uncertainty in the future, farmers are being urged to go over their budgets with a fine-tooth comb.
Federated Farmers says reforms of local government announced last week will be music to farmers' ears.
Hinehou Timutimu, the 2026 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year, says she feels privileged to have won the award.

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