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Although it's painted like any fire truck and has flashing lights and a siren, a Case IH Farmall tractor named Kahu isn’t fighting fires.
Instead, its Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s (FENZ) way of starting conversations about fire safety, developing greater resilience, fire prevention and volunteer sustainability in rural industries.
National risk reduction manager Rob Saunders says the tractor signals FENZ’s intention to reduce the risk of fire in rural homes, buildings and vegetation.
“It’s a tool to help engage with the community in a fun and unique way. Kahu has been traveling the country to appear at numerous community events.”
Unveiled at National Fieldays 2018 at the FENZ site, the tractor got a great response from children and adults alike. The site also had a burnt-out tractor, and the two machines led to discussions about maintenance, spotting bird nests and accessibility and water availability for firefighters.
Kahu was at lots of events last year including the Poverty Bay A&P show in Gisborne, Omokoroa School where it was used to help educate children about fire safety, and Turangi for the annual Christmas parade.
Currently available in New Zealand in 250, 270, 300 and 400 horsepower options, Case IH’s Optum Series is being readied for expansion with the announcement of three new additional models, the 360, 390 and 440.
Case IH has unveiled a new 3-metre centre set-up for the the Optum tractor range, designed to meet the needs of growers operating under Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) practices.
Case IH has announced new G500V VariCut variable knife grain headers for its Axial-Flow combine harvesters with features aimed at enhancing performance and easing operator workloads.
Case IH is expanding its popular Puma range in New Zealand, with a new model that was released at Fieldays.
Tractor manufacturer and distributor Case IH has announced a new partnership with Meet the Need, the grassroots, farmer-led charity working to tackle food insecurity across New Zealand one meal at a time.
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The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
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