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.
Kverneland has recently announced several upgrades for its iXtrack T4 trailed sprayer range – including a clever a 24/36m dual format, steel boom, 25cm nozzle distance and the next generation boom height control system.
In addition, the company claims to have taken precision spraying to the next level using its SpotSpray software. This is based on predefined prescription maps, which allows the sprayer to shut on and off in combination with the software and only spray designated areas of the paddock.
Achieved via predefined sections in the control terminal, working in combination with iXflow-Air or iXflow-E and even with normal sprayer section valves, the benefits include cost savings by reducing spray volumes and the ability to cover more hectares from a single tank fill.
Meeting end user requests, the 24/36m dual format HSS steel boom provides the flexibility to work at either bout width, without having to unfold the whole boom assembly.
Standard nozzle spacing is set at 50cm, but additional nozzle holders can be inserted to halve this distance to 25cm. This helps reduce spray drift, while also allowing easy selection of either spacing.
tive automated boom height control function, uses ultrasonic sensors working in conjunction with the sprayer’s hydraulic system. This is claimed to work in adverse conditions and at higher speeds. The hybrid mode measures both the distance to the plant and the ground and is said to be useful when working in uneven crops.
Current iXtrack features – like the iXclean Pro cleaning and rinsing system – will in future include new functions such as remote switching between filling, agitation, spraying, diluting, priming, rinsing and tank cleaning. Turbo agitation while making headland U-turns, easier cleaning of the main tank and automated functions for double pump layouts are also included in the new function list.
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.
Following twelve years of litigation, a conclusion could be in sight of Waikato’s controversial Plan Change 1 (PC1).
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