Mystery Creek Upgrade: 15-Year Infrastructure Plan Unveiled for National Fieldays Venue
The venue for National Fieldays, the Southern Hemisphere's largest agribusiness show, is getting a major infrastructure upgrade.
The latest offerings from Claas, Amazone, JCB and Trioliet will be on show at the Claas Harvest Centre display at Fieldays.
Making its debut, the Trioliet Triomaster S slices up to 45cm of silage from the face of a silage pit. Unlike conventional silage grabs or buckets that pull the silage from the pit, the Triomaster S has a fixed blade that shears through silage without affecting the structure of the wall or the stack itself. With a capacity of 2 or 3cu.m, it can be fitted to any telehandler or frontloader with a lift capacity of more than 3.5 tonnes.
Claas Harvest Centre’s sales manager NZ, Luke Wheeler, says the use of a silage cutter maintains silage quality and consistency by helping to create a well-sealed silage face, which in turn results in a reduction in secondary fermentation. Says Wheeler, “If you go the trouble of producing top quality silage it makes sense to use the best machinery to feed it out and get the best results”.
And first time on display at Mystery Creek will be the Claas Arion 600 and 400 series of tractors and the high-speed JCB Fastrac 8330.
The seven-model Arion 600 series builds on the marque’s previous models with rated power outputs from 125 to 205hp to suit all types of operations, with a choice of operating systems, cabin configurations and equipment options.
The new Arion 400 series, with six models from 90 to 140hp, boasts an array of features and technology normally only found on more powerful tractors: an optional continuous windscreen-roof panel, front linkages, automatic differential locking, automatic four-wheel drive and PTO activation/deactivation, headland management systems and dynamic steering.
The JCB Fastrac 8330, the world’s only tractor with all-round self-levelling suspension, has continuously variable transmission, ABS disc brakes on four wheels and a top speed of 70km/h, helping the machine raise the bar in productivity, comfort, safety and versatility.
As usual, the site will show a complete line-up of forage harvesting technology from Claas.
The complete range of Disco mowers and mower-conditioners, Volto tedders and Liner rakes will also be on display, alongside the range of Amazone spreaders and sprayers.
Farmers will get an opportunity to hear about the latest developments in sheep genetics at the Sheep Breeder Forum this May.
Specialist horticulture and viticulture weather forecasters Metris says the incoming Cyclone Vaianu is likely to impact growers across the country.
A group of old Otago uni mates with a love of South Island back-country have gone the lengths of Waiau Toa Clarence from source to sea. Tim Fulton, who joined the group in the final fun to the river mouth, tells their story.
Operating with a completely different format from conventional tractors and combine harvesters, the NEXAT prime mover combines all steps of crop production in one modular carrier vehicle, from tillage, through seeding to harvesting.
Reports of severe weather forecast to move over the vast majority of New Zealand’s kiwifruit orchards this weekend will be very concerning for a significant number of growers.
Seeka chief executive Michael Franks says while it's still early days in terms of the kiwifruit harvest, things are looking pretty good.