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.
Irish manufacturer Major Equipment Intl Ltd has appointed Taranaki-based AgriQuip as its distributor of Major branded products in New Zealand.
AgriQuip supplies a network of tractor dealerships throughout the country, offering service and after-sales support in the North and South Islands.
"Major has a trusted reputation around the world for top quality, durable machines," says Mark Hamilton at AgriQuip. "The design and engineering of their grass-cutting range is just excellent. Our customers are always looking for hard-working machinery that can cope with New Zealand conditions and Major products fit the bill."
AgriQuip will stock the Cyclone rotary shredder in working widths from 2m to 6.3m. Said to deliver the performance of a bat-wing or flail shredder, with half the fuel and power requirements, the Cyclone is ideal for grassland maintenance, vegetation management and equally adept at clearing overgrown land.
In addition, the New Plymouth-based company will also provide a selection of Major Grounds care machinery including the Swift Roller Mower range, the Contoura mower for golf and sports grounds, and the CS Pro for Compact Tractors.
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).