Norwood opens new Tasman dealership
Norwood has announced the opening of a new Tasman dealership at Richmond near Nelson next month.
Norwood has imported the biggest tractor yet seen in New Zealand -- a New Holland T9.670 scraper.
It sits 4.2m wide x 7.5m long.
The 600hp from its 12.9L, 6-cylinder turbo diesel engine is delivered to the ground by dual tyres all round, making the tractor an impressive sight.
The tractor is operated by Matt Mead, the owner of Earthwork Solutions, Gisborne. It is on hire from Norwood Hire Division, managed by Greg Moore.
Mead visited Australia where the tractors are more common. There he visited a customer who operates the same tractors and then settled on a scraper scoop for the New Holland to tow. He uses the NH T9.670 to pull a 28 cu.m K-Tec 1228 scraper, which it fills in no more than 30 seconds. Its fuel consumption is impressive at only 37L/hour.
“I have another smaller scraper, a 10.7 cu.m too, which is towed by a 295hp tractor,” Mead says.
“The T9.670 is moving twice as much dirt in roughly the same time while using less fuel.
“We also settled on the T9.670 to look at the option of towing a second K-Tec 1228 scraper in tandem.
“After seeing what the big tractor is capable of we are seriously considering doing this.”
To ease the load of the capital outlay, Mead has hired the T9.670 from Norwood Hire for the first 12 months of his operation.
He says having Norwood nearby in Gisborne as the local service centre was a big part of his decision making process.
Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell has resigned after eight years in the role.
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.

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