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The Springarm team picked up the Prototype Award and a cheque for $10,000 at this year's Fieldays for inventing and developing a ballcock arm that won't break.
Sometimes the simplest product design can be uncannily clever and offer real benefits to the end user.
Two such designs caught the eye at the Fieldays Innovation Awards, one a godsend to anyone working with livestock and the other making life just a little easier for sheep farmers.
Walking away with the Prototype Award and a cheque for $10,000 was Springarm Products Limited. The company has adressed the age-old problem of inventing and developing a ballcock arm that won't break.
Instead of snapping when put under pressure by thirsty or inquisitive animals, the Springarm flexes - saving water, time, money, and reducing stress.
It was conceived by farm manager Ric Awburn; he was standing at an empty trough one evening, watching the cows nudging the ballcock, causing the arm to snap. He thought, "if only the arm could give a little". Fast forward two years and he has a durable and reliable ballcock arm that's easy to install on all types of valves and will be a saviour to livestock owners.
Throughout the Fieldays, a steady stream of farmers was handling the Springarm, wondering - no doubt - why they couldn't have thought of the simple solution.
"We received non-stop, positive feedback from farmers coming through who've been facing water supply issues for a long time," director of Springarm Products Limited, Marianne Awburn, told Rural News. "Many had relief on their faces as there's now a solution to a problem they've faced for so long."
At the other end of the spectrum, two farmers' daughters, Stacey Bell and Georgina Ranger - both students at St. Peters School Cambridge - have come up with the clever, simple and aptly named 'Mark It' drench gun.
The stand-out feature was an attachment at the base of the nozzle, taking the form of a round boss, which houes a sponge. Soaked with a food dye, after the animal is drenched and the nozzle is withdrawn from the mouth, the sponge leaves a streak of dye on the animal's cheek.
It is designed to fit all types of drench guns. The clever duo suggested the simple addition allowed users to be sure all stock had been drenched, removing the problem of under or overdosing animals - saving both time and money.
AGCO has released details of the new SB.1436DB small square, or conventional baler, that rather unconventionally, produces two rows of bales per field pass, so doubling the output over a traditional single baler producing 14-by-18-inch bales.
After establishing its own engine facility in the UK in 2004, followed by an Indian plant in 2010, JCB currently builds around 500 of its Dieselmax engines every day and hit the one million units milestone in late 2024.
You cannot go far in farming without encountering fasteners such as nuts and bolts, given that expensive plant, machinery and buildings are held together by them and your gates would not fill gateways if they were missing.
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Five years on, Levin farmer George Thompson reflects on his life-changing accident and says it's great to see more support for farmers to make the industry safer.
Landowners with farms bordering the Hoteo River, north of Auckland, are hopeful their pressure will influence the outcome of two applications by local iwi relating to ownership of the riverbed.
A Massey University student has inched closer to national victory after being crowned Taranaki-Manawatu's top young farmer, despite being the youngest competitor in the field.
Safer Farms, the industry-led organisation dedicated to fostering a safer farming culture, has appointed Brett Barnham as its new chief executive.
Kiwifruit marketer Zespri says its kiwifruit has now reached more than 100 million households globally.
Scales Corporation managing director Andy Borland says the company has delivered an outstanding result.
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