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.
Flying the flag at Fieldays via its New Zealand distributor Webbline and export sales manager Sebastjan Bogataj, the machinery manufacturer SIP — the largest in Slovenia — was a relatively unknown name, but it showed a wide range of products.
It specialises in grassland machinery such as mowers, tedders and rakes.
Dating back 60 years, the company employs 280 employees producing machinery that meets the criteria of simple, strong and robust.
Its mowers range in size from 2.6 to 15m in front- and rear-mounted, trailed and butterfly format, or the range-topping five-unit, 15m trailed version.
Tedders are available from 4 to 15m and rakes 6 to 12.50m, meaning there is a machine for any operation. Construction in all the ranges uses quality components, with bearings from SKF, heavy-duty driveshafts from Walterscheid with service intervals up to 250 hours, and gearboxes from Bondoli and Pavesi.
Mower cutter-bars built in-house are modular, using the company’s disc drive safety system (DDSS). These comprise four shear pins in the hub beneath each disc, breaking under impact to prevent damage to the bed. Export manager Bogataj claims that, since the system’s introduction in 2007, no replacement gears have had to be supplied because of impact damage.
Looking at the cutter-bar, the wedge-shaped assembly is oil-filled for instant lubrication at start-up.
The bars are complemented by discs, skids and in-fill cleaner plates made from Hardox steel to extend service life. A quick-change knife system allows rapid in-field replacement. Bolt-up knife fittings can be supplied for arduous conditions.
The hydraulic suspension is designed to place about 180kg loading to ensure a clean cut and allow good ground adaption at all times.
For front mounted units, available from 3 to 3.5m working width, the S-Flow system uses a pulling motion combined with hydro-pneumatic suspension to ensure the mower floats over undulations and obstructions.
A verbal stoush has broken out between Federated Farmers and a new group that claims to be fighting against cheaper imports that undermine NZ farmers.
According to the latest ANZ Agri Focus report, energy-intensive and domestically-focused sectors currently bear the brunt of rising fuel, fertiliser and freight costs.
Having gone through a troublesome “divorce” from its association and part ownership of AGCO, Indian manufacturer TAFE is said to be determined to be seen as a modern business rather than just another tractor maker from the developing world.
Two long-standing New Zealand agricultural businesses are coming together to strengthen innovation, local manufacturing capability, and access to essential farm inputs for farmers across the country.
A new farmer-led programme aimed at bringing young people into dairy farming is under way in Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
The Government has announced changes to stock exclusion regulations which it claims will cut unnecessary costs and inflexible rules while maintaining environmental protections.

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