Collars a smart move for a happy healthy herd
Tru-Test Active Collars have proven to be a game changer for many Australian and New Zealand farms since launching earlier this year.
The Tru-Test Vat Manager all-in-one vat monitor and controller is giving dairy farmers confidence that their milk is cooled and held to temperature.
That’s a biggie when you hear rural insurer FMG saying that 90% of claims for milk loss are due to human error – farmers forgetting to flick that switch.
Developed and made in New Zealand, Vat Manager draws on Tru-Test’s long technical expertise; in operation it sends text alerts for vat too hot, milk too cold, wash temperature too low, hardware fault, too long to cool and mains lost.
The unit is highly accurate and its temperature display is easily viewable at a distance – even in poor light.
An online memory log allows downloading of a CSV file from the online portal to comply with the mandatory monitoring component of the new milk cooling rules.
Vat Manager works on all tanks including side wall refrigeration, and suits any style of farm dairy (herringbone or rotary), single or multiple vats, indoors or out, regardless of how many cows are being milked.
Two options are available: Vat Manager Plus as already outlined, and Vat Manager Auto which also turns on refrigeration when milk is detected, and alerts to slow cool, milk in too warm, vat nearly full and vat full.
Tru-Test will also show its ProCool ice bank range, combining quality and attractive price.
The unit comes complete with an insulated tank, integrated refrigeration unit, pumping and control system, ready for connection to a plate cooler.
All stainless, the ProCool is easy to set up as the tank and chiller are plumbed ready to go and it comes pre-charged with 407f refrigerant. The tank is insulated against heat loss and the plates are efficient in heat transfer and ice build. Servicing is simple; parts supply is good.
Utilising plate technology as used in the base of Tru-Test’s milk cooling vats, the company’s pillow plate heat exchangers offer high internal heat transfer compared to tube systems, run more efficiently, and have a greater surface area for ice building – meaning the ice forms at a higher temperature.
By contrast, during the melting process, the area of the ice exposed to the water in the tank remains roughly the same throughout the melt. This means the temperature of the water stays roughly the same during the melting process, unlike tube systems; as the ice melts the area exposed to the water decreases, slowing the heat transfer into the incoming water stream.
A technical lab manager for Apata, Phoebe Scherer, has won the Bay of Plenty 2025 Young Grower regional title.
Following heavy rain which caused flooding in parts of Nelson-Tasman and sewerage overflows in Marlborough, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is urging homeowners and tenants to be cautious when cleaning up and to take the right steps to support claims.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
OPINION: ACT MP Mark Cameron isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he certainly calls it how he sees it, holding…
OPINION: Did former PM Jacinda Ardern get fawning reviews for her book?