There’s a big difference between farmers being experienced with quad bikes and being competent to use them across a wide range of tasks according to Ona de Rooy, general manage health and safety operations at the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MIBE).

Lamb producers could learn from New Zealand tourism by targeting top-end Chinese markets, says Westpac economist Nathan Penny.

A sea-faring mate of the Hound tells of an encounter with a marine weatherman in Russell, Bay of Islands, while boating there over the festive season.

Your old mate is well aware of the disdain many farmers hold for the shiny suits and paper shufflers who work in offices.

WAIKATO FARMER Dave Muggeridge’s farming philosophy is simple: keep grass in good condition and monitor growth weekly.

THINK ABOUT your farm as a series of land units and manage them accordingly.

THE FESTIVE season saw thirty-four lucky farmers land an extra and unexpected Christmas present courtesy of animal health firm Coopers and a range of other companies involved in its Bumper Season initiative.

EARLY SPORE counts point to a potentially severe facial eczema season with vets advising clients to heed the warning signs and protect stock.

    FERTILISER SPREADING speed and accuracy have risen for a Timaru dairy farm manager since he began using Tracmap, the company says. Chris Edge, milking 830 cows on 220ha at Pleasant Point, west of Timaru, first had his whole property digitally mapped by TracMap, then six months ago began using the company’s TracLink farm fertility and nutrient management system. Traclink allows use of a computer to order fertiliser and to select the paddocks to be spread. The software interface allows the farmer to note the type of fertiliser to apply, volume, supplier, timeframe for applying it, any notes on application and the area it needs to be spread on.  All fertilizer is applied on the Edge farm Temuka Transport, who until January 2012 relied on Edge noting the required fertiliser applications on a farm map, and leaving it in their letterbox for the truck drivers to collect.  Now Edge nominates paddocks from a computer map, this information being sent directly to Temuka Transport’s GPS systems.  This has greatly simplified the process, Edge says. “Our internet connection is very slow; I can submit an order in 10 minutes, or five minutes if the internet is quicker.” Software allows farmers to…

Recent publicity around quad bike and ATV accidents has brought ATVs and their riders’ safety under the spotlight again.