Farming less safe than forestry
Farming continues to be New Zealand’s most dangerous occupation, with 19 deaths last year, 16 of them in vehicles. Source: Stuff NZ Over the last six years, 110 farmers have died on the job, far eclipsing the numbers killed in construction (32) and forestry (27). WorkSafe New Zealand said 50% of the deaths involved farmers aged […]
Jobs on offer but no takers
With the annual value of the New Zealand agricultural machinery industry put at a conservative NZ$1.3 billion, and agriculture a key driver of NZ’s GDP, you’d think it would be easy to recruit youngsters into the industry. Source: Rural News (NZ) The facts are the opposite: all land-based sectors report they are struggling to attract new entrants. The machinery/technology sector seems […]
Australian tractor sales are large
Australian tractor sales are being led by the larger end at present with sales in dollar terms now 10% up on an annual basis. Source: The Weekly Times The big ticket tractors above 200hp are experiencing boom conditions and the grain harvesters are getting set for a big season, up 11% for the month and […]
Caning the drones
We hear plenty about satellite and drone technology and the possibilities for it in the farming space, but now trials in North Queensland are taking things even further. Source: ABC Rural Experts have been in Mackay testing direct autonomous control of tractors via satellite with the use of drones. Essentially the drones map the farm on a pre-determined […]
Comm Bank Agri Insights
The Commonwealth Bank has released its sixth Commonwealth Bank Agri Insights report and it shows one of the strongest results to date, with farmers intending to increase investment across the majority of aspects in their operations. Source: AFDJ eNews According the report nationally the Agri Insights index is sitting at 10.2 points, the second highest […]
Robotics Centre to revolutionise Australian horticulture
Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Senator Anne Ruston, opened Australia’s first horticultural robotics learning and development hub at the University of Sydney. Source: AFDJ eNews Located within the University’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR), Senator Ruston said the Horticulture Innovation Centre for Robotics and Intelligent Systems (HICRIS) would become a hub for […]
Automatic turning system back on track
CLAAS has released an automatic guidance system that allows fast, easy and accurate turning at headlands. Source: AFDJ eNews CLAAS TURN IN automatically identifies the next track and then guides machinery during the turn. “Without fixed reference points, it is often difficult to line up with the next track at headlands,” CLAAS Harvest Centre Product […]
Putting regional Australia in context
Key information profiling Australia’s agriculture sector on a region-by-region basis is available in ABARES’ latest About my region profiles. Source: AFDJ eNews ABARES Executive Director, Peter Gooday, said the profiles provided a concise overview of the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors in every region across the nation. “It is important that Australian growers and producers […]
Sungold starts the field days year
The Sungold Field Days on from 8-10 February 2017 are one of the first to hit the agenda for the year. Source: AFDJ eNews It will showcase a vast range of agricultural machinery, the latest innovations topped up with plenty of entertainment for the family. This will be the show’s 36th year and is planned to be the […]
New StarFire receiver makes UK debut at CropTec
John Deere’s new generation StarFire 6000 satellite receiver makes its UK show debut at CropTec. Source: AFDJ eNews John Deere’s new generation StarFire 6000 satellite receiver has been designed to set new standards in operational accuracy and signal uptime, while also improving the connectivity of machines using the John Deere FarmSight range of precision farming solutions. The receiver […]