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Every visitor to the South Island Agricultural Field Days is in for a chance to win a Yamaha motorbike
Yamaha has three farm-bike dealers in Canterbury, all of which carry a good range of new and used bikes, genuine Yamaha parts and accessories to fit almost any bike or ATV. The three dealerships will all be represented at Field Days where they will give away a new AG100 valued at $4000.
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The oldest dealership is McKay and Donaldson in Ashburton who have represented Yamaha in Canterbury since 1977. Now owned solely by Bryan Donaldson, the company is a consistent sales leader in New Zealand. McKay and Donaldson is primarily an agricultural servicing company, however they offer a full range of Yamaha products. With a staff of 10, including five mechanics, most servicing is carried out on the same day enabling downtime to be kept to an absolute minimum.
In 1997 Bob McCleary Yamaha in Rangiora was launched. Owner Bob McCleary has over 30 years experience in the industry and is well known throughout the North Canterbury community, having quite a reputation as a motorcycle racer both on and off road in his day.
Last year Mike and Jo Gould launched Mike Gould Yamaha in Timaru. Previously they owned a repair business in Temuka for over four years, prior to which Mike worked at various local bike shops. Their family is heavily involved with the South Canterbury motorcycle club and they can be found most weekends on a track somewhere.
Entry forms for the Yamaha AG100 competition have to be placed in the box at the Yamaha stand. There is only one entry per person and the competition will be drawn on the afternoon of Friday 27 March under police supervision.
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“The Sheep Revolution – Farm to Fashion” is the theme of AgResearch’s South Island Agricultural Field Days exhibition. Through biosciences and genetics AgResearch is focussed on improving productivity and market success from forage to the supermarket shelf. The outputs of these endeavours directly benefit farmers, agribusiness and those involved in the food and health sectors.
This year’s exhibit features six garments from the highly successful NZ Fashion Week. The designs feature unique new woollen fabrics developed by AgResearch; Natural Easy Care Wool suiting fabric, Non-Woven Windproof Fleece, Next to Skin Superfine Merino knitwear and Vintage Dyed Merino.
A new genomic tool called the sheep SNP chip will feature in the AgResearch exhibition. The chip is now commercially available for breeders and researchers. With this chip DNA samples from breeding animals can be scanned once for 50,000 different genetic predispositions, rather than having to perform separate tests for each variant. This technology offers the potential to greatly increase the rate of genetic gain in the sheep industry.
Another gene related AgResearch project is the sheep survival DVD which will be on display at Field Days. AgResearch created the instructional DVD to show farmers how to forensically examine dead lambs to ascertain the cause of death. The information gathered will help identify survival genes in sheep.
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A lamb inspired JimmyD creation.
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Visitors to the AgResearch exhibit will also get up close and personal with carpet dwelling insects and moths via a powerful zoom camera linked to a plasma screen. It’s a project designed to highlight the work being done to overcome prohibitive United Kingdom and European Union environmental restrictions.
It’s hoped an ingredient found in common household cleaners could hold the key to keeping UK and European carpets moth and beetle free which would lead to big spinoffs for our wool industry.
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| Exhibitor: |
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Clean Green Effluent Systems |
| Product: |
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Effluent Irrigation System |
| Contact: |
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Lindsay Lewis
P O Box 1530, Invercargill |
03 214 3963
southlandpumpsales@xtra.co.nz |
Preventing leaching and saving you time
In recent years dairying has been slammed again and again by environmental groups over the industries effect on water quality. A Southland electrician believes he has come up with a revolutionary solution to leaching which he has entered in the South Island Agricultural Field Days Agri Innovation Awards.
Lindsay Lewis created the Clean Green Effluent System for a friend who converted his sheep farm on the banks of the Mataura River to a dairy farm. He wanted an environmentally friendly system that required few man hours to operate.
The system uses materials similar to those in portable irrigators to spray stock effluent. But unlike other methods, the system uses water pressure and timers to stop the flow of effluent from one paddock and redirect it to another before the pastures become saturated. It’s designed and set up so it is easily and quickly moved. Lindsay says "we estimate it would take two people half-an-hour to move the K-Line pots once a month. Normally, it can take up to one and a half hours to move every day."
He says the system applies just enough effluent (½mm/24hrs) on a paddock to give the grass root system nutrients, but not so much that it leaches into the water table or runs off into nearby waterways.
The Clean Green Effluent System is a fully patented system with franchise dealers able to design the best way to install this system in almost all applications. It is currently being trialled by AgResearch Invermay staff in North Otago and the preliminary results look good.
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Seeing the farming world
Farm To Farm Tours organises both technical and general overseas tours for farmers and people with a rural focus. Ross Macmillan founded the business after taking groups on farming tours around New Zealand in his role as a farm consultant. Overseas trips to Australia soon followed and, in 1987, Farm To Farm Tours was established.
“Farmers have particular travel needs,” says Ross.
“They’re always keen to look over the fence to see what their counterparts in other regions and countries are doing.”
Now, 21 years later, the company has led more than 70 tours to over 20 countries. “We are fortunate in having a very loyal farmer client base, with many having travelled with us to various parts of the globe on four or five occasions,” he says
The company regularly takes groups to Canada, China, Europe, UK & Ireland, South America, Australia, South Africa and the USA. “
Our tours are part educational and part pleasure - participants enjoy getting onto farms to view and learn about different technologies, markets, cultures, scenery and lifestyles. |
A Farm To Farm tour in the United Kingdom |
“Our clients like nothing better than getting off the beaten track, onto farms and into the country. The main attractions of various destinations are not forgotten but we certainly restrict the number of visits to temples, cathedrals and ancient monuments,” says Ross.
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| Exhibitor: |
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Gough Agritech Ltd |
| Product: |
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Grain handling, drying & storage equipment |
| Contact: |
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Doug or Jo Gough |
Tel: 03 3188132 |
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2003 Coaltrack Rd
Greendale R.D.1, Christchurch 7671
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| Email: |
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goughagritech@farmside.co.nz |
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Gough Agritech Ltd is a direct importer of grain handling, drying and storage equipment. Cropping farmers Doug and Jo Gough set up the business in 1999 and have years of practical experience when it comes to putting together the right combinations of equipment.
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Doug and Jo Gough |
“We provide the best quality equipment at a competitive cost. We can assemble what we sell and we offer a knowledgeable backup service.” says Doug. “Our aim is to offer the best value for money.”
Gough Agritech is the sole NZ distributor for Cestari grain carts out of South America, Twister silos, Flach and Le-Roy on-floor drying systems, and Brandt augers, conveyors and grainvacs.
The latest addition to their range is the Cestari grain carts which Gough Agritech will be promoting for the first time at South Island Agricultural Field Days. “They are ideal for cropping operations, maize growers in particular are showing a keen interest as the cart’s flotation tyres allow it to go where a truck can’t in a wet field,” says Doug. The cart sizes range from 14 to 22T to comply with NZ road regulations, although Cestari do make larger carts.
The exhibit will also include a range of Flach and Le-Roy crop drying and ventilation equipment; Brandt grain-handling equipment including the swing-away augers, which under independent testing easily took out the number one spot in the capacity stakes; and the feature packed Twister silos. These have a concrete forming ring which gives a watertight steel-to-steel join, corrugated stiffeners for extra strength, safety cages even on the smallest hopper bottom silos, and a zinc-alume coating which gives twice the corrosion resistance of standard galvanising.
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| Exhibitor: |
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i.Agri Limited |
| Contact: |
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John Lay |
0800 617 788 |
93 High St, Leeston |
| Product: |
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Software |
www.iagri.com |
Version 5, or LandMark 2007 as it is known, is more sophisticated and comprehensive than the old versions of the program. “It was re-written from the ground up,” says John. “It is more robust. It is easier to track and repair any small bugs that might occur. It is also easier to incorporate new features and new ideas into Version 5.”
i.Agri also develops software for rural businesses and has developed what it says is the most comprehensive Pocket Diary software in the market place.
i.Agri provides a 30-day demonstration trial for all its products. Subscribers have access to an 0800 helpline and the latest downloads are available at www.iagri.com.
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| Exhibitor: |
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Donaghys |
www.donaghys.co.nz |
| Product: |
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Nitrogen Enhancer |
| Contact: |
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John Budge |
03 983 4100 |
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Biotechnology Manager
PO Box 20 499
Christchurch. |
Scientific breakthrough cuts urea use in half
An exciting scientific breakthrough that halves urea applications by increasing the nitrogen response rate has been entered into the South Island Agricultural Field Days Agri-Innovation Awards.
Donaghys, one of New Zealand’s oldest companies, has developed a biotechnology based nitrogen enhancer called LessN which is designed to be mixed with urea and applied to pasture as a foliar spray. |
LessN being applied to clover based pasture |
Liquid application modifies the nitrogen cycle, skipping the nitrate phase in the soil. This reduces the plant’s energy requirements and allows for quicker response rates, which suits intensive farming systems.
Donaghys Biotechnology manager John Budge says LessN is revolutionary. “It’s made from a number of different families of naturally occurring microbes which stimulate plant growth by enhancing the ability to absorb nitrogen and other nutrients.”
Trials by independent researchers have shown an average pasture growth response of 10kg dm / kg N when urea is applied as granules. Donaghys trials have shown that when spraying on the urea it increases this response to 16kg dm / kg N but when LessN is added the response increases to over 29kg dm / kg N.
The LessN system has been trialled at 26 sites around the country including several in Canterbury and South Canterbury. You can view the trial results by visiting www.lessn.com. They show that LessN reduces dry matter production costs and maintains high pasture productivity but doesn’t limit clover fixation in the way that over applying solid N fertilisers can.
“Because the system involves such rapid assimilation,” says John, “pasture can respond to nitrogen application within a grazing rotation. This means it’s effectively utilised before the animals come in to graze which, in turn, reduces the risk of nitrate leaching from urine patches.”
Other environmental benefits include significantly reduced nitrogen losses to the atmosphere by volatilisation as well as direct losses via runoff into waterways and leaching into groundwater. “In some parts of the country nitrogen caps are already in place and it’s expected more will be introduced.” says John.
Donaghys is excited by LessN as it has already attracted interest internationally. “This is one of the leading edge products our team of scientists is working on and we look forward to show casing LessN at Field Days in March.”
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| Exhibitor: |
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N-Steel Framing Solutions |
| Product: |
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Steel Framing |
| Contact: |
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Bruce Knapp, Sales Manager
847 Jones Rd, Rolleston
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03 347 3186
www.3N.co.nz |
Steel framing revolution arrives in the South Island
Steel framing is becoming an increasingly popular choice around the world. Sheds, farm buildings, glass-houses, homes and apartment buildings are being made out of steel framing. In parts of the USA steel framing is used in up to 70 percent of new buildings and in Australia it is currently employed in 20 percent of new buildings.
On the back of growing international popularity N-Steel Framing Solutions was launched in Rolleston to service the South Island. Managing Director, Sergey Nikiporenkov, a Kiwi for the past five years, says the reason why steel is becoming increasingly popular is due to advances in technology that have improved precision and reduced building costs and build times.
“Steel framed buildings can be either erected on site or delivered intact. This can save a lot of time, especially for rural New Zealanders who face difficulty in getting a builder for any period of time,” he says.
Sergey says by building with steel you also eliminate the risk of having to call the builder back to fix up problems caused by warping, shrinking, or leaky building syndrome.
N-Steel Framing Solutions has been certified by New Zealand’s world renowned FrameCAD Solutions. All designs are made in accordance with AS/NZS 4600:2005 for Cold-formed Steel Structures.
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N-Steel Framing Solutions Managing Director Sergey Nikiporenkov |
| Exhibitor: |
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Partsquip |
| Product: |
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Parts and Equipment website |
| Contact: |
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Mike Early
Lincoln
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03 329 6172
www.partsquip.com |
All parts for all people
Maintaining machinery and equipment around the farm, the house and in your local community can be a challenge especially if you have to make a special trip into town to pick up a part. A small Mid Canterbury internet business is about to launch its one-stop shop website, which is set to become a key tool for rural New Zealanders, at South Island Agricultural Field Days.
Partsquip founder is Mike Early. For the past 20 years he worked as an importers’ agent for the equipment industry in New Zealand. In that time he’s seen many changes to the demands on peoples’ time and the way efficient businesses operate. Utilising that knowledge and the internet Mike, and a small team based near Lincoln, set up partsquip.com. His aim is to provide rural, trades-related and retail customers with choice at a price, time and place that always suits.
“No other New Zealand based retailer offers such diverse range of well-known products from one place (at the time of writing this case study the site had 12,822 items listed), with 24-hour accessibility,” Mike says. “We deliver right to your door.” Partsquip’s initial focus was the farming community, however Mike says it soon became apparent contracting, manufacturing, transport, marine and recreation sectors were also in need. “We’re even taking orders from outside New Zealand. I don’t know how big we will get but Trade Me is an example of what is possible,” says Mike.
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| Exhibitor: |
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Permbrand SI |
| Product: |
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Stock Yards, Meal Feeders and Grain Storage |
| Contact: |
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Russell Crossen
P.O. Box 105, Dunsandel. |
03 325 4476
www.permbrand.co.nz |
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Home-based engineering business set to
centralise under one roof
Since 2001 a small home-based company in Dunsandel has built more than 500 portable and permanent stock yards around the country. Some of the larger projects include the Methven Rodeo Club yards and chutes, and saleyards at Cheviot, Waimea and Culverden.
Owned and operated by Russell and Trish Crossen, Permbrand SI prides itself on customer service, follow up care and maintenance which Russell says are cornerstones to the company’s success.
In June the Crossens plan to move their business up the road to a larger facility in the Izone Business Park in Rolleston. “We’ve grown over the years and it’s time to centralise the office and manufacturing plant under the one roof,” he says. |
Permbrand SI owner Russell Crossen with employee Richard Miles (in the work truck)
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“It’ll mean we’re more readily available to our customers’ needs and it will provide us with the opportunity to diversify into other areas.” Permbrand began manufacturing portable stockyards in 2002. Russell says the versatility of portable yards suits a wide range of customers from lifestylers through to corporates, and they are an alternative for those leasing or owning multiple small units. “We were soon getting enquiries about permanent yards, so we diversified and it is now a core part of our business.”
Another area of specialisation is constructing Roxell meal feeding equipment which is imported from Belgium. The roller mills are manufactured by Geoff Hampton Engineering in Southbridge. Russell is proud numerous famers have contacted him to comment on the quality of the product produced by the roller mills.
Permbrand has a dedicated team solely focused on erecting grain storage silos. The silos are purchased from Dan Cosgrove Ltd and Permbrand’s team constructs the concrete base and erects the silo on site.
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Plant & Food Research |
| Product: |
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Potato cultivars |
| Contact: |
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Russell Genet
NZ Institute for Plant & Food Research
Private Bag 4704, Christchurch 8140 |
03 325 6400
www.plantandfood.com |
Purple Heart, Purple Passion and Moonlight
What has purple skin, purple flesh, is high yielding and is perfect whether it's boiled or steamed?
It's `Purple Heart’ − Plant & Food Research's latest potato cultivar.
Russell Genet, John Anderson and their support crew at Plant & Food Research are responsible for breeding New Zealand’s most successful potato cultivars. They’ve planted various cultivars at Lincoln Farm in preparation for the South Island Agricultural Field Days and are looking forward to digging them up during the event.
Plant & Food Research was formed in December last year through the merger of HortResearch and Crop & Food Research. The Crown-owned company has 900 staff around the world dedicated to adding value to fruit and vegetable crops and food made from them through research and development.
One of Plant & Food Research's most successful cultivars is `Moonlight’ − named after Melissa Moon, New Zealand's international mountain running champion. Russell says while you might not know the name, chances are you have eaten it. "More ‘Moonlight’ potatoes are grown in New Zealand than any other cultivar. It's sold on the fresh market and is used to make chips, as in fish 'n' chips."
Another newby is `Purple Passion’ − an early maturing cultivar with purple skin and yellow flesh, designed to be eye catching in the run up to the festive season. Last year it was commercially grown for the first time and Russell says `Purple Passion’ is establishing a reputation for excellent eating quality.
Plant & Food Research will be exhibiting 16 cultivars at the Field Days, including Purple Heart. Russell Genet says one of the big highlights will be interacting with around 300 World Potato Congress delegates who will no doubt be making a bee-line for Plant & Food Research’s exhibit.
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| Exhibitor: |
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Quadmate |
| Product: |
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ATV Carrier |
| Contact: |
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Peter & Philippa Somerville
R D 3, Cheviot 7383
0800 782 362
putneyhills@xtra.co.nz |
A North Canterbury farming family is preparing to launch a new product on the market at this year’s Field Days.
Ten years ago Peter Somerville saw a motorbike carry unit being used on a farm in England and brought one back to New Zealand. “It immediately became an important part of my day-to-day life. I used it to carry electric fencing pegs, salt blocks and the dog. It speeded things up as it meant I didn’t need the trailer,” says the North Canterbury farmer.
Peter’s wife Philippa says several years later they started thinking about designing their own ATV load carrier that suited the needs of New Zealand farmers.
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Photo: The Quadmate – a welcome addition to farming
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“We had a mould designed and produced for us here in the South Island and Quadmate was born!”
The Quadmate is a durable polyethylene carrier that is rustproof and maintenance free. It’s lightweight yet robust and can be fitted in seconds. It’s ideal for fencing equipment and the deep bucket can fit a chainsaw, grubbing equipment and other tools.
“One of the best bits about the Quadmate is the flexibility of being able to still use a trailer when required”, says Peter.
The Somervilles have been buoyed by the response they’re getting from friends and neighbours and are now looking forward to launching the product at South Island Agricultural Field Days.
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| Exhibitor: |
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Beattie Insulators Ltd |
| Product: |
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Insulators |
| Contact: |
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Doug Beattie Insulators
163 Inland Road, Kaikoura
sales@beattieinsulators.co.nz |
03 3195467 |
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Ultimate Pinlock Insulator
A stronger more durable insulator will be launched at South Island Agricultural Field Days to mark Beattie Insulators’ 50th Anniversary. It’s a new wooden post mounted insulator called No17 Pinlock.
Doug Beattie of Kaikoura has been designing, manufacturing and marketing the Beattie Insulators range of electric fence products since 1959. The range is now widely used throughout New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Based on the No18 Permanent Insulator model, the No17 is strong and can be nailed or stapled, or both, to the post.
“We’ve taken the design to the next level,” says Doug. “It has strength, flexibility, durability and an unbeatable 20 year guarantee.” |
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The No17 is made from a low density black plastic material and has a white nylon pin for extra strength and high visibility. Doug says the materials used ensure longevity, “giving it the advantage of lasting for generations to come”.
Beattie Insulators No11 Pinlock was the first plastic pinlock insulator ever made. Doug, who created the Pinlock name, says over the years the range has grown in popularity with farmers, because they are easy to use and you can pull out the pin and drop wires whenever you need to.
The Beattie Insulators site at the South Island Agricultural Field Days will also feature a range of electric fencing and weed control products.
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| Exhibitor: |
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Racewell Ltd |
www.racewell.co.nz |
| Product: |
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PDA |
43 King Street West, Te Kuiti 3910 |
| Contact: |
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Carol Fagan |
07 87 88977 |
Hand held technology coming to a yard near you
Racewell has been at the forefront of automated sheep and cattle handling systems since 1993. The company was set up by Rob and Carol Fagan with the aim of ensuring automation is both affordable and durable for farmers. Racewell’s latest products, a range of hand-held electronic PDA systems, are currently undergoing trials. All going well they’ll be launched at the South Island Agricultural Field Days in March.
Racewell realised that with ‘traceability’ becoming mandatory in more and more countries, New Zealand farmers would need improved technology to keep ahead of competitor nations. Currently most weighscale heads systems on the market are costly and processing slows down when more than one criterion is selected. Racewell called in Rezare Systems to investigate the issues.
The result is a wireless device with a touch sensitive screen that can be used to record medications or movement control. It can also be used to collect weighing and drafting information and draft on single or multiple criteria. The information can be sent wirelessly to a remote computer portal or it can be ‘docked’ for downloading at a computer terminal. There are manual and auto entry options, and it is compliant with electronic identification when used with a reader and electronic tags. The system incorporates a voice activated over-ride so animals that meet a certain criteria but are not wanted in a certain group can be reassigned. Examples of this might be a neighbour’s animal in the mob or lame or flyblown animals.
In a bid to future-proof the product, software updates can be downloaded from the web. This will be extremely important when the New Zealand Government makes a decision about traceability. The PDA is Windows Mobile 6 compliant and can be installed on mobile phones with this operating system.
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| Exhibitor: |
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Denis Cunningham Ltd |
| Product: |
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Welding Equipment |
| Contact: |
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Bede Cunningham, Managing Director
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03 3499353 |
| Unit A1, 198 Springs Rd, Hornby, Christchurch |
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Demonstration will spark your attention
In keeping with the hands-on nature of South Island Agricultural Field Days, Denis Cunningham Ltd plans to hold live demonstrations of their latest welding equipment.
Established in 1975, Denis Cunningham Ltd has a strong relationship with the rural sector and agricultural contractors. Managing Director Bede Cunningham says the company’s success over the years is based on his team’s commitment to trade with honesty and integrity, to provide customers with the best products, value and service.
This year at Field Days Bede says the Lincoln Powermig 180C mig welder will be of particular interest. The Powermig 180C is a portable (30kgs) mig welder capable of welding thin sheet thru to 12mm thickness (multiple pass weld). It comes complete with the ability to weld with or without gas. A spool gun can be added to this machine to weld aluminium without any feeding issues. It is made in the USA and has a 3 year parts and labour warranty.
Denis Cunningham Ltd is one of the largest stockists of welding machines, welding equipment and consumables in the South Island. The team services what it sells, undertakes repairs to machinery, accepts trade-ins, sells second-hand products and offers a hire service. Denis Cunningham Ltd also sells gas equipment and safety gear. We are able to cater to any business requirements, from small farm partnerships through to larger agricultural contractors. |
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Read the 2007 Case Studies here
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