‘More to farming than money‘ – Kate Taylor:
Central Hawke’s Bay farmer Mark Toulmin says winning the Hawke’s Bay Farmer of the Year title opened a lot of doors for his family’s farming operation. Entries for this year’s competition close on February 13.
“I would encourage anyone to give it a go,” he says. “It’s worth it. It introduced us to new people and new ideas, financial opportunities . . . and people trust your opinion.
“Put your business out there, especially if you’re doing something different or thinking outside the square, that helps if you’re not just doing the same as everyone else.”
Toulmin says it’s not all about finances, either. . .
Kiwi grower sets new oilseed rape yield record of 6.31t/ha – Andrew Swallow:
Virgin land, the ideal climate and good weed control are the key components of a New Zealand grower’s record-breaking crop of oilseed rape.
Chris Dennison harvested a moisture-corrected 64.37t off 10.2ha on 23 January, a yield of 6.31t/ha. This beats the 6.14t/ha record set by Tim Lamyman, of Worlaby Farms, Lincolnshire, last July.
Mr Dennison, a former world record wheat yield holder from near Oamaru, on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island, says reading about Mr Lamyman’s feat in Farmers Weekly spurred him to “have a crack” at the OSR record. . .
Death of top Jersey Bull a huge loss:
The late Manzello
CRV Ambreed’s highest ranked Jersey bull passed away over the weekend which his breeder said is a huge loss to New Zealand’s dairy industry.
Pukeroa TGM Manzello’s breeders, Alan and Vivian Lockwood-Geck, said they were saddened to hear their star sire had passed away while still in his prime. . .
LIC team to visit Southland farms:
Farmer-owned co-operative LIC has a team of more than 140 meeting in Invercargill next week, to check out the local dairy scene and connect with Southland farmers for its biannual sales conference.
The three-day event, which includes a number of visits to farms in the area, brings LIC’s nationwide team of farm solutions managers together to learn more about what’s happening on-farm, the challenges farmers are facing this season and solutions the co-op can provide.
Chief executive Wayne McNee says it is the first time the conference has been held in the South Island. . .
LIC forms strategic partnership with SCR world-leading cow intelligence provider:
Farmer-owned co-operative LIC (NZX:LIC) has secured a new strategic partnership with the world-leading cow monitoring and milking intelligence solutions company, SCR.
The partnership includes a distribution agreement whereby SCR, recently acquired by Allflex Group, will distribute the co-op’s DAL milking sensors internationally and LIC will become a New Zealand distributor for SCR’s cow reproduction and health monitoring system, Heatime®.
LIC chief executive Wayne McNee says the partnership is part of the co-op’s strategy to grow the business overseas and provide New Zealand dairy farmers with more choice.
“SCR is a world-leading provider of cow intelligence systems with a strong history of delivering solutions to improve farm efficiency worldwide. This agreement aligns with our vision to improve the prosperity and productivity of our farmers, and our focus on key international markets that will add value for shareholders in New Zealand. . .