Contracting businesses often evolve in response to opportunity. A farmer asks if you can tackle another job while you're already on the property, a neighbouring contractor retires, or a piece of machinery opens the door to work that wasn't previously available.

Controlled-release fertilisers are not a new concept, but designing one that consistently delivers nitrogen when crops need it, while remaining commercially practical for large-scale agriculture, has proved far more challenging than simply coating a fertiliser granule. ring how and when nitrogen leaves each individual granule.

A new four-year research programme will investigate whether New Zealand beef cattle can be bred to become more feed efficient and produce less methane without compromising the productivity traits farmers rely on.

Producing high-quality forage has become an increasingly technical process. Higher stocking rates and larger harvesting programmes mean every pass across the paddock has a direct influence on feed quality.

The Fendt 500 Vario Gen4 represents a significant step forward in the evolution of mid-power tractors, according to Mark Hamilton-Manns, product marketing manager.

There is little point in putting more horsepower under the bonnet if the crop cannot reach the feed rolls consistently.

Moving slurry is relatively straightforward. Moving millions of litres of dense, settled slurry from the bottom of an 18 m lagoon without starving the pump is an entirely different engineering problem.

Four years since it was first detected in New Zealand, researchers and growers now know much more about management of maize pest fall armyworm.

There was a time when the pickup header was little more than a conveyor between the windrow and the forage harvester. As harvesting capacity has increased, that thinking has changed.

When it comes to forage harvesting, output is only part of the story. Whether harvesting your own crop or providing a contracting service, the real measure of success is the quality of the silage entering the stack.

Even in the depths of January, W & J Mair Agricultural Contractors, based at Hill Farm in Cumnock, Scotland, was a hive of activity.

For forage contractors and farmers, every hour during silage season counts. Weather windows are often short, multiple machines are working across different paddocks, and keeping operators, support vehicles and customers informed can be just as important as keeping the harvester moving.

It has been another stellar year for our primary sector. I can’t think of another season with the confluence of favourable grass growth and high product prices. The $64 billion of export revenue earned this year is testament to the critical nature of the primary sector to the wider New Zealand economy. An incredible 82% of our merchandise exports.

There is an uncomfortable contradiction sitting at the heart of New Zealand’s food system. We are one of the world’s great food-producing nations, exporting high-quality meat and dairy products around the globe, yet an increasing number of New Zealand families are finding those same foods difficult to put on their own tables. 

Case IH has unveiled its fully redesigned next generation Puma series for Australia and New Zealand, introducing the new Puma 155, 165 and 185 models, with improvements focused on manoeuvrability, fuel efficiency, operator comfort and machine connectivity.

There are plenty of agricultural contractors who come from farming backgrounds, but fewer who continue to farm while building a contracting business alongside it. For Justin Sanson and Sara Greene, the two have always gone hand in hand.

The platform for a successful maize crop is established in the first few weeks after planting, and one of the biggest factors determining final yield potential is how evenly that crop emerges.

Anyone who has opened a silage stack knows that quality isn't decided on harvest day alone.

When Charlie Milne decided it was time to update the mowing equipment on his own farm, he found himself facing the same decision many of his customers do.

Modern nutrient management is increasingly about more than the fertiliser product itself. The challenge also lies in how those nutrients are delivered.