Edible bale wrap, RamRacks and edge clearers among innovations featured at New Zealand trade show
They can claim credit for inventing the milking machine (Norman John Daysh) and electric fencing (Bill Gallagher), so it's worth keeping an eye on New Zealand's agricultural innovations.
Some of the latest and most exciting of which were on show this year's Fieldays 2025, where the innovation awards are an important part of this event, billed as the biggest agricultural trade show in the southern hemisphere.
One of the entries for the awards is an attachable digger arm, which can give a 1.8t digger the reach of a five-tonner. The extender can be fitted to an existing digger in the 1.8-20t range. The extended reach can be particularly useful when using a small digger in a confined space.
The inventor of the Excavator Folding Extension is Bryan Cleland of Bryscorah Ltd, and he suggests practical uses such as cutting a tree from the top down, horticultural hedge trimming, and residential trench work.
"I have used it where a larger machine would not have been able to reach," he said.
His invention is one of 63 in the innovation awards. Participants vie for a share of €40,000 worth of cash prizes, services, and help to launch or accelerate new products.
Many New Zealand innovations are somewhat unique to the territory (such as the aerial topdressing, which John Chaytor first did in 1906, using a hot air balloon to spread seed over a swamped valley).
Perhaps the modern equivalent is inventors responding to New Zealand's unique biodiversity crisis caused by invasive predators, primarily rats, stoats, cats, and possums, which prey on native species and damage ecosystems. The Department of Conservation aims to eradicate these predators by 2050 to protect New Zealand's unique wildlife.
Predator traps
The country is a world leader in predator eradication, using techniques like trapping and poisoning to remove invasive species. That's why Fieldays is a good place to find the latest in animal traps.
NZAutoTraps manufactures self-resetting predator traps for multiple species. They are mostly powered by rechargeable batteries, but their solar panel-powered AT220-XL can be left in place for at least 18 months without recharging. Other traps may need to be serviced after four to six months, to recharge the battery or refill with bait. Electronic sensors may need to be cleaned.
Some traps have artificial intelligence technology to make them species-specific, in order to protect species such as the kea bird, the world's only alpine parrot.
Other New Zealand innovations are more familiar to Irish farmers because they are designed for the country's large livestock industries, which have a lot in common with Ireland's grass-based livestock industries.
Beef snacks
They share problems, such as unwanted non-replacement dairy calves. In New Zealand, some of these calves end up in Mīti snacks. An 84g snack contains 20 grams of 10-month-old dairy beef, plus honey, a smoky flavour from the native Kānuka plant, and other locally sourced natural flavourings and condiments.
Mīti is New Zealand's first export-ready, shelf-stable young-beef snack.
For emissions-conscious consumers, it has up to 48% lower carbon emissions than conventional beef. No artificial preservatives are used.
Mīti is an entrant for an early-stage innovation award.
Another early-stage innovation award entrant is Kiwi-Econet, an edible bale net to replace plastic net.
Biodegradable and edible by livestock, it reduces the environmental impact and the carbon footprint of plastic netting.
Nutritious and safe when consumed by livestock, the edible net wrap reduces the labour and expense of traditional wrap removal and disposal, because you don't have to remove it when livestock are feeding on the bale.
RamRack carrying device
Sheep farmers here may appreciate the thought that went into the RamRack, a collapsible, adjustable carrying device attached to the front of a quad bike, easily raised and lowered by a hand winch rated to lift 100 kg.
It folds out flat for easy loading of, for example, a sheep, or awkward, heavy loads such as drench containers, seed sacks, mineral blocks, wheels, fence posts, etc.
It extends quad bike carrying capacity, while safely securing animals (live or dead) for transportation, with two fail-safe locking mechanisms to eliminate the chance of load release during travel. It could even be used to immobilise sheep for treatment.
Another innovation on show at Fieldays, which will interest Irish farmers, is the Landquip LaneRotr R1, a tractor-mounted hydraulic rotary machine designed to clear the edges of farm roads. It removes roadway edge build-up to improve drainage off the road. With a working speed of 1.5km per hour, it can be used to clear up to 5km of road edges daily.
Read More
Stephen Cadogan: Why every dairy farmer needs a cash buffer in 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Behind the Story: Estonia's different approach to AI in education
One of the emerging concerns in education in recent times has been AI, particularly when it comes to assignment work and plagiarism. Spotting it is becoming increasingly difficult, according to many academics, while in secondary schools in Ireland, there are anecdotal reports from teachers about its misuse. As this technology develops, it will only get more difficult for those whose job it is to spot it in assignments. Last weekend, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland voted to reject proposals aimed at reforming the Leaving Cert. The main concern for the majority of ASTI members was a lack of resources and capacity, according to General Secretary Kieran Christie. But another area of concern was project work and practicals that will be worth a minimum of 40% of a student's grade. The fear is that students could use AI for such projects, and it's not clear how that can be addressed. The Department of Education is finalising guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence in schools. It says this guidance will focus on AI in teaching and learning, and will come in addition to the Examinations Commission's advice on the technology when it comes to the Leaving and Junior Certificate. Ultimately, decisions on how it may or may not be used in Irish schools will come down to the Boards of Management at each one. But while Ireland grapples with how to police AI in the classroom, another EU nation is embracing it – and it's one of the continent's top performing places when it comes to learning. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation's (OECD) PISA tests, which examine education outcomes in 79 countries, Estonian students are top in Europe in math and science. They are also second in the EU when it comes to reading, only behind Ireland. From September, the country will roll out licences for artificial intelligence platforms to students aged 16 and 17, as well as teachers. The technology will be integrated into the learning process for all subjects, including physical education. Speaking to RTÉ's Behind the Story podcast, the country's education minister Krisinta Kallas said that AI is here to stay and that the country wants to harness it rather than discourage it. "We are worried that if we don't do anything, and if we don't do more supervised learning with AI, there will be a lot of unsupervised learning with AI anyway and that would be at the detriment of the skills and competences of the children." Ms Kallas said that it will be up to the teachers to determine how exactly it will be used. "I think the crucial thing with AI is not so much of regulating its use, because I don't think you can 100% regulate it, but it is rather making teachers competent in how AI operates, how AI impacts learning, and how it can be used to enhance the learning. "So the training of the teachers is absolutely key. You should not put all your trust in technology, you should put all your trust on teachers." The children will use tablets in school, but can use their AI accounts on their own private devices at home too. It is hoped that by giving it to all students and schools, there will be equality in its use in education with no socio-economic gaps. There has been no public pushback on the plan according to Ms Kallas. "It might be because our education has been relatively digitalised for a very long time. "We introduced the first digital tools into our education system 25 years ago, so there is a whole parents' generation who has grown up by using digital technology in schools so it hasn't really been an issue. "So the debate is mostly about how to use AI and what kind of learning it should enhance, and what would happen if we don't use it because maybe there is much more fear of missing out on learning skills if we don't do a nationally - organised programme on AI introduction. "If we just allow to go in a natural way as it is today, then students are using it for replacing their own learning rather than learning with an AI and that's a much bigger risk than trying to introduce AI in a more supervised and controlled way with teachers." "In that reality we need to redesign the whole learning process – what kind of assignments we give to students and what kind of learning we want to happen, and how the AI will be used by the students to enhance this learning." Mobile phones Unlike other countries in Europe, Estonia supports the use of mobile phones in schools. But Ms Kallas said teachers ultimately take autonomy in decisions when it comes to them. "We believe in a bottom-up approach when we allow schools to make those regulations," she said. "Mobile phones are used in class for learning purposes quite a lot in Estonia. "And also mobile phones in Estonia are used for all other things that you do in life. "The child needs to get the bus schedule to get home, needs to contact their parents, needs to figure out how to get to the sports club after school. "We do voting and other activities as citizens through our mobile phones. "It would be confusing for the younger generation that on one side we want them to vote online and use their phones to do their civic duty and on the other side we ban them from the school. "What we need to do is make them learn how to use the mobile phone for the right purposes."
Irish Examiner
6 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Edible bale wrap, RamRacks and edge clearers among innovations featured at New Zealand trade show
They can claim credit for inventing the milking machine (Norman John Daysh) and electric fencing (Bill Gallagher), so it's worth keeping an eye on New Zealand's agricultural innovations. Some of the latest and most exciting of which were on show this year's Fieldays 2025, where the innovation awards are an important part of this event, billed as the biggest agricultural trade show in the southern hemisphere. One of the entries for the awards is an attachable digger arm, which can give a 1.8t digger the reach of a five-tonner. The extender can be fitted to an existing digger in the 1.8-20t range. The extended reach can be particularly useful when using a small digger in a confined space. The inventor of the Excavator Folding Extension is Bryan Cleland of Bryscorah Ltd, and he suggests practical uses such as cutting a tree from the top down, horticultural hedge trimming, and residential trench work. "I have used it where a larger machine would not have been able to reach," he said. His invention is one of 63 in the innovation awards. Participants vie for a share of €40,000 worth of cash prizes, services, and help to launch or accelerate new products. Many New Zealand innovations are somewhat unique to the territory (such as the aerial topdressing, which John Chaytor first did in 1906, using a hot air balloon to spread seed over a swamped valley). Perhaps the modern equivalent is inventors responding to New Zealand's unique biodiversity crisis caused by invasive predators, primarily rats, stoats, cats, and possums, which prey on native species and damage ecosystems. The Department of Conservation aims to eradicate these predators by 2050 to protect New Zealand's unique wildlife. Predator traps The country is a world leader in predator eradication, using techniques like trapping and poisoning to remove invasive species. That's why Fieldays is a good place to find the latest in animal traps. NZAutoTraps manufactures self-resetting predator traps for multiple species. They are mostly powered by rechargeable batteries, but their solar panel-powered AT220-XL can be left in place for at least 18 months without recharging. Other traps may need to be serviced after four to six months, to recharge the battery or refill with bait. Electronic sensors may need to be cleaned. Some traps have artificial intelligence technology to make them species-specific, in order to protect species such as the kea bird, the world's only alpine parrot. Other New Zealand innovations are more familiar to Irish farmers because they are designed for the country's large livestock industries, which have a lot in common with Ireland's grass-based livestock industries. Beef snacks They share problems, such as unwanted non-replacement dairy calves. In New Zealand, some of these calves end up in Mīti snacks. An 84g snack contains 20 grams of 10-month-old dairy beef, plus honey, a smoky flavour from the native Kānuka plant, and other locally sourced natural flavourings and condiments. Mīti is New Zealand's first export-ready, shelf-stable young-beef snack. For emissions-conscious consumers, it has up to 48% lower carbon emissions than conventional beef. No artificial preservatives are used. Mīti is an entrant for an early-stage innovation award. Another early-stage innovation award entrant is Kiwi-Econet, an edible bale net to replace plastic net. Biodegradable and edible by livestock, it reduces the environmental impact and the carbon footprint of plastic netting. Nutritious and safe when consumed by livestock, the edible net wrap reduces the labour and expense of traditional wrap removal and disposal, because you don't have to remove it when livestock are feeding on the bale. RamRack carrying device Sheep farmers here may appreciate the thought that went into the RamRack, a collapsible, adjustable carrying device attached to the front of a quad bike, easily raised and lowered by a hand winch rated to lift 100 kg. It folds out flat for easy loading of, for example, a sheep, or awkward, heavy loads such as drench containers, seed sacks, mineral blocks, wheels, fence posts, etc. It extends quad bike carrying capacity, while safely securing animals (live or dead) for transportation, with two fail-safe locking mechanisms to eliminate the chance of load release during travel. It could even be used to immobilise sheep for treatment. Another innovation on show at Fieldays, which will interest Irish farmers, is the Landquip LaneRotr R1, a tractor-mounted hydraulic rotary machine designed to clear the edges of farm roads. It removes roadway edge build-up to improve drainage off the road. With a working speed of 1.5km per hour, it can be used to clear up to 5km of road edges daily. Read More Stephen Cadogan: Why every dairy farmer needs a cash buffer in 2025
RTÉ News
13 hours ago
- RTÉ News
eir launches fastest 5 gigabit broadband
Telecommunications provider, eir, has announced the launch of its ultra-fast 5 gigabit fibre broadband nationwide, which is said, sets a new benchmark for speed, performance, and connectivity in Irish homes. It follows eir's rollout of Ireland's first WiFi 7 system in February, introducing Wide-Fi, a cutting-edge mesh network that eliminates dead zones and supports up to 200 devices—delivering speeds twice as fast as WiFi 6. The firm said its fibre network is now available to more than 1.3 million homes and businesses. As part of a €1.7 billion investment in digital infrastructure, eir is upgrading eligible 2Gb customers on its WiFi 7-powered Wide-Fi system to 5Gb speeds - which it said would significantly enhance how people work, stream, and connect. eir's new 5Gb speed tier is available today, and thousands of customers who signed up for WiFi 7 and 2 Gigabit fibre plans earlier this year will be automatically upgraded at no extra cost. The company said the launch comes at a perfect time, as one of the world's most anticipated game updates is set to drop in the coming days. With an estimated 80GB download size, eir 5Gb fibre can handle the entire update in as little as two minutes - more than twice as fast as 2Gbps connections. "With 5Gb speeds and cutting-edge WiFi 7, eir is delivering the ultimate broadband experience for busy modern homes - where everyone is online, all at once, for everything from streaming the latest GAA match to studying, gaming, working remotely, or simply unwinding with a movie," said Kealan Donoghue, Managing Director of eir's Consumer and Small Business Division.
