Country Life gets among the drones, driverless tractors, nude sheep and comfy rocking chairs to see what's on offer at the Central Districts Field Days.
The P100 agricultural spray drone displaying what it can do at the Central Districts Field Days Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
Fewer workers, more compliance, changing markets and an ageing workforce - farmers and growers are up against it these days.
But there seemed to be a product for every challenge at the Central Districts Field Days held in Feilding this month.
If you can afford it, that is.
From the hard to the soft sell, exhibitors at what's billed as the largest regional field days in the country had all sorts of new tools to surmount challenging times.
You'll see automatic drones for spraying paddocks at the touch of a button and "nude" sheep which don't need shearing.
There's even a rocking chair made out of agricultural implements to ease a farmer's aches and pains.
Robert Mi of Aerolab was at the controls of a large autonomous spray drone which was zipping up and down a marked-out area on the Manfeild expo site.
He explains the four-rotor P100 was the newest generation of agricultural drone, measuring 2.5 metres square and weighing in at 100 kilograms when fully loaded.
Robert Mi, co-founder of Aerolab, at the controls of the P100 agricultural spray drone Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
"We have farmers that have gone and mapped their entire farms out, marked where their paddocks are, so every day when they need to go spray or spread something on their paddocks they just press go on their phone and off they go."
The scarcity of agricultural workers has given rise to products such as robotic carts to carry fence poles and a retrofit system which essentially kicks the tractor driver out of the cab, allowing vehicles to move robotically.
The labour shortage is a big problem and retrofit technology can help, says Chris Clifford of Agri Automation New Zealand.
His robotic cart was designed by two Polish orchardists who've been using it for four years now.
"It's a huge problem in all areas of agriculture particularly the high-intensity jobs like vineyards, orchards, tree and vine crops where you're doing repetitive, boring work mowing, spraying ... driving up and down the same rows day after day, doing long hours."
Chris Clifford of Agri Automation New Zealand which retrofits tractors to run without a driver Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
For farmers still putting the hard yards in physically, Vaughan Wood of Woodzy Rockers had an intriguing chair to offer.
"If you're feeling a bit agriculturally stressed this is the implement for you," he said, lounging back in the shade.
He has now made his 458th numbered rocking chair made partly out of tynes.
During a stint in Pennsylvania, where he saw a lot of rocking chair makers, Vaughan got the idea of making them with a tool used for cultivating soil.
Does it do the trick? Of course.
"I'm a shearer so, yeh, it's very good after a day's shearing to sit back and relax."
Vaughan "Woodzy" Wood in one of the rockers he designed using tynes, a farming implement, to give the rocking motion Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
One sheep breed on offer was designed to get rid of that back-challenging work altogether.
"Nudie" sheep, developed by Wairere Stud, don't need much input at all, according to the stud's data and genetics manager Emma Pettigrew.
She was standing by the first ewe lambs born via a breeding programme using UK "hair sheep" genetics.
"It's a bit fluffy, a bit woolly, a bit hairy but only half an inch to an inch long max."
Wairere Stud's "Nudie" ewe lambs on display at Central Districts Field Days Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
Emma describes the sheep as a work in progress, but there has been a lot of interest from farmers keen for a low-maintenance animal which doesn't need dipping, dagging or crutching.
Lifestyle block owners were also good customers these days, Emma says.
"It's quite hard to get a shearer out to a lifestyle block for 10 sheep."
