Rural Contractors NZ says it was only able to run its four roadshows around the country thanks to support from its key partners.
Providing key messages and useful information for rural contractors as they head towards the 2025/26 season, the roadshows were a new initiative enabling RCNZ members to connect and share information.
TRS TYRE AND WHEEL
TRS has taken over distribution of the Alliance brand to become part of the biggest global tyre business in the world. There was some discussion at the roadshows about Duals vs Super Singles. Rural contractors learned New Zealand is probably the only country still using duals, with the biggest market being Southland.
Trelleborg testing shows super singles work as well as dual. As tractors get bigger, tyres get bigger. On hilly terrain however, there can still be a need for duals. It’s the amount of air in the tyre that handles the load. Super singles can handle massive loads. TRS commonly have customers who put duals on where a single is fitted to a machine or vice-versa.
TRS strongly discourages putting water in tyres. This can mean a tyre carrying 1.6+ tonnes of water moving down a road at 55kph. You lose load-carrying capability, put the tyre’s integrity at risk and make it more susceptible to wear and damage.
Less than 1% of Trelleborg tyres face warranty claims in New Zealand.
CNH
A range of New Holland machines from RCNZ’s newest partner were shown at the roadshows. New Holland machines used FPT engines (formerly Fiat Powertrain Technologies). Fiat is the parent company. In the truck world, New Holland is an Iveco. Most machines are European built, so any emerging American tari ffs were not seen as likely to have any impact. As well as purchasing new machines, there are also lease options available, and the machines come with 5-year/5000-hour warranties.
At the Christchurch Roadshow, the 680hp New Holland FR Forager attracted keen interest. It has an arm that rotates 270 degrees to a chaser bin. Roadshow attendees learned that New Holland machinery can integrate with the ‘rainbow fleets’ that many rural contractors and farmers operate.
The latest models can be monitored via phone from where they are in the field. Infrared technology analyses the condition of the incoming crop. The machines also send a message to update when your New Holland is back in the yard.
NUFARM
RCNZ’s long-standing partner has the largest agrichemical sales team in New Zealand backed up with a global R+D team. However, all its products are tested and trialled in New Zealand. That requires five years in field testing, so there’s a huge investment to get new products approved.
Nufarm has nine new products in the pipeline, mostly active ingredients, and six product extensions. Their staff are excited about a new knockdown broad spectrum, non-selective herbicide being trialled here in spring. It’s being looked at in Australia as a game-changer including as a replacement for paraquat, although it’s more akin to glyphosate.
Those attending the roadshows got a lesson in using the Grassmanship app, which is a great tool to help farmers make informed decisions and maximise returns from every hectare of land. There was also a reminder at Nufarm workshop that refreshers are need every five years for Certified Handlers, which has replaced the Approved Handlers scheme. If you are handling certain chemicals such as paraquat, you need to be a Certified Handler. It doesn’t replace GrowSafe certi fication.
ROTHBURY INSURANCE BROKERS
Nathan Haywood from Rothbury Insurance Brokers attended all four roadshows. Nathan has been with Rothbury for more than 30 years and lives and breathes all insurance broking entails. Nathan proudly outlined how Rothbury gets a 70% + ‘yes, we would refer you to friends’ measure against an insurance industry figure of less than half that.
Rothbury boasts more than 500 staff around New Zealand in 25 locations. He agreed premiums have increased but showed how between 1975 and 2002 there were very infrequent weather events. Now they keep repeating, notably in 2023, which saw the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle – $4b events. But given no quick repeat, business premiums should now start coming down.
He outlined three types of insurance risk:
• Physical – vehicles, fires, injury
• Operational – health & safety, chemical storage, directors/company offcers’ responsibilities
• Key person cover – not just you as a business owner but staff whom your business is reliant on
Rothbury cover is individually tailored for each of its 65 RCNZ members and it also pays the membership sub for them as part of the deal with RCNZ.
ALLIED PETROLEUM
RCNZ’s fuel partner is part of the HW Richardson Group. It delivers 1.5b litres of fuel annually, with about a third of it taken by Allied’s own customers with 26,000 active card users. Currently it is working to rollout a card for employees to allow them the same discounts. Allied cards can be used at some selected Mobil stations as well as dedicated Allied outlets.
With a major focus on sustainability, Allied is currently building a hydrogen plant in Southland to supply hydrogen as a dual fuel. Hydrogen saves 40% of emissions with no loss of power. Trucks are already running on hydrogen and tractor trials are currently underway. Allied is also running some trucks on recycled vegetable oil, principally sourced from fish and chip shops, and recycling waste engine oil with the base product being sold overseas.
And yes, Allied reps were asked about what’s going to happen fuel prices.
The response was that if the Middle East stabilises, prices that have already come down this year should stay around there or go lower.
FARMLANDS
Rural contractors were told they play a key role in Farmlands’ strategy to lift turnover from $2.5b to $6b over the next five years. Currently there are 150,000 cardholders obtaining bene fits from 7000 card partners as well as Farmlands outlets.
From June 1, preferential pricing for all RCNZ members applied on their purchases. Farmlands also outlined its new FLEX initiative, which sees solar panels installed on farms (and perhaps soon contractor yards?). There have been hundreds of enquiries since FLEX was unveiled at Fieldays with the offer of saving up to 40% on power bills as well as being able to sell back into the grid. Farmlands also sponsored a $500 prize for the member who did best in a test after presentations made by WorkSafe.