Automated innovations turn heads at Central Districts Field Days

The latest in agricultural technology is rubbing shoulders with rich traditions at Central Districts Field Days in Feilding.

Automated tractors and drones, devised to free workers from mundane duties, were turning heads at Manfeild as the agricultural showcase got under way beneath blue skies on Thursday.

While cowboy hats, brightly coloured walking poles and small faces full of hot dogs were quintessential Field Days sights, an unmanned tractor mowing its way around a small field was uncanny and perhaps a little unnerving.

But Agri Automation managing director Chris Clifford said he was getting serious interest in their GoTrack auto drive system, which could be retrofitted to existing tractors and managed remotely from a phone or tablet.

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The company was established in New Zealand only six months ago, with bases in Blenheim and Hawke’s Bay, and was focused on serving high-intensity tree and vine crops.

The system also integrated with machinery. It could take control of a sprayer, controlling the output and settings, or raise and lower the hitch of a mower.

“What this system allows you to do is take a skilled operator, and upskill them to manage multiple machines.

“So you can have the same operator who was having to sit on the tractor for long hours a day, he could be in a vehicle or office and managing three or four machines remotely.”

Interest in automation has gone well beyond curiosity.

“There’s a huge interest in this system, because there’s a massive problem in New Zealand as well as globally with scarcity of qualified drivers and operators. They’re getting very, very hard to get, and the costs are getting higher.”

The system included artificial intelligence for managing the path. The tractor would stop for 30 seconds if it sensed something in its path. If the obstruction remained, an alert would be sent to the manager.

The system, which took three to four days to install, could be disabled with the push of one button to enable manual drive.

The cost of an installation and subscription to the system depending on the level of automation, but Clifford said it was lower than the annual salary of a tractor driver.

Above the hum of the self-drive tractor were the hisses and pops from the nearby Manawatū Vintage Machinery Club display.

The odd juxtaposition wasn’t lost on Clifford’s colleague Wade Riley. As much as he marvelled at the automation technology, he said he adored the sounds from the ancient engines, which evoked a lot of memories and stories from his younger days in Mississippi.

Also demonstrating a reduced reliance on humans was Aerolab’s farming drone, which followed a mission path, spraying insecticides and herbicides from about 6m off the ground.

Steve Wrigley, from the Auckland-based company, said it was one of the largest drones commercially operated in New Zealand and it had been on the market for a couple of months. It cost close to $100,000.

How much ground it could cover, and how quickly, depended on the water-rate.

“Normally when we’re doing [forestry] desiccation work, it’s 60 litres to the hectare.

“It’s a 40-litre tank, so we’re getting a tank-and-a-half to the hectare. And it’s taking us about three-and-a-half minutes to spray a tank. So the thing is working pretty quickly.”

The drone was ideal for hill country or land that was too wet to get a vehicle on. It had a radar to detect obstacles and could follow the contours of the land.

Wrigley said there had been strong interest in the drone within the first morning of Field Days, and it was selling well. He had bought two for his own contracting business.

About 30,000 people are expected at Field Days over the next three days, as farmers eye up new machinery, and families enjoy a variety of attractions.

Denise Satherley, from Linton, said she and her husband were Field Days regulars and enjoyed connecting with people and having a look at what goods and services were available.

The 24-degree weather was a plus.

Bernard Scott, 55, had a lifestyle block in Levin. He worked as a contractor and was eyeing up machinery and equipment.

“But so far I’ve bought a meat rub and alcohol, not much to do with my job. But it’s good to see what’s about.”

Kat Smyth and her family, from Santoft, were meant to be going to the expo as part of a school field trip, until the teachers’ strike. Instead, families were simply given free passes.

She had left “the spender” – her husband – in the paddock, while her children Lochie, 9, Toby, 8, and Emily, 5, had plenty of fun and were proudly decked in high-vis and carrying an assortment of freebies.

The big tractors were the best part of Field Days, Lochie said, while Mum was just relieved to have not lost any of the children.