22 | EDI tech a significant saving grace Richard Loader While tail docking of Te Uranga B2 Incorporation’s 6500 lambs has been hampered by unusually wet weather this year, the use of an Electronic Docking Iron (EDI) has been a significant saving grace, says Farm Manager Rod Walker. “We commenced docking about ten days ago, in the second or third week of September, and today is our fourth day of actual docking; it has just been so wet. In total there are 7000 lambs from the ewes, and a further 1500 from the hoggets. We aim to dock between 1500 -1900 each day, and we’ve done about 4500 so far. Traditionally tailing has been by a scissor apparatus with a heated head, which is very manual and after tailing 1500 – 2000 lambs a day our young dockers can get sore hands and blistered. The EDI is a relatively new development. It’s the same scissor design but is powered by a 21v battery, removing the need to manually squeeze through the tail. You just pull the trigger and it burns through the tail. It has made a massive difference, super quick to use and really easy to operate by both men and women. We did 1826 lambs on one day, and the battery lasted all day. It’s a brilliant machine and also enables a more accurate placement in terms of tail length.” Maori owned Te Uranga B2 is a beautiful 1130-hectare King Country sheep and beef farm just 12 minutes north of the quiet rural service town of Taumananui. Rod is now in his nineth year managing the property and has continued the owners environmental focus, with riparian planting around waterways and a large well-established wetland area with flax plantings that had been fenced off. “I have continued to oversee the programme and we have planted a number of creeks and waterways with a diverse range of native trees including manuka. We are now up to about forty hectares of plantings, including creeks that were already fenced off. RURAL PEOPLE » Te Uranga B2 Inc The owners also own two dairy farms and have the same environmental focus on them. This year we will continue planting on this farm, and have planned for another 800 metres of fencing, some of which is fence renewal.” Proudly supporting Te Uranga B2 Inc CTSHEARING PROUDLY SHEARING TEURANGAB2 INC ctshearing@hotmail.co.nz 027 446 1800 / 07 878 6765 Servicing TheWaikato&King Country @ t a n g i h a u a n g u s | www . t a n g i h a u a n g u s . c o . n z Tangihau Angus Bred to perform Blending power, soundness, growth, fertility and meat traits with balanced data Nivea (shepherd) using the new EDI docking iron.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=