Click or flick across for more photos from the Henty Field Days.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
NICO Sieling couldn’t buy the machine he wanted for his crop farm in Mulwala, so he built his own.
After three years in the design process and five months to build, it all paid off at the Henty Field Days yesterday when the Rotacon RA40 Airseeder won first prize in the Farm Innovator and New Products Awards.
There were 15 inventions and new products entered in this year’s competition and the Rotacon, which plants crop seeds and fertilises them, was one of two inventions which belonged to Mr Sieling.
It was his first time at the field days and Mr Sieling said it felt great to take out the top award
“I hope the award will give me enough publicity to get noticed by a bigger company,” he said.
Originally from the Netherlands, Mr Sieling moved to New Zealand where he bought his first farm at the age of 23.
After more than 30 years as a dairy farmer, he made the switch to crop farming five years ago, which brought a need for new machinery, particularly a more transportable seeder.
“It is a 40-foot wide machine but can fold up to three metres wide, making it easy and quick to transport,” he said
“You can transport at 50km/h without escort vehicles.”
Brian Gaynor was awarded second place for his creep gate system for sheep feeders and the people’s choice went to Russel Mills for his poly pipe emergency clamp.