PRIMARY SECTOR - MSC NewsWire

First sea-freight shipment of chilled red meat into China

Silver Fern Farms has launched a large-scale China chilled pilot with the first sea-freight container shipment of chilled beef as well as multiple air-freight orders of beef and lamb set for customers across China. The pilot is part of a six-month trial negotiated by the government to test chilled red meat access into the China market. While small-volume air-freight product has been sent into market, it is understood that this is the first sea-freight container to test the market says Silver Fern Farms GM Sales Grant Howie. "It is important that during this trial period we test the market’s protocols…

Smart irrigation

Schneider Electric announced the success achieved with WaterForce, provider of water management and irrigation solutions in New Zealand. Schneider Electric worked with Schneider Electric.svg WaterForce to develop a cloud-based IIoT mobile-control solution, built on Microsoft Azure and Azure IoT technologies, which enables farmers to operate irrigation pivots with greater agility, efficiency and sustainability. Agriculture accounts for nearly 70 percent of the world’s water consumption. As global food demand grows, water use is expected to rise, making efficient irrigation critical. With Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure architecture, WaterForce developed a cloud-based IIoT solution enabling farmers to monitor and control irrigation pumps and pivots…