Run in partnership by Richard and his wife Nadine, with Richard's retired parents Bruce and Wyn, the farm also employs two long standing full-time workers.
Alongside the autumn-calving herd, the operation also carried around 150 heifers and 170 calves, with a smattering of Highland cattle, with the bulls put over heifers to encourage ease of calving. Fed a total mixed ration, currently made up of 6.5kg maize silage, 3.5kg PKE, 1.5kg molasses and 3kg canola, the remainder of the ration is 7kg of pasture.
In 2021, in an effort to protect the ground and in a concerted effort to combat lameness, the operation erected a 44m x 60m Smart Shelter, set up as composting barn. Now the herd is split 50:50, spending half of each day in the barn and adjacent feed pad.
This means that the cows only need to undertake one return trip to the paddock each day, resulting in less wear and tear on feet.
While yard scraping and liquid effluent was pushed into two weeping wall systems, and material taken to the paddock with a rotary spreader, the arrival of the composting barn meant that there would be much larger volumes of solid manures to be dealt with, so a decision was made to purchase a UK-built Bunning Lowlander spreader.
Offering a capacity of 12.9 cubic metres, allowing a load of about 12.6 tonnes, the machine has proved ideal for dealing with large amounts of both solid and semi-liquid manures. Carried on oversized, 650-65R38 tractorstyle tyres, material is fed by a moving floor in the base of the body to twin vertical beaters at the rear, to be spread finely over a working width of around 15 metres, depending on density. Ahead of the beaters a vertical slurry door allows the flow of liquids to be controlled, while the machine also features road lighting and hydraulic brakes for safe operation.
More recently, the farm has also taken delivery of its first telehandler, a Massey Ferguson TH 7038, supplied alongside the muckspreader by local dealer Waikato Tractors based in Hamilton.
Manufactured under licence by the Bobcat Group, the machine offers a 7m lift height, 3.8 tonne maximum lift capacity and a useful 1,500kg lift capacity when extended to a maximum forward reach of 4m.
Richard says, “Over the years we have relied on conventional tractors and front end loaders. When our main tractor broke down earlier in the year, we had to call on our second, much smaller utility tractor and quickly realised our vulnerability when our main machine wasn’t available, so we decided to invest in the telehandler.”
The TH 7038 is equipped with a Perkins, Tier 3, 3.4 litre, 4-cylinder engine pushing out 130hp, that in turn is mated to a two-stage hydrostatic transmission, offering infinite speed control from 0 to the maximum 40km/h road speed.
Of note, a load sensing, variable output hydraulic system can deliver a class leading output of 190l/ minute, meaning fast response speeds with minimal engine revs.
Completing the package, three steering modes offer front wheel, four wheel and crab steer modes, the latter allowing the machine to move away from obstacles, but also run in separate wheel tracks.
The deluxe cabin is said to offer exceptional visibility in all directions, further enhanced by a low boom pivot and a low, sloping engine hood.
