Newsletter Autumn 2013
Andrew Jackson - Farming Matters
What a roller coaster ride the weather has been lately. Large
areas of New Zealand have struggled through a period of
drought. This has certainly made our phone lines very busy.
our spreaders will future proof the application questions that
will be asked of us all very soon.
We got behind the Federated Farmers initiative to offer straw
to its members in the North Island. A nightmare in logistics
of course, as very large amounts of feed needed moved so
quickly.
Dry Land Dairying
Top marks to David Clark and his Federated Farmers team,
who negotiated concessionary rates with the shipping lines
to make all this possible. I have spoken to many extremely
grateful farmers from the North Island, who found themselves
in a very grave situation.
Effluent, Muck and Slurry Spreading
Keeping up with Changing Times
Our new muck and slurry spreading services have been well
received locally. To try and keep ahead of the environmental
legislative pack these machines have been carefully thought
through:
Tractors are equipped with GPS guidance.
The two muck spreaders are spinner disc machines which spread accurately at 20m.
They are also equipped with load cells which mean we
can record each load and the total quantity of material
spread per hectare.
This information can be printed onto a map to show
exactly where the material was applied and at what rate.
Anyone having to increase the size of their dairy effluent ponds
will know how the goal posts can be moved on you. Hopefully
Farming Matters
Along with most people we have taken a beating from the
weather on the dry land dairy conversion this season. From
the downpours in August to the extreme heat of February. We
have certainly used lots of silage and locally sourced barley.
There is nothing like the smell of freshly rolled, golden barley.
It smells even better if you haven’t got any grass!
We are trying a small stack of maize, as are a number of
other local dairy farmers. Whilst we were ready for the low
protein in its feed analysis, it did come through with a pleasing
11.0 ME. At 30 cents per kg of DM, in the stack, it will be an
interesting trial. Surely a wiser spend than entering the “out
of season wrapped bale market”. The white tubes of silage,
dotted around Canterbury, can hide a multitude of sins. Was
it Forest Gump who said “life’s like a box of chocolates, you
never know what you are going to get” Buyer beware!
We are working on the process of merging Andrew Jackson
Contracting Ltd and Jackson & Holmes Ltd. There will
be more to report on as we launch the new company later
this year.
Thanks again to you, our customers, and to our hard working
team this season
All the best for the winter months ahead, Andrew &
Val Jackson.
Todd Holmes - Operations
Well no one could say that we missed out on a summer this
year! After the previous summer (2011/12) we were all left
wondering if Canterbury was capable of its characteristic “hot
and dry” weather anymore, but this year has certainly proven
it is. We had a good season from an operations point of view.
The usual ups and downs of course! Less silage was made,
but fortunately a lot of very high quality straw was baled which
will hopefully help keep farmers going through to next spring.
I am pleased to say that as predicted on the first busy norwest harvest day in the early hours of the morning on the
23rd of January our second child arrived safe and well, Oskar
Karl Matthew Holmes. That was a bit of a frantic drive to
Ashburton! We also got a lot of bales done that day too......
Management Staff
Quality Assurance
We are always looking to improve our service and make sure
that our customers are happy. As the business grows, we
pinpoint areas that need more time dedicated to them. Going
forward into next year we are expanding our senior staff and
management team to make sure our business runs smoothly.
We have some new staff filling the new roles of service
manager; forage harvesting team leader and cartage/
wrapping team leader (see staff profiles). Each of our team will
be taking responsibility for their part of the business in terms
of staff training, machine maintenance, quality assurance and
record keeping.
We always welcome any suggestions you may have that
could help us improve our service and tailor it to your specific
needs as a customer.
Local Staff
How it Went
Of course along with the management and senior members
of our team, we have all the seasonal operators that work for
us over summer. In our last newsletter I reported on our push
to employ a greater number of young local operators along
with our overseas contingent. I am pleased to report that all of
the four new local lads that worked for us did a fantastic job,
particularly as for some of them it was their first job away from
home. We hope to attract more young locals in the future and
hope that they can enjoy our business and dealing with all the
people associated with it the way that we do.
The factory
boasts one of the
largest dryers in
the world.
Fonterra
A New Project
This season we were fortunate to gain the contract to be the
preferred fine-chop silage contractor for the new Fonterra
Factory in Darfield. The factory boasts one of the largest
dryers in the world. The surrounding farm is predominantly
planted in grass and the treated waste water from the factory
is applied via six large computer controlled centre pivot
irrigators over 600ha. It was a very interesting project for
us, working within the irrigation cycle of the factory farm and
delivering the product to a new set of clients. All of them were
great to deal with and we found the management at Fonterra
to be most accommodating. We look forward to dealing with
everyone again next year.
I hope the winter treats all of you well. Remember we now
offer muck and slurry spreading services and would be only
too happy to have a chat if you need any work done.
Kind Regards, Todd Holmes
Newsletter Autumn 2013
Where has all the feed gone!
What a year of contrasts. After an abundance of feed
for the last 12 months, the cupboards are emptying
fast. A slow spring then dry summer/autumn has
impacted greatly on the silage produced and surplus
available for sale. With all the North Island and West
Coast in drought mode, a large amount of straw and
silage has been sent out of the area.
Bruce Lilley - Feed Trading
Maize
Grass Silage
Grain
If you feed maize to your dairy cows, then this was the year
to have your requirements on a contract. “Free market” maize
was non-existent with growers understandably cautious about
planting maize without a contract. It is very important to build
buyer/grower relationships, to secure high quality feed year
in year out.
There is always very strong demand for grass silage and this
coming spring it will be even more important to sign up grass
and secure your feed supplies. The autumn drought has left
a lot of dairy farmers in a feed deficit situation for the spring
particularly with respect to high quality grass silage. Forward
planning will be vital over the next few months.
Wheat and barley requirement for dairy sheds is high, due to
limited supply of PKE and silage. Stocks of grain are in good
supply and prices are very competitive against other forms of
feed. If you have grain to sell or are looking to buy, feel free
to give me a ring.
Straw
Winter Feed
Cereal Silage
The stacks of straw that became part of Canterbury’s
landscape are diminishing. We have some smaller lines of
straw still available. Please contact me, sooner rather than
later, if you have any deficits in your winter feed budget.
Winter feed crops are very much in the spotlight at the
moment, with demand high and prospective yields lower than
normal. This will test grower/buyer relationships and we hope
negotiations will be amicable.
Cereal silage is a nutritious and consistent alternative to grass
silage. Our new Claas direct cut cereal silage front is very
efficient at processing high quality silage. Keep cereal silage
in mind and call me to discuss putting some on a contract for
the coming season.
The drought is over, and some late growth has
been well received over the last few weeks. If
you have surplus feed to sell or require additional
supplements, please feel free to call me.
Kind Regards, Bruce Lilley
Newsletter Autumn 2013
Staff - Profile
Client - Profile
Tim Gibbs
Age: 25
Role: Service Manager
Tim is responsible for maintenance scheduling and management of all of our
equipment; engineering and mechanical repairs as well as breakdown call outs;
maintenance training and monitoring with all operators.
Experience: Tim attained an apprenticeship (National Certificate in Maintenance
and Diagnostics in Mechanical Engineering), with North Canterbury Equipment in
Amberley. He has extensive engineering and mechanical skills which are necessary
for this role. He also recently spent a year working on large 5000ha cropping farm
in Boori (NSW) Australia and a year working on a large 1800 ha cropping farm in
Portage la prairie, Canada.
Jamie Breton
Age: 27
Role: Forage Harvesting and Muck Spreading Team Leader
Jamie is responsible for co-ordinating operators and machinery in the forage
harvesting team during the summer months; operation and maintenance training;
ensuring all machinery is kept in top condition; ensuring each and every stack is
done to the highest standard of quality and efficiency. He is also responsible for the
muck and slurry spreading operations during the winter months.
Experience: Jamie has an extensive background in forage harvesting, having
operated a chopper for 7 years. He also has experience in a vast amount of other
agricultural operations including muck and slurry spreading. Jamie has worked
for us for just over 9 months now and recently emigrated from Guernsey (in The
Channel Islands) with his partner (Tara) and son (Cody, 5 years old).
Chris Sparling
Age: 32
Role: Cartage and Bale Wrapping Team Leader
Chris is responsible for training all of the cartage and wrapping team; ensuring all
cartage and wrapping equipment is in top condition; ensuring the wrapping quality
is to the highest standard; liaising with any cartage subcontractors to ensure our
standards are upheld and operations are being carried out in an efficient manner.
Experience: Chris has over 16 years experience with a multitude of different
machinery and tasks associated with agriculture (the list is too long to write). He
also has a strong background in farming having grown up and worked on a family
beef farm in Leeds. Chris has worked for us for 6 months now having recently
emigrated from the UK.
McIntosh Dairies
McIntosh Family
Lyndhurst dairy farming couple Ben and Cate McIntosh
part own an irrigated dairy farm in partnership with Ben’s
parents Ray and Jenny that they also 50/50 share milk. The
farm supports 920 cows on a dairy platform area of 230ha,
total area 244ha. The McIntosh family have lived in the area
their whole lives. Ray and Jenny traditionally ran the farm
as a mixed cropping and grazing operation. Ben and Cate
spent many years away from the farm share milking and
building up their knowledge of the dairy industry which has
helped a lot with the conversion of the home farm recently.
The cows supplement diet consists simply of grass and
maize silage and straw. A portion of this feed is brought in
which we source locally and the rest is grass silage made
on farm in peak growth periods. Ben finds the simple feed
system works well but it is imperative to buy in good quality
product. Ben and Cate have three children Ella, Joe and
Charlie who have many other interests including rugby and
hockey. Cate is on the local Hockey committee and Ben is
on the Methven A&P Association committee. Going forward
Ben and Cate are working towards buying the rest of the
farm from Ray and Jenny.
Whitford Park
Rudge Family
Michael and Georgina Rudge, son Tom and his wife Anjie
own and operate a 704ha dry land arable farm at Lauriston.
They grow vast areas of crops including wheat, barley,
triticale, linseed, lucerne and grass. Rudges have opted
for a “broad acre, minimum tillage” type system with their
farm. They use modern equipment to get over the area
efficiently including large cultivation and harvesting gear.
An interesting facet of their business is the grain drying
facilities which include large “drive on floor” drying sheds
and recently the addition of a “continuous flow” drying
system (pictured). Because of their drying facilities, many
other arable farmers in the area send grain to Rudges to
be dried as well. We enjoy the look of panic on our baler
drivers faces each year when they start the first round of a
70ha paddock of barley straw at Rudges and realise they
will be in there for a very, very long time!
Newsletter Autumn 2013
Joke - Have A Laugh On Us
A farmer brings home a new young rooster to replace the
older rooster on the farm. He takes the new cock outback and
turns him loose. The new rooster goes up to the older rooster
and tells him, “You old man, are going to be supper because
I’m here to take your place as the cock of the roost.”
house twice, but that he would get a head start. The new
rooster agreed. The old rooster counted to three, and took
off screaming and squawking the whole way. As he began
around the first corner, the new rooster took off running as
fast as he could, trying to catch up to the old rooster.
The old rooster said, “Hey young fella, you just can’t come
in here and take over like that not without a race.” “A race?”
asked the new rooster. “What kind of race?”
At that same time the farmer was watching from the back
door. Seeing what was going on, he ran and grabbed his gun,
ran out the back door, and shot the new rooster just before the
new rooster caught the old one. The farmer went back in the
house, and his wife asked what was going on.
The old rooster told him, “A foot race.” And at this, the new
rooster laughed. He said, “Old man, I can beat you any day of
the week even if I give you a head start. You’re on.”
The old rooster explained they would race around the hen
The farmer replied, “I’m not sure, but that’s the second gay
rooster I bought this week.”
Tips - Right Time, Right Price
The way the weather played out this summer meant that just
after the bulk of harvest was completed there was a realisation
for some people that due to the drought they would run short
of feed. Buying the bulk of your feed out of season (not just the
odd inevitable small top up) is a bad situation to be in if high
demand and limited supply at the time drives prices upward.
It reinforces the fact that there is no cheaper time to buy than
when it is made. Keeping a surplus portion of supplement on
hand requires an initial investment into feed that of course
may not be used in the short term, but in the long run gives
you a buffer to be insulated from peak demand times. Below
is a generic example of the difference in the delivered price
of a bale of straw either at harvest time (straight from the
paddock) or during winter (from under a cover or shed).
Large square Claas 3400 bales of barley straw
purchased post harvest time from under a cover and
delivered from a stack site to your farm:
Royalty$20.00
Raking/Bale/Stack (in paddock to weather proof) $22.00
Cartage (to a stack site)
$8.00
Covering/Stacking (at stack site)
$5.00
Uncovering/Cartage
$10.00
Total
Large square Claas 3400 bales of barley straw
purchased at harvest time and delivered from the
paddock directly to your farm:
Royalty$20.00
Raking/Bale/Stack (in paddock to weather proof) $22.00
Cartage (to your farm)
$8.00
Covering/Stacking (at your farm)
$5.00
Total
$50.00/
bale
If you applied the $15/bale saving to an order of 500
bales:
$15 x 500 bales = $7,500 saving
$50 x 500 bales = $25,000 initial cost
$25,000 x 6%pa = $750 over 6 months
$7500 - $750 = $6,750 saved and no exposure to the winter straw market!
$65.00/
bale
Andrew Jackson
P 027 4393 387
E [email protected]
Todd Holmes
Office 03 303 0872
Address 185 Earlys Road, RD1, Ashburton, 7771
www.jacksonholmes.co.nz | www.andrewjacksoncontracting.co.nz
P 027 279 8926
E [email protected]
Bruce Lilley
P 027 553 3085
E [email protected]