| 63 Cow barns part of diverse family business Karen Phelps Comfort Cow Barns is catering to the growing demand for cow barns in the Southland and Otago region. Owned by two local builders – Milne Building Contractors Limited and Richard Stodart Building Ltd – Comfort Cow Barns completes projects under the umbrella of the separate owners’ building companies. Southland Farm Services, with its worldwide support from DeLaval, supplies and installs the complete fitout including the stalls, beds, troughs, brushes and effluent, electrical and plumbing requirements. Director of Milne Building Contractors Neil Milne says this results in a one-stop-shop service for clients. Neil says that experience is everything when it comes to designing and building cow barns as there are a lot of factors that come into play to ensure a successful outcome including correct stall sizing and number of stalls, ventilation and cow flow. He RURAL SERVICES » Milne Building e: office@mcgregorconcreteltd.co.nz www.mcgregorconcreteltd.com Te Anau: (03) 249 7051 Lumsden: (03) 236 6580 READY MIX CONCRETE - GRAVEL WINTON HEAD OFFICE P.O. BOX 34, Winton Phone: (03) 236 6580 says there has been a discernable upswing in interest in cow barns in Southland as farmers seek to meet tightening regulations. Milne Building Contractors was started in 1984. Neil runs the business in conjunction with his two sons, Greg and Nigel. Greg oversees the running of the day-to-day projects and Nigel runs the construction team. Contractors also form an important part of the overall team and add to the offering. Experience and knowledge of a vast range of building projects in the commercial sector has been gained with Alastair Bennett Building coming on board last year, says Neil. Milne Building Contractors is involved in all aspects of construction including new homes, alterations, dairy sheds, barns, bunkers, concrete construction and semi commercial projects. The dairy industry has been a big part of business for Covering Otago & Southland 0800 227 226 www.advance-agriculture.co.nz Proud to support Lake Hawea Contracting Specialist Suppliers of Agricultural Chemical, Seed, Spray Equipment & GPS Precision Ag in Upper Clutha The technology is good for everyone as well as the environment from John’s point of view. Everything’s recorded automatically so there’s no argument about proof of placement, for example with the five meter gap now required from waterways and other sensitive areas, and the accuracy means there’s no wastage in the application of the necessary chemicals, which is also good for the bottom line. As far as John’s concerned the combination of irrigation and technology is a good thing for the region, opening up opportunities for farmers to diversify if they want to. It’s good for business too. While Donella manages all the administrative work John does the rest with the recent addition of a part-timer to help with the increasing workload. “We do some very big days,” says John. “We get a bit of a break in winter but we’re basically busy 11 months of the year.” June is their quiet month but for the rest of the year having guaranteed water in the region also guarantees that Lake Hawea Contracting will have work caring for crops over 12,000 hectares of productive land in the Upper Clutha for the foreseeable future. • to page 64 John Osborne with a Bateman RB26 introduced in 2018 to take care of the high value seed crops in Upper Clutha. “But there’s so much irrigation here we’re moving ahead. There’s a lot of potential down here to become the next mid-Canterbury with all their specialist seed crops.”
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