62 | RURAL SERVICES » Pritchard Agricultural Contracting New equipment key to growing workload XxxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxxxx Rachel Graham The warm wet summer in the Taupo region has meant a long busy season for Pritchard Agricultural Contracting Services. The warm days and lots of moisture is making the grass grow lush, which in turn is keeping their baling teams busy on long days. Brothers Rhys and Sam Pritchard now run the business which was set up by their parents around 15 years ago. Pritchard Agricultural Contracting Services is based in TuhingamataRoad, Taupo, and covers an area of around about a 70 kilometreradius from their home base. Their main focus is making round bales, along with pit silage, and planting of crops and grass. Rhys Pritchard says one of the big advantages for farmers in using their services is the speciality machinery they have to get the job done quickly and ef ciently. He says they replace and upgrade their machinery yearly, and this past year have got in a number of new pieces of equipment to help with the growing workload. New additions include four new Massey Ferguson tractors taking their total to 12, a new set of mowers, new rake and a new baler. For the baling they use two 13 metre Kuhn rakes, which makes the rows for the balers to follow. He says with the price of machinery these days it would be a huge investment for a farmer to set themselves up to carry out the same work themselves. In addition to Rhys and his brother Sam Pritchard Agricultural Contracting Services currently employs nine staff members, and work with one owner-driver. That machinery and experienced staff also gives the business the capacity to get through a large quantity of work quickly. “Particularly in the baling side of things, we produce a large number of bales every year so we have the capacity and experience to get through the work in a short period of time. And we pride ourselves on being timely and farmers can be con dent they will get a quality product at the end of it.” The Pritchard family. Round bales (below) are a big focus of the business. Rhys says this season timing has been challenging with the warm wet weather promoting grass growth, but they always ensure they turn up in good time or let the farmer know where they stand. They can also make quick work of planting. The typical process is for them to send out four tractors to turn over the soil, followed by other machinery to get the crops or grass seed into the ground. Another area which keeps Pritchard Agricultural Contracting Services busy is an on-going contract with the Taupo District Council to look after the land near the district’s ef uent ponds. Taupo’s treated wastewater goes on to the land, and Pritchard Agricultural Contracting Services has the job of keeping control of the grass, baling it up and selling it. This work helps reduce the nitrogen going into the land and into the waterways. Rhys says the work at the ef uent ponds keeps them busy year-round. With a busy workload Rhys says it’s great to have such awesome dedicated staff members, who make sure the job gets done on time,and to a high standard every time. Proud to support Pritchard Agricultural Contracting Services through their journey Need support through yours? Give us a call for a free consultation on how we could help you. 44 Te HeuHeu Street Taupo | 07 376 1700 info@strettons.co.nz | facebook.com/strettons
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