| 81 Boomer maize season welcome change Reymer Ag has been operating in the greater Waipa District since the 1960s. Kelly Deeks RURAL SERVICES » Reymer Ag Contracting With an excellent maize growing season in the Western Waikato, Reymer Ag Contracting is looking forward to an abundant harvest and plenty of demand from local dairy farmers as the milk pay out improves. Reymer Ag owner Chris Reymer says after a very wet 2022/23 season with not enough sunshine, the this season’s humidity has helped his maize crops to thrive. “It’s been ridiculously humid up here and the maize loves it,” he says. “It’s looking really good and there is going to be an abundance of maize around this season.” Although it was a tough sell to get farmers to contract their maize with the pay out being so low early on in the season, recent increases have Reymer Ag’s phone starting to ring with a bit of enquiry. It’s a gamble Reymer Ag is used to making every year. Never knowing exactly what the pay out or the weather has in store, Chris and his brother Mike hedge their bets by planting a lot of their last blocks in dual hybrid, giving them to option to go to maize grain if the maize itself doesn’t sell. Reymer Ag has been operating in the greater Waipa District since the 1960s and has always customised its services to meet the needs of its clients and help to improve their on-farm economics. Mike and Chris have expanded operations at Reymer Ag in the past 10 years to cover the full range of services from spraying out to harvest, as is the company motto – from seed to feed. Mike and Chris invest heavily in technology to stay at the forefront of the industry, and in 2022 they bought a Tow and Fert multi 4000 from local engineering firm Metalform Industries for a faster and easier way of mixing and applying liquid fertiliser right there in the paddock. Nitrogen caps and sharp rises in fertiliser costs see more and more of Reymer Ag’s clients choosing liquid fertilisers to retain good yields with less fertiliser, more accuracy, and less wastage. “Being able to use less urea with the Tow and Fert is a game changer, and our machine has taken a pretty good foothold in the local market,” Chris says. “We use it predominantly for urea but as farmers become more biologically aware, we are also using it for an increasing amount of fish and seaweed and all sorts of trace elements. Some of our customers are starting to come up with their own mixes. The guys that are into it are really into it and they’ll do it forever now.” Farmers looking to maintain soil structure and quality and save on cultivation costs can now take advantage of Reymer Ag’s strip tillage service, where only a narrow row of seed bed is tilled, and the area between the rows left undisturbed. This year Chris and Mike added a fertiliser system to their strip till machine so they can apply fert into the strip ready for the maize to go in on top. 07 843 7237 www.waikatotractors.co.nz @waikatotractors.ltd Waikato Tractors Ltd Proudly supporting Reymer Ag Contracting (Kahotea farms Advert WEATBRANDT, AREPROUDTOBE OUTTHEREWITHYOU. brandt.ca/nz 0800 333 734
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