| 55 Accurate spreading from experienced team Spreadmark certi cation gives clients absolute assurance that the fertiliser is spread accurately with proof of placement data, says Spreading Northland’s Jason Williamson. Sue Russell When it’s the quieter part of the yearly cycle, Jason Williamson, from Dargaville-based Spreading Northland, attends to transporting stock food and light digger work. Jason says it’s essential that there is this downtime, to allow for repairs and maintenance and to give staff some well-earned time before the days become long and busy. “Once we get busy its at-out so we need to ensure our eet is ready for long hours, day after day,” Jason says. Complementing the fert spreading activity is Williamson Contracting, which services the rural sector taking care of cartage and earthwork projects in the Northland region. With the two entities, Jason can offer his rural clients a complete package of agricultural services, including farm drainage, digging out ef uent ponds, establishing and maintaining farm races and feed pads, bulldozer and digger hire. Spreading Northland operates seven spreaders and a mini spreader, giving it the capability of working over all soil types and ground conditions. The company also holds Spreadmark certi cation. Customers know that the spreading system will be assessed through a quality assurance programme administered by Federated Farmers. “It gives our clients the absolute assurance that the fertiliser is spread accurately with proof of placement data. We provide them with proof of placement maps when each job is completed.” Another bene t of delivering Spreadmark certi- ed standard applications is that farmers are able to log onto their account on the Hawkeye website to capture past spreading maps. The eet consists of Mercedes and Scania trucks. Jason says they are reliable and hardworking and RURAL SERVICES » Spreading Northland Fibre, probiotics play big role • from page 54 The Orion Group operates a nationwide network which provides specialist transport and logistics services to a wide range of NZ based customers primarily across the dairy & poultry business sectors. Our group of companies are proudly NZ owned and operated. Supplying Northland farmers with lime and fertiliser since 1947 - Specialists in customised fertiliser blends - Correct your soil pH - Maximise return on your fertiliser spend Proud suppliers to Spreading Northland Contact Avoca 09 433 5720 sales@avocagroup.co.nz www.avocagroup.co.nz MainFeeds, like many companies, is now facing supply issues with increased lead-times for imported raw materials, and has warehouse capability to stock in excess of 12,000 tons onsite in Auckland. Whenever feed ingredients change due to the availability of raw materials, new recipes are formulated and MainFeeds’ has an on-site laboratory to ensure they meet the nutritional requirements set by the New Zealand Poultry Standard, as well as the quality requirements set by Food Safe New Zealand, MainFeeds, and its customers. Derek says new discussion in the poultry feed industry is similar to the conversation around the advancement of human nutrition on gut health, with bre, probiotics, and prebiotics products now starting to play a bigger role in diets. MainFeeds is starting to look at alternative, more sustainable protein sources, such as y larvae. Future innovations at MainFeeds will be around sustainability, both in its own operation and supporting its customers as they work to improve the sustainability of their own businesses. “These are immensely challenging times in our industry and as such we are always looking at ways we can support sustainability, reduce our carbon footprint without affecting our performance, and balance the cost input into this equation,” Derek says. “ The major contributing factor to our carbon footprint comes from importing grains from around the world, while the carbon footprint of our production process is very small in comparison.” He says, for example, a natural bre bag that costs more than the product contained inside is not an economically sustainable or practical solution, so MainFeeds is looking for more ingenious ways of being sustainable and still being commercially viable. “It’s not just about the resources we consume. It’s about being able to sustain the sustainability that you’re trying to achieve.” are easily able to be maintained in-house at the depot. Asked about competition in Northland for the sorts of services his businesses offer Jason says that he’s observed a reduction in the overall number of contractors. “You have to be a certain size and scale to really make the business pro table and allowing for contingencies and the planned purchase of new gear requires a reasonable level of ongoing work, year in, year out.” Finding drivers is key to continued success. Not everyone Jason knows is suited to working on the type of machinery or has the right eye or attitude and the ability to put in the hours when necessary. “I have just hired a driver recently who hadn’t had any former experience but had put himself through his HT so that showed me he had plenty of drive.” Jason understands the continued success of the business comes down to those operating the gear and delivering to clients on time. “They understand sometimes we just can’t work, given the weather, but we make sure as soon as possible we get on to the job. I’ve got a strong loyal base of clients which is good from a business perspective.” And the spoils of the years of work have resulted in the purchase recently of a dairy farm, which Jason says will be leased to the neighbouring farmer. “Looking ahead I’m pleased with where we are at and we’ll continue to grow as demand increases. I have a very good team who understand our standard and work hard.”
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