64 | Strengthening its service offering Coldstream Contracting has built a strong reputation over the past seven years. Another young local, Lachie O’Connell, is also working with Travis and helping with winter feed-out. Kelly Deeks Mid Canterbury-based agricultural business Coldstream Contracting is strengthening its service offering this season with a new partnership between owner-operator Travis Thompson and up-and-coming contractor Will Wilson. Operating from Hinds and working across the wider Mayfield and Mid Canterbury region, Coldstream Contracting has built a strong reputation over the past seven years for its reliable baling and cultivation services. Alongside that, Travis also manages the winter grazing of 3000 dairy cows on the family farm. Travis’s family farm has been in the Thompson family since 1954. Like many farms in the region, it transitioned from border dyke flood irrigation to centre pivots in the early 2000s, greatly improving water efficiency. “We get our water from the Rangitata River, and now with the pivots, we’re only using about a third of the water we used to,” Travis says. After completing farm development projects including building a large storage pond, Travis launched Coldstream Contracting in 2018. “We’d finished the big projects on farm and I had some gear already for our own use, like a baler for barley straw and winter feed,” he says. Starting with a round baler, Travis soon realised Mid Canterbury dairy farmers wanted square bales. “If I was going to have a decent crack and get all my mates to use me, I needed to go square,” he says. That decision proved right, and Coldstream Contracting has grown from producing 5000 bales a year to more than 27,000. The latest evolution for Coldstream Contracting comes with the formation of Wilson Agriculture, with 21-year-old Will Wilson stepping up from employee to business partner. “Will was working for me when the opportunity arose within the business that there was room for expansion,” Travis says. “This allowed Will the opportunity to go and buy a drill and a planter and become an owner operator. He’s got a great awareness across the agriculture industry. He can have a yarn with clients, deliver the work, and he’s not afraid to take a risk.” Will has invested in a brand-new Allen Drill and is already making his mark with 1400 hectares of conventional drilling and 300 hectares of fodder beet and maize precision drilled in his first year. Will initially looked at second-hand drills, but soon decided to bite the bullet and build an Allen RURAL SERVICES » Coldstream Contracting Custom Drill. “The quality and reliability he’s getting now is paying off, and his repairs and maintenance bill is zero,” Travis says. For Travis, having Will on board means more flexibility in the business, especially through the busy winter months. “I’m flat out with the cows, but now I’ve got Will running the drilling and planting side of the business, and I can throw him jobs knowing he’ll get them done to our standard.” Another young local, Lachie O’Connell, is also working with Travis and helping with winter feedout. “We like to understand our customers and their farms, and work like it’s our own,” Travis says. “Everyone’s different. Some clients know exactly what they want, and others need a bit of guidance.” With their distinctive red and black Case IH machinery, Coldstream Contracting is a well-known presence between the Rangitata and Ashburton rivers. “We’ve got plenty happening right here, but we’re always eager to take on new projects and keep growing,” Travis says. “Word’s spreading, and we’re keen to keep busy.” Working in conjunction with Coldstream Contracting. PRECISION DRILLING • 375mm or 750mm row spacing • Section control using RTK GPS • Optional fertiliser application • Lastest metering technology CONVENTIONAL DRILLING • Heavy Duty; heavy duty direct drill • 6 or 12 inch row spacing with two broadcasting options • Packer roller for consolidation • Crane for ease of loading • 3 bins and slug bait spinner • RTK autosteer for accuracy CONTACT US FOR ALL YOUR DRILLING REQUIREMENTS Will Wilson 027 881 0742 will@wilsonagriculture.co.nz
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