84 | RURAL SERVICES » Wendon Creek Contracting Ltd The fulfillment of a long-held dream The business operates mowers, balers, wrappers and tedders, and also offers a full cultivation service including ploughing, heavy discing, multiple discing and direct drilling. Wendon Creek Contracting’s services are powered by three John Deere tractors ranging from 150 to 200 horsepower with the support of two or three casual staff through the season. Russell Fredric Trustedby thousands of Southland farmers, for over 71 years. 03 211 0801 | 160 Spey Street, Invercargill 9810 Johny Shallard 027 943 5599 wendoncreekcontractingltd@gmail.com • wrapping • silage • straw For all your AG contracting needs: • ploughing • cultivation • sowing • mowing • raking • baling Wendon Creek Contracting owner Johny Shallard fulfilled a long-held dream when he started the business four years ago. Having grown up on a dairy farm, he wanted to run his own contracting business ever since he can remember. “I’ve always been fascinated by tractors and helping farmers.” His career connection with machinery started when he trained and qualified as a diesel technician in Gore and during this time he also bought, reconditioned and on-sold equipment, and his trade qualification continues to be extremely handy in such a machinery centric business. Wendon Creek Contracting is based in Wendon, north of Gore, and its comprehensive services primarily cover a broad area of eastern and northern Southland and West Otago. The business operates mowers, balers, wrappers and tedders, and also offers a full cultivation service including ploughing, heavy discing, multiple discing and direct drilling. These services are powered by three John Deere tractors ranging from 150 to 200 horsepower with the support of two or three casual staff through the season and his partner Beatrice Freer “who helps a lot”, also driving tractors. “We can cover all aspects of rural contracting.” Johny has developed a strong interest in developing maize as a silage crop in Southland after he became aware of a dairy farmer in West Otago who planted 30 hectares last season. It has traditionally been considered the cooler climate in the lower South Island is not suitable for growing maize as a forage crop, Johny says. “It went pretty well for him.” Consequently, this past season Johny contacted a representative from Pioneer Brand Products and asked him if it would be possible to grow maize in Southland. “I picked up a lot of knowledge from him and we had a pretty successful harvest for our first year of growing maize in Southland.” “People were trying it down here 10 or 15 years ago, but maize varieties just weren’t up to our conditions. This work with Pioneer will carry on for the foreseeable future as each season comes. They’re always trying to adapt their maize varieties. “They’ve got a big research facility in Gisborne and they’re always looking into different varieties that bring shorter gestation so we can have an easier weather window for planting and harvesting.”Johny and his father Murray planted five hectares of maize early last October and harvested it on April 14. This was chopped and treated with an inoculant to activate bacteria for fermentation before being ensiled and was fed out to cows from May before they went on to winter crop.For maize, this process takes just seven days instead of the three to four weeks that grass takes, John says.“I’m very impressed by it, the cows are just taking to it. The sharemilkers explained that they come running to the gate when they see the silage wagon pull into the paddock.” “Pioneer are looking for the next variety for down here so hopefully next season they will potentially have another trial variety that could be harvested a week or two weeks earlier.”
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