62 | New to market tech Mainland Spreading is a family business. Kelly Deeks RURAL SERVICES » Mainland Spreading Parkside Quarries — Supplying lime to local farmers for 75 years LIMECONTACT US FOR: • Fine Lime • Dried & Undried agricultural lime • Track Lime • Customised Fertiliser blends • Rut Busta - rock for pivot tracks Getting your hands on Parkside Lime is super easy. To order or enquire call the Parkside team on 03 433 1134 or email sales@oamarustone.co.nz PROUDLY SUPPORTING MAINLAND SPREADING AGRICULTURAL LIME PRODUCTS Proudly supporting Mainland Spreading to work smarter (formerly TracMap) www.tabula.live 0800 482 285 Providing TotalVision to record all work orders, leaving nothing behind. All the tools you need rolled into one, to spread, report and invoice Talk to our team today LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED Ph 03 434 6801 - 24 Hours Advantage Tyres Oamaru - 72 Humber Street Proudly supporting Mainland Spreading • On-Farm Service • Recamic Cold Retreads • Wheel Alignment • Michelin New Tyres • BF Goodrich 4x4 • Full Fleet Service liquid fertiliser system has the ability to treat urine and inter-urine patches independently, spraying fertiliser only on to inter-urine patches. As a result, about 10% on average of liquid fertiliser is saved per paddock on top of the increase in grass growth and reduction of nitrate leaching. “We started looking into this technology about two years ago and Pastoral Robotics’ development work has been fantastic,” John says. “We’ve had our machine for a season but it was just after the payout had dropped twice and our customers took a fair hiding so we haven’t really pushed it yet. Now we’re putting it in forward gear. We think it is something that could be really beneficial, particularly on farms that are close to waterways. When farmers are putting together their fertiliser budget, they might like to have a look at this.” Many farmers are already fitting Spikey® into their normal routine and applying nitrogen daily on a ‘follow the cows’ basis. When cows are moved out of a paddock, Spikey® comes in after them applying nitrogen to the recently grazed pasture with simple tow-behind technology. Mainland Spreading is a family business with John and his wife Nivonne, daughter Kylie and her husband James operating two established spreading businesses in Aoraki and Otago. This farming family has personal insight into their clients’ requirements with a history in the dairy industry, and now running a bull finishing block. “Just like us, our customers are farming the land that pays their bills and houses their families,” John says. “We want to look after it. If we can reduce leaching without it eating away at our bottom dollar, that’s got to be good.” Aoraki and Otago groundspread fertiliser company Mainland Spreading has some exciting new technology on board which offers a win-win solution for farmers looking to reduce their environmental impact without taking a hit from their bottom dollar. Pastoral Robotics’ Spikey® Solution is new to the market and Mainland Spreading has the first one in the mid-low South Island. This revolutionary machine is able to detect urine patches with its spiked discs, then treats each patch with the targeted NitroStop™ formula which stimulates the rate of grass growth, increasing the rate of nitrogen uptake by the pasture, and resulting in less leaching from the urine-affected soil and more pasture to feed cows. With the global shortage of fertiliser, skyrocketing prices, and the recently introduced nitrogen caps, Spikey® is a solution that can achieve higher nitrogen use efficiency than conventional spreaders, and more value to the farmer. John Schultz of Mainland Spreading, who has always sought to adopt new spreading technologies, says helping farmers to make a buck off of meeting their environmental goals ticks all the boxes for him. “Spikey® turns a problem into an asset,” he says. “Utilising a higher percentage of the nutrients from a urine patch puts farmers in a much better position both environmentally and financially. We’re using the resources that are already there rather than having them leached.” Urine patches make up about 10% of a paddock so Spikey®’s targeted
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