| 91 nzdairy RURAL SERVICES » Simmons Ag Ltd A very solid base of returning clients Kelly Deeks From the moment Scott Simmons could reach the pedals (maybe even a bit before!) he’s been driving tractors. Growing up on his parents’ sharemilking farms across the Manawatu and Tararua districts, Scott’s love for machinery was always front and centre. That passion eventually led him across the world and back again, and now into the driver’s seat of his own contracting business, Simmons Ag, based in Dannevirke. Scott bought the business in September 2021 after working a season with former owners Victor and Andrea Macbeth. He’d been introduced through a local contractor, while splitting his time between seasonal work in Australia and part-time jobs at home. “I’d always wanted to do something for myself,” he says. “When the opportunity came up, I jumped in.” Simmons Ag offers full cultivation, direct drilling, mowing, baling, and baleage services to dairy, sheep and beef farmers, and lifestyle block owners from Dannevirke to Woodville, and out to Akitio and Pongaroa. Some of the smaller gear he inherited from the Macbeths allows Scott to get into places many bigger contractors can’t. “This business is just the right size to make sure I can do most the ag work myself and keep the service personal, but with room to grow,” he says. That personalised service is a big part of the appeal for customers. With just one casual worker and occasional help from his parents, Scott runs the jobs himself, working around milking times, cow movements, and farm schedules. “We try to be as flexible as we can so we’re not in the farmer’s way,” he says. Scott’s love for machinery was always front and centre. Before returning home to New Zealand, Scott had spent two eight-month stints on a 15,000-acre cropping farm in South Dakota, working from drilling to harvest. He then spent 14 years in Western Australia on a mixed cropping and sheep farm, focusing on the cropping side. Those years gave him experience with big gear, GPS auto-steer systems, and high-efficiency operations – practices he’s now working towards incorporating at Simmons Ag. Investment in gear is gradual but ongoing. In 2023 Scott purchased a tube wrapper from the Macbeths to complete the sale of their business and in March, he added a Massey Ferguson 7722s to his fleet, joining his Massey Ferguson 7615 and Case IH MXU 135 loader tractor. “I’d always been a John Deere guy, but the Massey was the right fit for the job and budget,” he says. “The Fergys are comfortable, easy to operate and pretty fuel efficient.” His wish list includes tractors with 50km/h gearboxes to cut down travel time, and eventually GPS systems for improved accuracy and reduced input costs. Baleage is the backbone of the business with the bulk of it from November to January, and groundwork and drilling increasing each year. Scott’s main baler is a Massey Ferguson/Goweil combination baler-wrapper, chosen to reduce the number of tractors and operators needed. He also runs a Lely 160V round baler for hay, and still uses the Claas Quadrant 2100 big square baler he inherited . “I don’t do a lot of square bales but it’s a service that I can offer.” Scott says the 2024-25 season brought challenges, with a hot, dry December followed by 06 928 6622 | 027 301 0085 9 High Street, Dannevirke P O Box 206, Dannevirke 4942 Feilding | Palmerston North | Dannevirke www.allanmcneill.co.nz Proud to support Simmons Ag Ltd 06 323 0309 | tractors@trctractors.co.nz Charles 027 224 7678 | Logan 027 224 7679 | Lewis 027 224 0403 • Tractor & Machinery Sales • Side by Sides 0800 274 524 biostart.co.nz Improved forage quality and storage. » Reduced spoilage » More palatable hay » Sweeter silage » Easy to use 3URXG VXSSOLHUV WR 6LPPRQV $J Kevin Hall Phone 06 374 9161 After Hours 027 531 3061 independenttyres2002@hotmail.co.nz 5 Miller Street Dannevirke Cars ●Trucks ●Tractors ● ATV three weeks of rain that turned the season around. “Farmers were saying they had no grass and not to bother coming out but after the rain, we were straight back into it,” he says. With a solid base of returning clients and a growing reputation, Scott is optimistic about the coming seasons. “When the payout is good, farmers might put in an extra paddock or invest in more feed. That’s where we can help.”
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