| 81 nzdairy The Wallace family has farmed in Towai for more than 100 years. Kelly Deeks Northland farmer and contractor Brent Wallace knows what his customers want from his contracting service - reliable gear, attention to detail, and a job done right the first time. Running his own herd alongside his contracting business, he says his farming experience gives him the edge when it comes to understanding his clients’ needs. “I’m a farmer as well as a contractor, so I know what’s needed on the job,” Brent says. “I’m fussy about quality. That’s why I got into contracting in the first place, because I wasn’t happy with the quality of jobs being done on our family farm. So I bought my own gear and started from there.” Brent began contracting for himself in 2006 while working on the family farm and working for other local contractors, initially focusing on seed drilling. By 2009 he had established Brent Wallace Ltd, purchasing the family herd and going 50/50 sharemilking on the family farm and starting to acquire more gear for contracting. Today, the company offers a complete cultivation service, round/square silage and hay, and conventional baling service. It also provides fertiliser and lime spreading, effluent spreading, spraying, road transport carting fertiliser, lime, feed, and gear, earthworks, and hedge-trimming. “I like to be able to tell a client that if they ring me, I’ve got the gear and the skilled staff to do their job,” Brent says. “We do everything apart from maize and pit silage, and I keep the fleet modern and well- presented so we always turn up looking professional.” Last season brought some challenges DAIRY SERVICES » Brent Wallace The company employs five full-time staff plus Brent and an administrator, and five to six casuals in peak season. Brent works in with his parents, alongside the beef farms with the herd providing beef for their runoffs, and gear for development and maintenance. They also provide extra help for driving machinery and with the dairy farm. Brent’s brother-in-law, a former Claas mechanic, maintains the fleet and drives, while his sister also helps in the business, keeping it a true family affair. Brent’s reputation for quality workmanship and modern equipment has helped him grow a strong and loyal client base across the Northland district based out of Towai. Last season brought challenges, with dry conditions in late January and February cutting the hay and silage season short. Brent says the weather always puts pressure on contracting, but it also created good conditions for earthworks. To support local farmers with feed demand, he also buys grass, bales it, and sells it on. Alongside contracting, Brent continues to run his dairy herd, milking once-a-day from November with cows still producing around 400kgMS each. He’s recently invested in Allflex collars and plans to install an automatic drafting gate to make herd management more efficient and looking into a meal system “I’m always keen to try new ideas that help production and save time,” he says. “Anything that frees up labour on the dairy farm means I can spend more time meeting clients and talking through new ideas for their own operations.” The Wallace family has farmed in Towai for more than 100 years, since Brent’s great-great- grandfather William purchased the property in 1920. Proud to support Northland Contractors With 24/7 Parts & Service Support Power Farming Northland | 09 438 9163 Book in now to get your tractors and machinery sorted! Get it done now so you’re ready to hit the ground running. Phone: 021552184 Email: admin@northlandrms.co.nz YOUR PARTNER IN HARVEST Proud to Support Brent Wallace Ltd TRACTORS, FARM MACHINERY & HARVEST GEAR Servicing Northland Wide Proud supporters of Brent Wallace Contracting Retailer specialising in pasture/crop agronomy in Northland. Locally owned and operated 09 438 0884 | office@northseedsupplies.co.nz | www.northseedsupplies.co.nz Brent is the fifth generation on the farm, and with his five-year-old daughter already keen to help, the sixth generation is on its way. Brent says he’s happy with the contracting business’s current size and its focus on providing a reliable and quality service as he ensures the Wallace family’s dairying legacy continues into the future.
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