Nestled under the Remutaka ranges near Featherston lies a 960 hectare dairy and beef operation run by the Wrigley family.
The Wrigleys grow around 50 hectares of kale and turnips each year as well as oats, which they either bale or graze. Over the past five years the family has built up its cropping and intensive re-grassing programme, investing in equipment and tools, including a pivot irrigator.
When it came to spraying, however, the farm still relied on contractors. While the Wrigleys had an excellent relationship with their local sprayer, the weather often didn’t play ball. Securing a window for spraying when conditions were ideal became more and more challenging.
Farm Source’s Technical Sales Representative Jess Morrison worked closely with the Wrigleys to help them find a solution.
"The farm is exposed to extreme weather including significant rainfall and gale force winds. Over the past couple of seasons they identified they weren’t able to spray the crops in time. They were just missing their opportunities, whether that was through weather not being conducive or the contractor not being able to get to the farm at short notice when the conditions allowed. Sometimes there would only be an hour or two before the weather closed in, so they needed to be able to move quickly," Jess says.
"I knew Grant was considering buying his own spray unit so I got in touch with our vendor, BA Pumps and Sprayers. Their rep, Louis, came out to meet Grant and me on farm so he could learn where Grant was at and what he wanted. From there, Louis went away and his team customised a trailed spray unit specifically for the farm.
"Grant had been looking at different suppliers but was sold on BA Pumps and Sprayers’ after-sales support. We were able to get him a great price with our relationship with the vendor. The Wrigleys have now done their first round of spraying with the trailed unit and are able to spontaneously do post-emerging spraying as well."
The Wrigley’s cropping operation can now all be managed internally on farm with Grant and his son, Jason, maximising windows of opportunities.
Jess says the exercise reinforced the benefits of Farm Source’s relationships preferred vendors in securing solutions for Co-op farmers.
"Farm Source has excellent relationships with vendors across all categories including seed, agrichemical, animal equipment, water and fencing, and they provide us with regular support. Their reps are experts in their fields and we’re able to tap into their experience and knowledge and help our farmers," Jess says.
"Farmers are looking to make their farms as efficient and sustainable as possible and they can be confident that Farm Source is continually working on securing them the best solution at the best price with our preferred vendors."
Contact your TSR or drop by your local Farm Source store to find out more about our vendor partnerships.