Bill Webb Contracting has been up for tender during the last few weeks and some of the fleet has been purchased by Bradstreet Contracting, based in Bombay.

Contractors Ross and Tracy Austin with daughters Brooke and Paige and Lynn and Peter Bradstreet take over the contracting business from Bill and Vicki Webb.

Peter and Lynn Bradstreet have been in the contracting business for nearly 30 years and with the added experience of Ross and Tracy Austin, who joined the company two years ago, the group has a wealth of experience and knowledge of the agricultural contracting business.

They are in the process of moving to the Bay of Plenty to take over the contracting business in Paengaroa, Te Puke.

Peter says they originally ventured south just to look at a ute amongst Bill Webb's fleet, which was up for tender.

'It was a wet day so we came for a look at the ute – we've ended up with a lot more than a ute, but at least we got that too.”

He says they've been looking at moving for a while as Auckland city gradually creeps into the Bombay region – replacing farmland with 10 acre blocks.

'We saw an opportunity here so we ripped into it – we're really excited about moving down and getting into things.”

From August they pick up the contracting side of the former Bill Webb Contracting business; including baling, silage and the ground work; roller seeding, crops and under-sowing new pastures. He has also purchased Bill's hedge cutter and root saw.

They will work together with Bill, who will continue to plant and cut maize on his lease farms – while Bradstreet Contracting will do the reseeding and ground work for Bill and the contracting for farmers.

Peter and Ross will spend the next few weeks visiting clients with Bill and getting the feel for the lay of the land – although Peter says they are very experienced working with a variety of soil and have done a lot of work with peat.

Ross says they are looking for drivers to join their team.
'The criteria is they need a Class 2 licence – minimum.”
While Peter is a traditional New Holland man – Ross is excited about working with Bill's fleet of John Deere tractors, which he has done a lot of work on in the past.

Peter says everyone in the Bay of Plenty has welcomed them warmly.

'Everybody is so much more friendly down here – everyone has been really good.

'We'll do our best to keep up the good work that Bill has been doing for the last 35 years.

'Except for a name change – the service will stay the same.”

Bill says after selling the contracting side of the business it now gives them the opportunity to concentrate on supplying quality feed to famers.

'Bill Webb Feed Solutions – was a name which best suited what we were doing.

'We're there to provide solutions to farmers who are short in feed; hay, silage, ryegrass, clover, lucerne, straw, maize silage.”

Bill says they will be concentrating on planting the maize and growing and selling it for all their usual clients.

'We're supplying feed all over top half of the north island, from Taupo north – we cover a big area.

'We're concentrating on what we enjoy doing – which is growing the maize and grass silage, and supplying quality supplementary feeds.”