It's no accident that Neville Marsh is a successful rural contractor – he and his team take pride in their work and the service they offer – but indirectly it was accidents which led to the growth of Neville Marsh Contracting.

The brand new Kuhn SD 4000 no-till seed drill for pasture renovation is the latest addition to the Neville Marsh equipment fleet.

'We were dairy farming on the main highway – on Neville's family farm, and had so many vehicles crash through the fences we decided enough was enough,” says Jill Marsh.

As well as farming, Neville was already contracting. So when the opportunity arose in 1997 to buy a farm in Old Coach Rd near Pongakawa – right next door to the original run-off –Neville and Jill decided to take it.

They established their growing contracting business around existing farm buildings and during the years since have increased the fleet of vehicles, machinery, and staff.

No longer dairy farmers, Jill and Neville run a few cattle, and grow kiwifruit and avocados.

Today they are joined in the business by son Daniel and daughter Tammy – along with frequent visits to the yard by grandchildren – and have a staff of up to 14 during peak times.

Daniel Marsh, sister Tammy Hohaia and their parents Jill and Neville Marsh, with the company's Pongakawa depot behind.

Service
Because Neville is a farmer, he understands farmers need a dependable, quality service from contractors – and in the 25 years he's been in business, he's invested in staff and equipment to provide a consistently efficient, reliable service to clients.

'We use the Fastrac tractors because they can travel at up to 80km/h on the open road, which means less down time between jobs.”

This maize season the company has bought new Claas Jaguar 950 Harvester with the advanced technology, including providing a print out of each job done whether on-farm or for clients buying in maize.

Information gathered includes the crop's area, total wet tonnes, average moisture and the average dry matter.

'Our harvester drivers know when they are close to finishing one client; and they can give the truck drivers directions to the new job when it starts,” says Neville.

Neville Marsh Contracting Ltd also has the new era in forage processing technology called Shredlage.

Shredlage
Daniel, who co-ordinates the contracting side of the business, says this machine crushes the kernel producing shredlage, which is longer cut corn measuring 26mm-30mm.

'The stalk is ripped lengthwise into planks and strings, allowing for improved effective fibre, better packing and a greater exposure to the inner cells of the plant for increased microbial activity.”

As a result of the increased digestibility, farmers now have the option of taking out or lowering straw, hay or haylage, allowing a much higher percentage of the diet as shredlage, and still have healthy cows.

NMC carries out all cultivation work such as aerating, discing, power harrowing, planting, under sowing, rolling and seeding and has a Centaur machine which pan busts and cultivate in one pass.

This season the company has invested in a brand new Kuhn SD 4000 no-till seed drill for pasture renovation.

The seeding discs are mounted on an independent parallelogram frame, and the implement has depth control wheels, a central pivot design, Venta System pneumatic precision metering and a large hopper capacity.

NMC's experienced staff offer services such as mowing, scattering and rowing; using two eight metre and one 14 metre swathers for overall efficiency.

The silage options include loader wagon silage, fine chop harvester silage, stacking, round or square bale silage, and also hay and maize silage.

Truck and trailers for hire include a JCB teleloader, three tip trucks and two tip trailers.

Manure
In addition NMC can supply and spread chicken manure and can spread on-farm waste with an Orbital spreader, which can distribute old calf bedding, slurry, or dried manure –and with a 20 metre throw, it is exceptionally efficient at covering sidelings. Neville has tested this machine on his own property with impressive results.

Despite the brand new hi-tech tractors and machinery, there is still room in the contracting yard for a 1970 Nuffield Tractor – one of the first to arrive in the district and a 62-year-old International baler Neville drives to make conventional bales of hay for clients who prefer something smaller than the large square bales.

'Dad quite enjoys getting out in the paddock on the old tractor, without the comfort of a modern cab,” says Tammy, who manages the administration side of the business.

The high-tech machines, tractors, trucks, and loader wagons which complement them, are a far cry from the very basic tractors and implements Neville began contracting with.

'I could fix just about anything on my first tractors and machinery – now everything
is computerised and needs specialist technicians,” says Neville.

Neville Marsh uses Fastrac tractors because they save travelling time between jobs.