Rural News // March 19, 2013
machinery & products 61
Contracting business that grew and grew Clicking with new technology
Peter Molloy – 43 years in the contracting business and still going strong.
MOLLOY CONTRACTING’S latest purchase – from Piako Motors, Rotorua – has now completed its first season – a Pottinger 7210 Combiline loader wagon (72m3).“ After the first season it has done all I want,” said Peter Molloy. He has fitted 800mm wide flotation tyres because a lot of the areas he harvests are on soft ground. Standard features include a swing-out chop-
ping unit that can be lowered hydraulically from the tractor or with a control on the side of the wagon. Individual knives can be removed without the need for any tools and the arms are secured in a protected area. The autocut sharpens the blades directly on the trailer. The sharpening cycle can be programmed which reduces maintenance and guarantees long lasting cutting quality.
A special feature is the auto steering tandem axles which improve access to paddocks from farm lanes/ raceways. Molloy had weigh scales fitted as an optional extra. “With the high deck we can turn and the deck is high enough to clear standard end/gate strainers, but we have to give a little more thought with deer fencing.” Tel Peter Molloy 0274 724 197
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PETER MOLLOY started contracting 43 years ago when he was 18 with a conventional baler doing 45000 bales in his first season. “I was working on the family farm and contacted some neighbours to do their mowing, raking and baling and I was able to pay for the baler in that first season.” His only tractor was a David Brown 990. He was also supplementing his income with fencing, an AB run and bush work. Peter and wife Jenny are based at Reporoa where he has two dairy farms. The home property has been in the family 60 years and is managed by their son ‘PJ’. In spite of the dry spell at February 20 they were 13000kgMS ahead of the same time last season. “They are going well with some silage, PKE and plenty of scenery and the stock are in good order.” He started making silage with a Gallagher forage harvester and a Buckton trailer with a large cage, carrying to stacks and pits. He had one of the first round balers in the early 1980s and the conventional baler was “history.” Then when Gallagher stopped making Silorators they bought their first loader wagon, a Taarup, in the early 1990s. It was with this machine that Molloy coined the phrase ‘hectare hogger’. “Compared with the Gallagher these machines travelling up to 11km just hogged the grass.” He has had several different brands and his latest is ‘hectare hogger’ MK VIII (See sidebar). He worked about 20km from his home base and it is a family business. As it expanded he used Lincoln College students for the busy part of the season. Reporoa at this time was an area of small farms where all farmers made their own supplements and there was no brought in feed. Molloy Contracting expanded into cultivation, developing land for crops and new pasture, and spreading fertiliser and lime. Contracting reflects the changes in sizes of tractors and machinery and as the machinery grew bigger tractors were needed. “Back in the 1990s a big tractor was 120hp.” Farming in the area was also changing with farms amalgamating and farmers leaving the complete job to contractors. He now works up to 40km from his home base with himself, one permanent and two casual staff. “I now need bigger tractors, mowers and rakes and we changed to wrapped bales about 2007.” He has a Krone round baler, McHale bale wrapper, Claas hay rake covering up to 8.8m, Pottinger front and rear mowers covering 6m, ASIP mower 3.8m as well as cultivation gear including power harrows, drills, rotary hoes and fertiliser spreaders. Tractors are two Massey-Fergusons 140 and 160hp and two Fendts 240 and 270hp.
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