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MOTUITI FARMS
Coast & Country
Huge project ‘but a good challenge’ The 80-bail rotary platform is the largest one Moa Milking and Pumping has installed in New Zealand.
Wanganui Welldrillers manager Colin Anderson was in charge of drilling the three bores needed on the farm.
One of the irrigation bores is 400m deep Unlike most other dairy shed builds, one company took charge of Motuiti’s entire shed build and all surrounding yardwork. ABC Contractors laid the concrete slab, built the shed and did all of the concrete work for the yard, underpass and effluent bunker as well as the yard steelwork. They also installed the floodwash and effluent system.
The 780m2 shed The Palmerston North company built the 780m2 shed in 20 weeks. The steel frame consists of hot-dip galvanised beams and a combination of concrete tilt slab walls to 1200mm and poly panels. The poly panels
on the walls and roof are 100mm thick for insulation and noise reduction. ABC Contractors operations manager Malcolm Keegan says the state-of-the-art shed is the largest the company has built. ABC Contractors mainly concentrates on concrete work and about half its business is from the farming industry. Three partners, Bruce Simcox, Darren Paurini and Matthew Pitcher, formed the company six years ago but have collaborated on projects for the last 20 years. A large shed allows for large ancillary rooms. The triangular-shaped staffroom has plenty of space for workers and contractors. The similar-sized office doubles as a vet room, with
lockable medicine cupboards, a dispensing window and a fold-down double-width vet platform. Even the bridge is double the width, designed to handle up to 1500 cows with ease and prevent bottlenecks during milking. An underpass into the centre of the rotary was placed outside for easy access to contractors and cheaper construction. Surfatex coated all the interior concrete walls and the inside of the rotary platform with Acraflex Dairy Wall Coating. The hardwearing finish is a combination of epoxy base coat, acrylic and a solvent top layer. Surfatex spokeman Frits van Echten says a final fleck coating covers imperfections, hides
dirt and gives an attractive finish. Acraflex has a 10-year guarantee but has been proven to last many years more than that, says Frits.
Trouble-free WMS Waikato Milking Systems was chosen for the milking plant by the Gudopps because Philip “liked what they had to offer”. He says WMS was trouble-free to deal with and he’s pleased with the result. Philip and Maree chose an 80-bail Orbit rotary platform which is 2.7m wide with a large walkway in front of the cows. It was installed by Waikato Milking Systems’ authorised dealer, Moa Milking and Pumping.