Daniel Reymer
It’s flat out …
The two Fs – flooding and fuel – have been tough on agricultural contractors this year, writes Jesse Wood.
Long nights, staff stretched thin and maize ready all at once. Daniel Reymer says this season has tested even the most experienced contractors as they pushed to get harvest done.
It wasn’t the rain itself that caused the biggest headache this season, but what came afterwards.
Weeks of delayed planting and growth stacked the season against contractors, with maize crops maturing at the same time and compressing the harvest window into a flat‑out race against the clock.
For two long‑established agricultural contracting businesses, the compressed timing quickly translated into pressure, long hours and rapid adjustment – conditions familiar to Reymer Ag operations manager Daniel Reymer.
While Pirongia and Ōtorohanga were the main affected areas in the February flooding, it had an impact right across the board in King Country and Waipā.
The flooding delayed the start of harvest by two weeks.
Most years Reymer Ag start harvesting mid-February and are finished by Easter. When you are harvesting 750-hectares of maize, the sooner the season can start, the better.
Matthew Clark at the chopper controls. Photo: Jesse Wood
“This year on March 15, no one really wanted to harvest. It got to March 18 and everyone was ready to go. It’s probably the flow on effect from the wet spring,” Reymer says.
“We didn’t plant until mid to late October or even early November due to rainfall. Everything went in, in such a short period.
“Then all the maize started to be ready in such a confined period. So getting it off turned into a flat-out ordeal.”
The early maize crops were ready two weeks late and the crops planted later in the season “were bang on time”.
“It really condensed the harvesting season. We were running night shifts for two weeks straight basically, running the harvester 24/7 to try and keep on top of things.”
Reymer Ag covers about a 50km radius – as far north as Te Kōwhai, down to Ōtorohanga, across to Cambridge and out to Kāwhia.
“We’re pretty well set up to cover most weather conditions. We’ve got enough tractors set up on duals,” says Daniel.
“For the hill country, you’ve got the weight of the machines to worry about. You have to load the trailers right to climb hills. We have to use chains every now and again, but you try to avoid that.
“After that February 14 rain, it was pretty dry for about a whole month so we were lucky to get the harvest started.
“But all the crops were so used to a wet summer, I don’t think they put their roots down far to find the water.
“As soon as it stopped raining, the growth came to a halt pretty quick.”
Filling up: John Clark, on the tractor, and son Matthew Clark harvests maize while the rain holds off. Photo: Jesse Wood.
The Reymers are a large family and several are capable of driving tractors.
They’ve had to call in several cousins to help get through the long nights.
“Most seasons we have a few excess staff during maize. We’ve averaged about 14 staff this season,” says Daniel.
“We’re slightly understaffed by one or two. We’ve had a few ring-ins, but that’s been a good thing. We had a few farmers help us out, driving on their own farms.”
Reymer Ag also lost some work due to flooding. The maize crops didn’t survive, including 11 hectares of their own.
“There’s another flow on effect too. We’ve had to find the same amount of area of maize to fill our contracts.”
Julie Clark
Further south on Kio Kio Station Rd, John Clark Contracting’s yards and workshop were hit by the flooding of Mangaorongo Stream.
John Clark Contracting is also family owned and operated.
John, Julie, their son Matt and his partner Amy King work in the day-to-day operations.
Thanks to insurance, Giltrap AgriZone and Waikato Tractors and the hard work of their staff, they’re back to full capability.
“There’s only one item that we haven’t yet located, but I suspect it’s at the bottom of the river.”
“It was intense. It’s more compounded by the fact that we’ve got so many young families around us and beside us that are more seriously affected,” says Julie Clark.
“There are nine houses in the area affected down there. There have been children displaced out of their homes.
“It was pretty devastating, walking through it the first day. It was gut wrenching to see the damage.”
But it’s the silt that has done more damage than the water.
The force of the flooding was still evident weeks later, with some equipment swept away entirely.
“There’s only one item that we haven’t yet located, but I suspect it’s at the bottom of the river,” says Clark.
John Clark, on the tractor
“We’re impacted by what happens at Maihiihi because the stream comes from out there. A lot of slips went into the stream, so it became dirty and silty,” she says.
Quite a few maize crops in the area have been affected with silt contamination, at some properties the water and silt went up over the top of the cob.
Some farmers have chosen to harvest the crop and stack it separately. Others will mulch it into the ground, depending on the severity of the contamination.
On a positive note, it’s been a great growing season compared to the previous year, with good grass growth and maize yields.
Filling up: John Clark, on the tractor, and son Matthew Clark harvests maize while the rain holds off. Photo: Jesse Wood.
“Farmers are positive with the payout and Fonterra’s payout that’s coming through. Diesel prices, that’s not so nice. But like most businesses, we have had to activate the fuel surcharge. It’s not really what you want to do, but it is necessary and hopefully short term.”
There has been a good run of weather since the harvesting season started.
The few days of rain were counteracted with late nights of work beforehand.
As the maize season winds down, the long nights have eased, harvesters are slowing and contractors are taking stock of a demanding few months.
Flooding and fuel costs may have tested operations, but support from staff, farmers and neighbours ensured the work kept moving.
It’s a familiar story across the King Country and Waipā – when pressure mounts, rural communities step in, roll up their sleeves and get on with it.
It is a race against the weather at this time of the year. Photo: Jesse Wood.
Daniel Reymer inspects a maize stack during a busy season. Photo: Jesse Wood
