Got a phone call last night from an agri contractor in NZ offering me a job near hamilton on the north island mostley driving trucks but also bit tractor and mechanic work, Has any one ever done harvests before and have any advice from what ive been told trucks are 6 wheeler’s with trailers and how much diffrent is it from the way we do things in the UK
Any advice on aumwere to stay in auckland for my first couple nights?
Hi mate,hop on board its a great place.Its not that much diff but the trucks are a little different combinations but its easy to adapt.Have fun.Dan.
Hi pal i’m sure it can’t be that much different to here in uk probably better,hope u go for it pal good luck.
if its just for yourself what about staying in a backpackers.
just google for auckland and there are plenty and some pretty good.
Is the harvest not about to finish shortly in NZ?
I thought it really ran from approx Sept to March which would be their Summer. 
John Austin isn’t the NZ Agri contractor is he?
yes it is john austin actually why you ask?. started work there yesterday but was around the yard and in the garage doing odd jobs as im still waiting for my ird no to come through hopefully will be out driving next week
Rained off for the weekend now which is a bit af o bummer after only 1 day
Maize harvest has barley started yet due to one thing and the other gonna be at it untill end april at least
Ste164580:
yes it is john austin actually why you ask?. started work there yesterday but was around the yard and in the garage doing odd jobs as im still waiting for my ird no to come through hopefully will be out driving next weekRained off for the weekend now which is a bit af o bummer after only 1 day
Congratulations on your position. Take it your staying in the vicinity of Te Awamutu then. Question seeing i had an offer from John’s wife a few weeks back when i delivered there. What hours are you looking at, cos i am under the impression you’ll be doing around 15-18.
Kiwitrucker
Ste164580:
yes it is john austin actually why you ask?. started work there yesterday but was around the yard and in the garage doing odd jobs as im still waiting for my ird no to come through hopefully will be out driving next weekRained off for the weekend now which is a bit af o bummer after only 1 day
John Austin has quite an impressive website. 
I have a mate who’s uncle also runs a silage harvesting outfit here in Northern Ireland,
he was with me on the USA wheat harvest back in 2002 and went straight from there to a silage agri contractor in NZ in late Nov.
He was 20 years old at the time and he said the hours he was expected to drive during silage harvesting work in NZ nearly killed him and he went on to work for a large diairy farm instead.
Trust me the hours arnt for the faint hearted in harvest season got the usually a minimum of 15hr normally a couple more got the day off today as i just finished a 24hr shift with the only breaks being when something broke down about 11/2 hr in total no tacho’s here just a log book to lie in luckily enough in a month or so it should ease off a bit
yes im stayin in Te Awamutu itself
Heres a couple pics so far
You cant really see it but the truck it connecter to the tractor with wire ropes and straps to stop it from tipping over it took 3 tractors and the chopper to get this out
Ste164580:
Trust me the hours arnt for the faint hearted in harvest season got the usually a minimum of 15hr normally a couple more got the day off today as i just finished a 24hr shift with the only breaks being when something broke down about 11/2 hr in total no tacho’s here just a log book to lie in luckily enough in a month or so it should ease off a bityes im stayin in Te Awamutu itself
Heres a couple pics so far
Welcome then neighbour as i am just off Fairview Road in Fairview Estate, been here 3 years. Tell me, did you go football training a few weeks back as there was a guy there who was going to work for Austin’s?
Kim
How do they find the JD forage harvesters 
Is that an “easy collect” header
ALOT of the big N.American silage contractors don’t rate them at all and go for Claas/Krone mostly 
I hope your speedo is bust there Steve, as its showing 120kph. Thats 30kph over the limit 
Kim
Another 
:
When your using the wagon and drag for silage work how do you tip the main truck with the trailer hooked up
Do you have the total hassle of unhooking it all the time or do you screw it around roughly 90 degrees to the truck and tip it that way
Must be a pain in the arse either way 
BTW:
I take it the pictures of the upright H irons in the yard are for mounting/demounting the bodies from the trucks
nope wasnt me in football training far to much exersize for my liking there are a lot of other brit’s/ irish there though cud have been one of them i suppose
The JD are behaving quite well at the moment the one in the pictures is a prototype with a prototype 12 disc chopper on and goes through the maize at a serious speed 2.10 to load 10ton into the trucks just dont ask about the fuel costs doing that think it works out about a litre every 45 seconds
As for the wagon and draggs there used to haul grain and barley up from the south not sure were as ive not done it but it’s a 500km round trip