Langsford N&G Contracting Ltd - Leamington

Langsford N&G Contracting is owned by Nick Russo and Georgie Barnett and is built on years of quality contracting experience, focused on delivering the best possible solutions for contracting projects.

The Company has diversified as a result of partnerships developed with clients.

Langsford N&G has a professional and highly trained workforce, providing a wide range of contracting skills and services.  Dedication to clients is extremely important and a strong work ethic has brought respect and a good reputation throughout the industry.

The Contracting Business is based on expertise, quality and trust, with an aim to build long term relationships striving to become our client’s Contracting Partner.

Langsford N&G Contractors covers the Greater Waikato Area and has trucks often working in the Bay of Plenty.

Groundwork starts early in August and then by September and October the crew is onto silage work.

Direct drilling is under way by October and starts again in autumn.

Around March the crew are sub-contracting for the maize harvest with four truck and trailer units with bins running alongside harvesters. This continues 24 hours a day with drivers on rotation until mid-April.

Each year we make an estimated 35,000 bales and up to 3000 silage bales from lease blocks and standing grass we buy.  We grow lucerne on the lease blocks for both silage and hay, getting three cuts a year.

In winter many of the drivers swap to construction sites with tractors and tip trailers. Others drive muck spreaders cleaning out farm ponds and diggers carry out maintenance work on tanker tracks and raceways.  

Another interesting winter job is six weeks work at McGraths Nursery in Cambridge lifting 100,000 fruit trees for export.

The contracting was built up on the back of Krone balers and a post rammer.

Another part of the story began 35 years ago when Wayne and Dud Langsford started Langsford Brothers Ltd. They sold it in 2008 to Frank and Amy Williams who called it Langsford Contracting.

The business was purchased in April 2013, and was amalgamated with the  existing business (N&G Contracting) and called Langsford N&G Contracting Ltd. The move doubled the size of their business.

SERVICES –

AGRICULTURAL SERVICES

Cultivation, planting, hay & balage.  This involves working with a variety of people – Dairy Farmers (goats & cows) sheep and beef, Local Councils, Lifestyle Blocks and also Construction Companies.

CARTAGE SERVICES

Thirteen trucks, ten of these have trailers.  These do bulk fertiliser, lime, supply and deliver metal and sand, also hay and balage.  

There is also a fleet of tractor and trailer units which work on sites, offering the client options or when trucks can’t work on those sites.

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FENCING

There is an experienced Fencing Gang working all year round.  All types of fencing work is done, e.g. stockyards, farm fencing, residential and industrial.

HEDGE CUTTING

Nick Russo and Georgie Barnett along with Gary Ayling and Mathew Van Groenedaal have recently purchased a new business KAIMAI HEDGECUTTING 2020 which will work along-side Langsford N&G Contracting offering a complete package for on farm services.  Kaimai Hedgecutting 2020 has a late model tractor with a mulching head, which is ideal for tackling barberry and farm hedges, and also a small hedge cutter for residential, lifestyle, council, thoroughbred properties and horse racing clubs.

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EQUIPMENT

Claas Disco mowers are used for their quality and reliability. New last season is a Claas triple mower.   Already part of the fleet was a double mower and five Claas Disco 2700 single mowers.

They have three Krone tedders. Whether or not they are used depends on the conditions – it may be dry enough that the grass does not have to be turned – or else the farmer says they do not want it used.

Three McHale Fusion 3 baler-wrappers have simplified logistics because they require three fewer tractors and drivers.

McHale Fusion makes such nice bales, with tight well-defined shoulders. Another advantage is that clients the choice of net or wrap-on-wrap.

Langsford N&G also runs four Krone variable chamber round balers that produce bales from 1.2m to 1.5m. They are used for both hay and balage. Two wrappers – a Goweil and a McHale – are used to wrap the bales.

Krone balers are preference used by the Company. Among the jobs the Krone balers do is finely-chopped silage bales for dairy goats.

It is the farmer’s choice if they want us to use the McHale combi unit or the Krone balers. The Krone bales have hard centres and the combi bales have a soft centre. Some farmers have preferences. The combi is also cheaper for farmers.

A Case IH conventional baler produces bales for horses and lifestyle blocks. Many contractors are put off conventionals because of the amount of labour required to pick them up.

Langsford sidesteps the issue with an Arcusin stacker. It picks up the bales and bundles them in groups of 10, 12 or 14 bales. Then with bales grabs they are moved onto a truck for transport or into a shed.

Primary cultivation is either with a five-furrow, reversible Kverneland plough, which Nick says is top of the range, or a 3m set of Jean de Bru discs.

Secondary cultivation is with a 5m Alpego power harrow from Origin Group. Nick says it is top of the range and an Italian machine, and his heritage is Italian.

The Alpego has a Kverneland airseeder so it can be used to cut out a pass when sowing turnips, chicory and grass.

Renewing pasture in spring and autumn is often done with a 3m Duncan roller seed roller or a 4m and a 3m John Deere under-sower.

Another useful tool is a set of deep rippers that work down to 700mm. They were made by staff in the workshop.

They run 14 John Deere tractors. They range in size from 80 hp up to 230 hp.

The latest is a JD purchased is a 6230R. It is a state-of the art tractor with GPS.