The Farmers Mart Apr-May 2020 - Issue 68 | Page 43

D & J STEAD 43
• APR/MAY 2020
RUSSELL GROUP
LEADERS IN AGRICULTURE, CONSTRUCTION AND
GROUNDCARE EQUIPMENT
RUSSELL GROUP
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‘We were absolutely flat out bale
wrapping for the next two or three years
as farmers didn’t have their own – and
that increased our baling and wrapping
massively. This was the catalyst for us
growing our muck spreading and land
work including combination drilling.’
Digger work began taking off and Nick
showed a real interest in the larger move
into drainage. The Steads purchased a
jetter in 2012 after customers’ demand for
drains being jet cleaned.
‘A lot of our winter work is now taken
up with drain jetting,’ says Duncan. ‘The
main reason why it has become so busy
is that the majority of drains are already
at 80 per cent capacity and have so
much silt in them. Water starts ponding
on the top when it goes past capacity and
usually that brings panic to farms. We try
to alleviate the fault at the time and then
go back later when it is dried up and sort
it out completely.’
‘We look at the wet holes and how the
water is ponding so that we can tell the
farmer where the fault lies, but usually
they know where it is blocked already.
A lot of farmers still have their drainage
maps from when their drains were first
put in.’
Continues on page 44