Irish Agriculture Minister Highlights NZ Farm Differences
Ireland's Minister of state for Agriculture says it’s hard to explain to Irish farmers the size and scale of NZ farms.
Reid and Harrison, of Matamata, designer and maker of Yardmaster solids handling pumps, will launch in Ireland next month at the Irish Ploughing Event, the country’s premier agricultural show.
The company visited the show last year, helped by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. The visitor numbers (300,000 in three days) and quality conversations it had with hands-on farmers were impressive, says chief executive Keith Cooke.
“A combination of looking to broaden our sales base outside NZ and the esteem of both countries for agriculture led to us deciding Ireland was a good place to do business,” he said.
Reid and Harrison has partnered with PJ Dore, of Limerick, with 30 years experience in pumps and irrigation systems, who will distribute the Reid and Harrison products. PJ Dore staff have been in NZ getting familiar with the Kiwi products.
The Yardmaster’s foolproof design and reliability will be popular with Irish farmers, says PJ Dore, and already interest is building in the NZ made multi stage pumps, submersible stirrers and separators, all to be displayed at ‘The Ploughing’.
While dairy effluent systems are approached differently in Ireland -- the focus there is on mobile spreading -- they also need to handle solids, says Cooke, who sees NZ leading in fixed plant systems.
“NZ technology is already held in high esteem in Ireland, so we will leverage on this to introduce our products and solve effluent management needs, particularly for those looking to expand farm and herd sizes.”
