When Tammy and Ben Brownless bought their family’s business, Marsh Contracting, last year, one of the first steps they took was to consolidate and update their equipment fleet.
They considered a number of options, and ultimately decided Power Farming’s package of high-performance machinery, financing, extended warranties and guaranteed buybacks was the best way forward.
With Power Farming’s offer on the table, Ben and Tammy got a tick of approval from their bank and accountant. It meant they could go into their first season as owners of the business with two new top-of-the-line Deutz Fahr Warrior tractors and a new McHale Fusion 4 Plus combi baler.
Neville and Jill Marsh started Marsh Contracting nearly 40 years ago. Based in the Bay of Plenty, it provides a full range of crop establishment and grass and maize harvesting services.
Most of Marsh Contracting’s clients are dairy farmers but they also do some work for the growing number of kiwifruit orchards in the region.
Neville is also well-known in the industry for his range of mobile weighbridges and his other invention – MarshN Rings rake arm protectors. He will continue to sell these while the next generation takes over the contracting business.
Jill and Neville’s daughter, Tammy, has worked at Marsh Contracting for 18 years, and she met Ben when he began working for the company seven years ago.
“We bought the business in July, 2024,” Ben says. “We are keen to expand and we have already picked up a few more clients, but our main priority is to look after our existing clients. Some of them have been with the business for 30 years.
“To be more efficient, we wanted to reduce the number of machines we run and upgrade the gear that we use the most. We like to be a bit unique, which is one reason we had a look at Deutz Fahr.
“Our two new Deutz Warriors are an 8280 and a 7250. Both are very good contractor’s tractors with the engines and continuously variable TTV transmissions that we need.
“One of them is fitted with Deutz Fahr’s Agrosky guidance system so that we can run the maize planter more accurately and provide proof of placement to our clients.”
Ben is also stoked with their new McHale Fusion 4 Plus, which can secure the bale with plastic or net. He says it is a “beast of a baler” that just goes and goes in all conditions.
Tammy says, with the decision to buy Deutz-Fahr tractors Marsh Contracting has come full circle because her parents ran Deutz-Fahrs when they started out.
She is very impressed with the effort Power Farming made to put together a tailor-made package for the new business.
“We first met Peter Rust at Power Farming Whakatane. Peter got us in touch with Power Farming’s Deutz Fahr general manager Alistair Horrocks. We met with Alistair several times and went to Power Farming HQ in Morrinsville to look at all of the machinery options available,” Tammy says.
“We have bought a lot of gear since I have been with the business, and this is the first time the brand’s national sales manager has worked directly with us to put together a deal.
“Alistair and his team came up with a package that suits our budget. They also provided forecasting and the guaranteed buyback means we know that after five years and 5000 hours of work, we can retain the value of the tractors.”
Alistair says he and Peter Rust spent a lot of time getting to know Ben and Tammy’s business in order to design a service and finance arrangement that meets their needs.
“We understand that in agriculture, there is no ‘one size fits all’ and that success depends on good relationships. We really enjoyed working alongside Ben and Tammy to come up with a package that benefits their business and ours.”
There are two separate components to the package. An extended warranty fully covers the two Warriors for five years or 5000 hours, and the guaranteed buyback ensures that, when the tractors reach that point, Ben and Tammy have good financial options.
“They can either hold onto the tractors, return them for a price that we have already set, or trade them in on new tractors,” Alistair says.
“The warranty comes with a servicing package that includes regular maintenance by technicians from Power Farming Whakatane to pre-empt any major issues from arising and ensure the tractors are working at peak performance.”
Power Farming trained Marsh Contracting’s staff on the new Deutz Fahr warriors. Also, Peter spent hours in the cab with Ben so he was completely familiar with the Agrosky guidance system and how it integrates with his Kverneland precision maize planter.
The Deutz-Fahr Agrosky system is an OEM manufactured Topcon product built to integrate seamlessly with the Deutz-Fahr range.
Alistair says now that Power Farming is Topcon’s national distributor in New Zealand, they can add a range of precision farming products and services to any machinery package they put together for contractors and farmers.
“Topcon is brand agnostic and we now have a product offering that can be installed on any tractor or implement, irrespective of colour or age.”
The range of machinery and other technology Power Farming has on offer is another big plus for Ben and Tammy.
“We are putting together a fleet replacement programme and we plan work with Power Farming on this. They have a great line-up of leading brands and they really are a one-stop shop. I would definitely encourage other contractors to have a look at what they have to offer,” Ben says.
By Angus Kebbel
For New Zealand Rural Contractor
