Farm earthworks in the South Waikato and Waipā
Races, tracks, culverts, crossings, feed pads and effluent work. We are based at Whakamaru, so we understand what a wet winter does to a race and why it has to be right.
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What farm earthworks does Trident Earthmoving do?
Based at Whakamaru in the middle of South Waikato dairy country, we build and repair races and tracks, put in culverts, crossings and farm bridges, form feed pads and silage pits, and do effluent pond and farm drainage work. Jobs are planned around milking, the tanker and calving, and built to shed water so they last through a wet winter.
What we do on farm
We are based at Whakamaru, in the middle of the country we work in. That matters more than it sounds, because farm earthworks is mostly about water and timing, and both are local knowledge. A race that holds water lames cows. A crossing in the wrong place washes out. A track cut without thinking about the fall becomes a creek. The dig itself is the easy part.
Water first, metal second
Most farm earthworks that fails, fails because of water. Races that hold it, tracks cut without fall, crossings in the wrong spot. We shape and drain first, which is why the job is still there in five years.
Your own metal, where it stacks up
Where there is a workable pit on the property we can win and cart your own metal. Where there isn't, we supply it and cart it in on our own truck and trailer, so you get one contractor and one price for the lot.
Farm work that stands up to a wet winter
We build and repair races and farm tracks, put in culverts, crossings and farm bridges, form feed pads and silage pits, and take on effluent pond work. We also do farm drainage, fence line clearing and general tidy up work between the bigger jobs.
Where there is a metal pit on the property we can win and cart your own metal, which usually works out a lot cheaper than bringing it in. Where there isn't, we supply the metal and cart it ourselves with our own tip truck and trailer, so you're not waiting on a cartage contractor.
How a farm job runs
- Walk the farm. We look at the job and, more importantly, at where the water goes.
- Quote it. A clear price, and honest about what will and will not last.
- Work in around you. Milking, calving and the tanker come first, so we plan around them.
- Do the job. Formed, drained and metalled so it stands up to a wet winter.
- Leave gates as we found them. Basic, but it matters.
What does farm earthworks cost?
Farm work gets priced by the hour or by the job depending on what it is, but the same things decide how long it takes either way:
- How wet the ground is. The same race costs differently in February than it does in July. Timing a job right is the cheapest saving available on a farm.
- Metal and cartage. Usually the biggest line on a farm job. If there is a pit on the property we can win metal from, that changes things a lot.
- Drainage. A race that carries water away lasts. One that does not gets rebuilt in two years. The drainage is not the part to trim.
- Distance and access. How far the job is from the road, and whether we can get a truck and trailer to it or have to shuttle.
- Working around the farm. Milking, calving and tanker access set the hours we can work, which affects how long a job takes start to finish.
We walk the job with you and give you a clear price, and we will tell you honestly if something will not last rather than quoting the same job twice.
Where we work
Based at Whakamaru, we cover Taupō, the South Waikato, Waipā, Hamilton and out to Rotorua and the King Country. Here is the patch, and what we tend to see on the ground.
Common questions
Still not sure? Give us a call and we will talk it through.
Yes. We plan around milking, the tanker and calving. It is your farm and it has to keep running while we are there.
Nearly always water. If a race holds water rather than shedding it, no amount of metal fixes it for long. We reshape the formation and sort the drainage first, then re-metal. That is why the job is still there in five years.
Yes. Culverts, crossings and timber farm bridges over drains and streams are regular work for us, alongside races, tracks, feed pads, silage pits and effluent pond work.
Usually. Wet ground is normally either a high water table or water coming from somewhere uphill with no way out. Subsoil drainage and a proper outlet fixes most of it. We will walk it with you and work out which it is.
Contact us
Tell us what you are dealing with and we will come and size it up.