Vawn Wrigley – White Flat Road Dairy Farm

We have farms running sheep, beef and dairy, with the dairy herds we have one with 380 cows and one with 500. Altogether the land comes in at about 5,000 acres, but that includes fattening paddocks etc. We visited outback Queensland recently and noticed the change from windmills and petrol motor pumps for water to solar-powered pumps. You’re talking acres of solar.

The pressure for us is really only in the summer months, so the Solaris Pro is a simple solution – on a hot day, the sun shines, and water flows. Another big draw with a solar pump set-up is we wanted to have something that didn’t create yet another job for staff on the farm. We don’t have to rely on staff to fill the pump with petrol or to keep such a close eye on the water levels. If we run out of water in summer, it can take us forever to catch up. Looking at our allocated water, we really should have enough but somewhere, somehow, we fall short. The Solaris Pro is our insurance policy.

We like working with Nind Dairy Services in Balclutha because they’re local. It’s important for us to support local businesses as if you don’t, one day you’ll have to travel further for that service. The Nind Dairy Services team are friendly, professional and good to deal with. With the Solaris, I’ve been surprised to see it running even on cloudy days. It’s been getting a lot of interest, I’ve been telling people it’s for SkyTV at the maimai, but it’s a serious option that we’re considering on one of our other farms; it doesn’t come with the same level of setup costs, or the ongoing labour, which makes it a viable option to consider.