Maxxus 27 Head Yard For Simon Cunningham

This project was a really rewarding one for the Onefarm team for a number of reasons.

- We challenged Simons' thinking around timber vs. steel, and won. Note: Simon is a stock truck driver by trade, so he’s seen the good, the bad and the ugly!
- Simon walked away very satisfied with the result.
- We learned a lot about the concerns of a very experienced operator.

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Simon is in the final stages of developing a block of land he’s owned for some time in Rangiora, Canterbury.
Putting a set of yards in place to manage his cattle was one of the last major jobs before his very tidy lifestyle block was functional for running a handful of cattle and finally moving into.

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We put this set of yards together for Simon - it’s safe to say that his block was very well kept, which made sense as to why Simon really did cross his T’s and dot his I’s when it came to making a decision on the yards.

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We first heard from Simon in October of 2024 when he enquired about prices for our 18-head and 27-head MAXXUS yards. Originally Simon was dead against steel, and if it wasn’t for Ben (a top fencer in the area) recommending he give us a chance, we probably wouldn’t have got the job done. (Thanks Ben! Owe you one!)

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Simon was originally very skeptical about the rattle that is inherent in steel cattle yards generally. He’d heard through friends and others that steel yards are noisy and put cattle off. We reassured Simon that we have a solution to this issue which is our Anti-Rattle Clamp and range of Overhead Bracing that we use throughout all of our yard designs.

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“We were really unsure about steel yards for a couple of reasons - we’d heard they rattled and weren’t as solid as timber yards through other friends that have used steel in the past. Although Jack ensured that they’d mitigated those problems through their special clamping system and extra bracing, we went and had a look at a similar sized set of yards which really impressed us. They were really solid and didn’t rattle when you gave it a crack”.

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When we went to build the yards out at Simons property, we understood very quickly why he was adamant he had to see a set before going ahead. His property was immaculate; from the manicured lawns to the extremely well organised shed, we knew Simon appreciated things a particular way. He’d worked hard to build this dream lifestyle block, so we really did get a kick out of complementing things with a shiny new set of steel yards.

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The finishing touches were the cherry on top for Simon - the tidy black plastic caps on posts, the overly secure bracing used through the yards all atop his well prepared rotten rock pad.

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“Now that they’re standing, our fencer came to build some post and rail fencing to feed cattle into the yards. He’d seen these MAXXUS yards before but even he was blown away with how solid they are with all the bracing and ground spikes supplied upon closer inspection”

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Another reason Simon wanted to have a look at a set of yards in the flesh was to gauge the size of our 27-head yard to make sure it would be a good fit size wise. Simon runs 12 beefies through to finishing.

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We spoke with Simon once he’d run a few cattle through the yards to get his thoughts on sizing.

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“We had about 8 x 350 kg heifers in the main pen last week and that felt about right whilst being in there with them. Any more would’ve felt a little overcrowded. We also had a few in the force pen.  So comfortable we had about 12 girls in the yards. I felt safe and they were happy too”

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At the end of the day, all parties were really pleased with the end result.

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For us, we were challenged to understand Simons concerns inherent with steel yards generally. Especially from someone with the experience Simon has being a truck driver, seeing more yards than most!

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Simon has come away with a great set of yards that complement his beautiful lifestyle block in Rangiora, North Canterbury.

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And lastly, we’ve come away with a very happy customer that’s happy to show off his 27-head MAXXUS yard to anyone that would like to take a look.

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If you’re in the wider Canterbury region and would like to take a look at these yards, please get in touch.

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