Massive New Plymouth store to benefit farmers

Massive New Plymouth store to benefit farmers

Farmers of the Central and Western North Island are to benefit from a $30 million Ravensdown investment in a new fertiliser storage and blending facility in New Plymouth.

The 14,000 square metre facility adjacent to Ravensdown’s existing store will allow better customer service and better environmental performance according to the farmer-owned co-operative.

“The agri-sector in the Taranaki is feeling the pinch and service towns like New Plymouth are seeing the impact. This investment has spin-off benefits for local contractors and shows Ravensdown’s commitment to the community and to its North Island customers,” said Mike Davey, Regional Manager.

“The new facility will store fertiliser in better conditions meaning better quality, will be laid out more efficiently meaning less wait time and will be built for better performance on environmental factors like dust emission and stormwater management,” added Mike.

According to Mike the fertilisers that are imported, made, stored and spread across Taranaki play an indispensable role in replacing the nutrients that are extracted through farming. Despite current conditions in the dairy sector, Mike believed that farmers will continue to need access to quality inputs for their soil and farm system.

The new store will offer state-of-the-art blending facilities for better quality and flexibility as well as a broader product range.

Customers will continue to pick up from the current facility. The new facility is currently scheduled to open in late 2017, and then the site of the old store will be for sale.

The news follows the co-operative’s announcement of an early part-payment of its annual rebate of $21 per tonne in cash with the remainder being paid after the accounts are finalised.

The New Plymouth store is also set to benefit from a precision blending tower which can develop custom-blends based on a farm’s diagnosed nutrient needs. Each fertiliser prescription is different for each farm and the new Precision Blending Tower also offers, better quality, better speed and better safety.

FOUR FERT FACTS

1.There has been a fertiliser store in New Plymouth since 1925.

2. Approximately 2,500 farmer shareholders served in the Taranaki region.

3. Handling in excess of 160,000 tonnes annually, Ravensdown’s New Plymouth store is a key storage and distribution facility within the co-operative’s national stores network.

4. New store will be 14,000 square metres.

Watch a video here: http://www.ravensdown.co.nz/expertise/new-plymouth-store

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