Jim Laird has had an interesting and colourful career. A stockman in his younger days, he operated heavy machinery in Australia before becoming a truck driver in New Zealand, hauling everything from orchids to stock to logs and wool.
A work accident ended his truck-driving days, so he has now really spread his wings, operating his driver training and assessment service business.
He's a 4WD driving instructor (down the track he wants to run 4WD tours and training), is a forklift instructor working throughout New Zealand, runs dangerous good courses and does driver training for the New Zealand Ground Spreaders Association.
He is also in the final stages of training for spreadmark testing. This is very detailed and precise. Jim sets out a minimum 60 trays in a paddock and has a fertiliser truck run down the middle. The contents of every tray are gathered and weighed, so the truck's spreading gear can be fine-tuned for even distribution and drivers know exactly how far apart their runs should be. The process is repeated for different types of fertiliser.
Jim says that in addition, some trucks now carry GPS equipment which will produce a printout. This, plus the groundmark information, gives the farmer precise information on where the fertiliser has been placed.
As if all that wasn't enough, he's also a licensed auctioneer.
A man of many parts
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