Lead Sprayer Operator / Farm Assistant

Location:

Mid Canterbury – Lauriston (between Methven and Ashburton)

About Us:

Simply Spraying Ltd is a boom spray contracting business that offers a quality service to a great group of local clients throughout the Mid Canterbury Region. We operate two modern, high clearance self-propelled sprayers, each with full auto-steering and auto-nozzle control. These versatile machines offer various boom widths, wheel track spacings and nozzle options. As a business we focus on adopting new technology, infrastructure and ideas which make the operation more efficient, sustainable, enjoyable, and environmentally responsible.

Alongside the spray business we also operate a 320ha fully irrigated crop farm which has a diverse rotation of different grasses, cereals, radishes, chicory, spinach and legumes, as well as wintering approximately 6,000 store lambs.

About the role:

The current person in this role has done a fantastic job and is moving on for personal reasons, which will leave some big boots to fill. On the back of this change we are now searching for a full time, permanent Lead Sprayer Operator / Farm Assistant to join our three-person, multitasking team. While you will work in both our boom spraying business and on our crop farm, this role is more focused on the spraying operations. Your usual hours of work will be 45 per week with seasonal peak requirements up to 65 per week.

You’ll perform a variety of tasks including but not limited to: 

• Full-time boom sprayer operation during the busy season, both on the home farm and third party farms
• Machinery operation;
  • spreading, cultivation, rolling, mowing, harvesting
• Livestock management and associated tasks;
  • drenching, vaccinating, tagging, dipping, weighing, shearing support, electric fence management
• Irrigation management (pivot and linear)
• Scheduled plant, machinery and property maintenance
• Workflow management & Record keeping;
  • Tabula, monday.com, Trimble, iCloud

Skills and experience required:

• Willingness and ability to execute spraying operations to a high standard, as well as handling a wide variety of farm related tasks
• The ability to build positive relationships with all business stakeholders
• Full drivers licence (essential) and Heavy Traffic licence (desirable)
• Machinery operation experience – minimum 2 years
• Ability to perform basic machinery maintenance
• The strength & physical fitness to perform manual tasks for several hours each day
• Clean criminal record and the ability to pass a pre-employment drug test.

What we will offer you:

• A strong hourly rate based on your skills and experience ($80-130k/annum)
• Work vehicle with limited private use
• Cell phone, wet weather gear
• Ongoing training and career development with the ability to step up into a leadership role
• Several primary and secondary schools nearby
• A great family-orientated team environment

How to apply:

 To enquire further about this role, please phone Steve Sim on 027 321 6060 for a confidential discussion. Otherwise, send your CV and Cover Letter either via this portal or to steve@simfarms.co.nz by the 3rd of April 2026 at the latest. It is important to mention that your application or enquiry will be considered as soon as we receive it, and while we would like to thank all applicants for their interest, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

 Note: To be considered for this role, you must have a valid New Zealand Work permit or be a NZ or Australian resident or citizen.