Rodney Robinson travels the South Island cleaning out manure from woolsheds. Photo / Alice Scott
Rodney Robinson travels the South Island cleaning out manure from woolsheds. Photo / Alice Scott
"It's a dirty job but someone's got to do it" — words that couldn't be more true than for woolshed cleaner Rodney Robinson.
When Southern Rural Life found him, he was in the dark, down on his hands and knees, a headlamp on his forehead and a large suction hosein hand. It was hard, laborious work.
The smell of ammonia strong and the dust extreme. Some would say it was a sshh ... erm ... shocker of a job.
Robinson is contracted to travel the South Island and remove sheep manure from under woolsheds. He works alone and travels with a caravan.
Once he is set up, a flyer goes out on the local rural delivery and when "people get wind" that he is in the area he stays until all the sheds on his books are done.
The manure is processed in what Robinson refers to as "Bertha", a high-powered vacuum machine which also processes the manure into a small particle size before expelling it into a pile.
The processed manure is a valuable fertiliser for the farmer to use on paddocks or gardens. Photo / Alice Scott
"Yeah, it's a bit of a process, but it is what it is and there are no short cuts to it" he said.
Some sheds Robinson said could have more than 50 years worth of manure lying under them. The dirtiest job he had done was was his first shed.
"It was snowing outside and underneath was just green slop. It was a very mucky, messy job. But it can't get any worse than that" he laughed.
Robinson said the product left outside is a high quality fertiliser which is left for the farmer.
