For more than two decades he's walked the land of his tiny Cromwell farm. He'll move a tyre here or there. Maybe flatten out some shade cloth or test a water line.
While the peaceful plains of Central Otago lend a stunning backdrop for this most unorthodox of farms, underneath the surface lie millions of Robbie Dick's little livestock.
He's Cromwell's worm farmer.
"When we first started, and people asked us what I did and I said worm farming they'd turn to the side and snigger but now they ask more about it."
Twenty-three years ago, with half a tonne of worms and very little knowledge about how to run a commercial-scale farm, he began Central Wormworx.
Now he estimates around 20 tonnes of tiger worms are relentlessly demolishing organic waste on his little plot.
"There are two thousand varieties of worms and there are only seven types suitable for composting. These are the types that can suit New Zealand conditions. They can take the heat and the cold."
Between the blistering cold winters, hot summers and all the wind in between, it's a surprise that they've done as well as they have in Cromwell.
Dick proudly stood with a handful of his babies and told me just what they were capable of.
"They eat the equivalent of their weight every day," he said.
'It's only waste if it goes to landfill'
Stacked in piles around his property their tucker is ready — organic waste from farms, supermarkets and the many orchards that call Cromwell home.
He's never had any trouble finding food for them. Businesses that would have been taking their organic waste to landfill now call Dick first.
"It's only waste if it goes to landfill. Instead, this is going to people's gardens to grow more."
In just a few weeks it's transformed into vermicast, a pH-neutral soil conditioner that's considered gold by gardeners in the area.
Dick bags it with his trademark contraptions. The local scrap yard is always a source of supplies for the man who can build what he needs.
As people come from around the region to fill their gardens, he's proud to say that demand always outstrips supply.
So he sends his little creatures out around New Zealand to work their magic on a local level.
From the big chain stores to local gardens, and even the odd sceptic system in between, his worms are couriered around to devour organic waste.
"We ship 100 kilograms of worms a week."
His operation is one he would like to see in more places around New Zealand — regional worm farms ready to take anything organic and turn it into a valuable product.
But it's the little joys that give him a real buzz. Often his customers come back every year with tales of vegetables that've outgrown anything they've planted before.
"What gives me a buzz is when people come back and say 'Hey come have a look at my garden. The veggies are jumping out of the ground'.
"For people to come back and say their garden is flourishing. That's all I want out of it."
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