A farmer will be counting their blessings until the cows come home after a dozen bulls were safely extracted from an overturned trailer near Tikokino on Monday.

A police spokesman said they responded to reports of a single-vehicle crash on State Highway 50, near the intersection with Matheson Rd, at 8.36am.

The spokesman said there were no apparent injuries, but one lane was closed during the clean-up.

Tikokino volunteer fire brigade chief Mike Harrison said a trailer full of bulls attached to a truck had overturned while rounding a bend, leaving about a dozen trapped inside.

 “We used cutting equipment from a Waipukurau rescue truck and cut some of the animals out, then a crane was used to right the truck and we got the rest of them out,” Harrison said.

“The nice part of the story is that no bulls were particularly hurt.”

He estimated that the extraction took about three hours, with the Tikokino fire brigade first on the scene, followed by the Waipukurau rescue truck and Ongaonga fire brigade.

Teams from Tikokino, Waipukurau and Ongaonga got all of the bulls out from the trailer, with help from local farmers, in about three hours. Photo / Mike Harrison

“It was a very good job and a shout out to the local farmers as well who were obviously a magnificent help to us.”

Waka Kotahi confirmed through its website and Twitter page that State Highway 50 had reopened at 11.50am after it was closed for vehicle extraction at 11.10am.

Waka Kotahi said motorists should expect delays when travelling in the area as congestion eased.