Contractor comment CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Second Jaguar mops up late-season grassThe arrival of a second Claas Jaguar 950 forager couldn’t have come at a better time for Josh and Helen Collins, who found themselves facing a formidable autumn workload. Just… CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Horsch Pronto tests 724 to the maxWho’da thought it? Some of the hardest hours at JO Straughan this year have come not on the combine or forager, nor in tractors racing to get ground tilled and… CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Rob Chapman enjoys life forager-freeSame money, less stress. Isle of Wight contractor Rob Chapman has no regrets about ditching his 1,600ha foraging enterprise back in the spring. End-of-year profitability is likely to be on… CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Sellars steps up after huge combine fireStuart Wilson will be combine shopping for the second winter in succession, after his long-serving Lexion met a fiery end halfway through harvest. Having contended with several niggles on the… CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Pricey breakdowns in otherwise easy summerThe lack of rainfall in recent months has treated Josh and Helen Collins to one of the most straightforward summers since they set up their contracting business seven years ago.… CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Big yields follow great start to harvestGood weather has been the perfect present for JO Straughan’s 70th anniversary year, with well-timed rain and plenty of sunshine contributing to some stellar winter cereal yields in Northumberland. Records… CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Foraging work ditched for an easier lifeMuch can happen in four months. And so it’s proved for Isle of Wight contractor Rob Chapman. When we last visited Rob’s base at Westover Farm, Calbourne, all the talk… CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Staffing headaches as busy season sets inThe final member of this year’s Contractor Comment cohort is Stuart Wilson of Ross-shire outfit Allan WJ Wilson. Farmers Weekly finds out the highs, lows, tos and fros of running… CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Tough decisions help grow Cornish farmOn our Contractor Comment roster this week are Cornwall-based Josh and Helen Collins, whose extensive machinery fleet is almost exclusively built by Claas. Farmers Weekly catches up with them. See… CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Diversification key for JO Straughan and CoJO Straughan & Co has been offering a comprehensive range of agricultural, plant hire and haulage services to customers in Northumberland and the Scottish Borders since 1955. Owner Roger Dickinson… CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Challenge of contracting on small islandContracting on the Isle of Wight brings both opportunities and challenges, as Farmers Weekly finds out from Westover Farm Contractors boss, Rob Chapman. Westover Farm Contractors business offers a suite… CONTRACTOR COMMENTContractor Comment: Hedge work maintains winter cashflowBig square baling might be the cornerstone of Derek and Linda Keeble’s business, but a carefully selected tranche of other services is key for maintaining cashflow throughout the year. Each… More articles
