For the latest in our long-running series that takes a peek inside farmers’ and contractors’ machinery sheds, we hop on a ferry to meet a contractor on the Isle of Wight.

Robert Chapman has been in the contracting business for the past six years and carries out a wide range of contracting services, from grass, maize and wholecrop silaging to ploughing, cereal drilling and combining.

See also: Map: best of our What’s in Your Shed series

How did you get started?

I used to work for a contractor on the other side of the island, but a few years ago I decided to come back to work on the family farm. I then started to do the odd bit of work for a neighbouring contractor who needed some help and he soon offered me his 600ha foraging round. That was in 2010 and the contracting business has grown pretty rapidly since.

Fendt 718 and hired Richard Western silage trailer.

How many farmers are there on the island?

I reckon there are about 40 farmers on the island and we have probably done work for about 30 of them at one time or another. There used to be a fair mix of farm types on the island, but the arable area is definitely growing as people get out of dairy and plough up more ground. Field sizes range from 6-8ha.

Do you have much competition?

There aren’t that many contractors on the island, so there is enough work to go around. There are only two (including us) that have a forager and about half a dozen that do arable work.

Is it hard to get machines on and off the island?

Not really. Everything, including the combine, came over on the car ferry. It costs about £120 to get a tractor across.

Are you brand loyal?

Not particularly. We have had most brands of machine on the farm over the years, but we have now settled on Fendt tractors and a Krone forager. The Fendts take some beating for contracting work and they cost us less to run than most other makes we have had. That’s partly because they are reliable and good on fuel, but they also have a high second-hand value.

Favourite dealer?

We havet several dealers on the island, but my favourite is Compass from Taunton. Its service is second to none even though the company is quite a distance away. The reason I use it is that when the contracting business started to grow I emailed about 10 Fendt dealers to get a price for three tractors – Compass was the only one that replied.

Marcus Rickard is the main dealer I use on the island. He looks after Claas and JCB, but will willingly help out with any brand.

One of five Fendt 718s.

Favourite piece of kit?

The Krone 700 forager wins it for me. It is awesome, particularly with a 12-row maize header on the front. We have had Claas and John Deere machines in the past, but the Krone definitely has the edge. Our main grumble with the Claas was the Orbis header. It just didn’t seem to feed the crop in fast enough to make the most of the machine. The cab is definitely a step up from the Krone one, though.

Least favourite piece of kit?

That is the Claas Liner 4000 rake, known here as the Lumper 4000. Whichever way we set it up it always creates horrible lumps in the swath. Strangely, another local contractor has the 3500 version and that is fine.

Latest purchase?

We have just bought a Bunning 15t disc muckspreader and it’s a brilliant machine. It is very smooth and the spread pattern is fantastic, however, it looks massive – I could probably have got away with the 12t version. We will only use it for lighter jobs and leave the two big Samson machines for rougher stuff.

Oldest piece of machinery still at work?

We have a few, but the true star is our 1991 JCB 525-58 telehandler. It has done about 6,500 hours and has bald tyres, but is mechanically brilliant. It gets used almost every day and has never given us any serious problems.

How long do you keep your machines?

We try to keep the balance right so that a machine stays with us long enough to be profitable, but not long enough to be unreliable. We regularly service all machines in our workshop to make sure we can give a reliable service.

What is next on your wishlist?

Apart from better weather and a better price for farmers’ produce (especially dairy farmers), I would like a new workshop. The current one has got most of the kit we need, but it’s just not big enough.

Most embarrassing mistake?

I once sprayed the wrong grass field off with glyphosate. It was supposed to be going into winter wheat, but I didn’t check my emails the morning I went to spray it off. In turns out the farmer had changed his mind and was keeping the grass for another year. To sort it out we direct-drilled some grass seed into it and the customer was happy. Mistakes happen, it’s what you do to put them right that matters.

What is your best invention?

My uncle Robin is always in the workshop and has made countless great inventions. Twenty years ago he made a bag lifter (a bit like the one Stronga sells now) and he also made an additive trailer for when we are foraging. This goes on the road-sweeping tractor and can carry 2,000 litres of additive, all the spares we might need, a mobile workshop and a 1,300-litre diesel bowser.

What couldn’t you live without in the workshop?

Robin – he keeps every machine working and is a fantastic mechanic/fabricator. Even the most twisted pieces of metal will come out of the workshop as a good machine.

Do you buy second-hand?

We do buy quite a bit of second-hand machinery. At the moment we buy most of our Fendt tractors from Ian Webber (a contractor in Taunton) with about 800 hours on the clock. We then run them up to about 6,000 hours before selling them on. Other machinery is a bit of a mix between new and second-hand. The usually end up costing us about £10/engine hour.

Favourite job?

Foraging when it’s dry.

Least favourite?

Foraging when it’s wet.

What is your everyday transport?

At the moment I have a Land Rover Discovery TD5. I used to drive a newish Nissan Navara, but I much prefer the ride of the old Discovery. I bought it second-hand with a coil-spring conversion and haven’t had any problems with it. It’s clocked up 125,000 miles so far.

Best tractor you have ever had?

We had a 2010 Fendt 820 that was just brilliant. We clocked up 6,500 hours with it and the only problem we had was with a dodgy sensor. We had it for three years and it only cost us £5/engine hour.

Worst tractor you have ever had?

Touch wood, we haven’t had any really bad ones.

Biggest machinery bargain?

The best was probably the nearly new Allbutt buckrake we picked up at a sale. It had hardly been used and we paid just over one-third of the new price.

What would you buy if you won the lottery?

More land and some new sheds as the business is quickly outgrowing the current yard.