The diverse range of machinery littering the yard of Dumfriesshire outfit G Rae Contracting includes five of the UK’s top 10 tractors brands.

Farmers Weekly puts the questions to frontman Andy Rae.

See also: Contractor customises UK’s first Borger slurry separator

How did you get into contracting?

My dad, Graham, started the contracting business in 1971.

As one of six kids on a small mixed farm, he needed to find work elsewhere, so he bought a Ford 4000 and a few implements and branched out on his own.

The tractors gradually got bigger, as did the range of services offered and the amount of ground covered.

The bulk of our customers are between Carlisle and Dumfries, though we do go further afield for certain jobs, particularly slurry separating.

As for me, I grew up in and around the contracting and started working here full time in the early 2000s, but I have had the odd break to do other things.

This included working as an agriculture officer for the Scottish government, an estates and wayleaves officer for Electricity North West, and salesman for New Holland dealer Lloyd.

How brand loyal are you?

We’re not particularly brand loyal, but our employees tend to be, often choosing to continue with a make of tractor after they start with one.

We’re pretty accommodating once they prove to be an asset to the yard. It helps keep them on side and they generally look after a machine really well if they’ve had a hand in choosing it.

This policy has left us with a tractor fleet that’s half John Deere and half Fendt, New Holland, Claas and Valtra.

Favourite dealer?

We probably spend the most money with Rickerby in Carlisle.

They have a lot of franchises that we like: Claas, Bailey, McConnel and Bunning to name a few.

Their workshop staff have gone above and beyond so many times for us and we try to have a long memory when it comes to things like that.

Favourite piece of kit?

I’d say the mobile slurry separator – it’s certainly been my main focus for the past couple of years.

The idea came after I’d spotted a few small static units working on farms and I discovered that there were large mobile ones regularly visiting farms and anaerobic digestion plants on the continent.

We were already doing a lot of winter transferring of slurry from farm to additional storage and figured we could pump it over and remove the solids at the same time. 

So, we bought a Borger RC150 separator and mounted it on a bale trailer, along with a large generator and a compressor.

We’re now visiting several sites a week to free up space in stores, while improving the quality of the slurry.

Being the first to do this in the UK was a bit of a gamble, but it has paid off and, thankfully, the work has kept coming in.

Since then, Slurryquip has begun building mobile trailers for the Borger separator, which have a few perks over our setup.

Namely, a galvanised chassis without the flatbed of the bale trailer where slurry would collect, a control panel that can be reached from the ground and good access to the feed pump which needs attention now and again.

We decided to upgrade to one earlier this year, opting for a larger-than-standard diesel tank and removable rear reeler that makes it quicker to lay out and reel in discharge pipes.

And your least favourite?

The least favourite has to be the side-discharge spreaders we use in sloppy muck and wet, sandy slurries.

They do a great job for us, but it is nearly impossible to use them without getting your tractor covered.

Sand can also wear the side door runners to such an extent that there’s a risk of the door popping out once the internal auger is set in motion.  

We’ve come up with a fix, which involves welding on a piece of bar to keep the door in the channel.

Latest purchase?

After last year’s harvest I was in a slight panic about combine capacity, so I decided to get a fourth machine to run alongside our three Lexions – a 530, 620 and 630.

One of our drivers, James Muir, had previously driven New Hollands, so when a tidy CX7.80 came up for sale at a farm near Penrith, we decided to give it a go.

Like the rest of our harvesters, it’s a five-walker machine – straw is too important round here for us to consider a rotary – with a 22ft header.

As the average field size on our patch is about 10 acres (4ha), we wouldn’t want to go to any wider than this.

We’ve also got a new Jaguar 960 coming this season to replace a 2022 950. This will be delivered in our usual spec with four-wheel drive, wide tyres and a central tyre inflation system.

Oldest machine still at work?

We have a 1964 Massey Ferguson 35X which seems to be permanently on hire to local dairy farmers when their scraper tractor lets them down. I know for sure our modern kit won’t still be earning a crust in 60 years’ time. 

Another oldie in the midst of restoration is Dad’s original Ford 4000. He might have bought it new, but it spent most of its life elsewhere.

It just so happened that a few years ago a retired salesman got in touch to say he’d found it on a farm and wondered if we’d been interested in having it back.   

We did a deal for £1,620 – exactly the same price Dad paid for it new in 1971.

How long do you keep your machines?

As a general rule, we run tractors until about 6,000 hours, with those that do the hardest work having a warranty to match.

The challenge is that the cost to change keeps rising – so much so that we might have to consider holding on to some a bit longer. Fendts are particularly eye-watering at the moment.

It’s the same story with foragers. For a long time, the policy has been to upgrade the two frontline machines every three years, and the third back-up one as we see fit.

This seriously reduces the risk of breakdowns and, in the past, has helped keep a lid on depreciation.

However, those intervals might have to increase if prices continue to rise at their current rate.

Next on your wish list?

The popularity of the mobile separator means that a second one is on the cards.

Our self-propelled sprayers will soon be due for renewal too, and what we go for next is subject to a bit of deliberation. 

The Agribuggy has been our tool of choice for the past 20 years or so, as they’re light, agile for the terrain we cover, and we get such good back-up from Rickerby.

That said, each generation has got heavier and the prices have increased to match. They’re now on a par with some higher capacity machines.

We haven’t made the call yet –  Househam, Bateman and John Deere are also on the shortlist.

Most embarrassing mistake?

Just a few weeks ago we did telehandler refresher courses for 12 lads including myself and who was the only one to topple the stack of IBCs? You guessed it.

Most expensive repair bill?

We once had to have the front end of a John Deere tractor completely rebuilt after one of our former drivers crashed into back of a trailer being towed by another – the bill ran to about £18,000.

Thankfully, we haven’t had many incidents like this.

Most overpriced spare part?

Mechanical seals in umbilical pumps are eye-wateringly expensive for what they are – about £400 each.

Pto shaft guards are another, particularly as you never seem to be able to get the bit you want and have to buy a whole new assembly.

Best invention?

We needed a way of moving our Mixit tower mixer between farms, so rigged it up with a frame and linkage assembly that allows it to be lowered horizontally.

There’s a fair tail swing when it’s down, but it works well.

And this one obviously isn’t our invention, but Storz couplings have dramatically increased the speed and ease with which we can fit and replace connectors on lay-flat hoses compared to the hassle of rigid Bauer hose tails.

What couldn’t you live without in the workshop?

The workshop itself. We built a new insulated one a decade ago with big electric roller doors.

I don’t know how we managed all those years with the tiny shed it replaced – we couldn’t get a forager or combine inside.

John Cowan (nicknamed Flan) is another huge asset. He’s worked for us for about 40 years and is a dab hand with all things workshop related, as well as being a gifted operator.

He’s saved us a fortune on dealer servicing fees and has been invaluable in training other lads to look after the kit.

What’s your everyday transport?

My old 2009 Toyota Hilux was starting to get a bit tired so I replaced it a few months ago.

I thought the newer models were a bit too pricey and I know people who have had problems with them, so I decided to look elsewhere.

I’d heard the current Isuzus were fairly dependable, so I went for a 2024 V-Cross automatic.

I’m pleased with it so far. The 1.9-litre engine can be a bit noisy and there’s a slight shortage of power for towing, but it does me fine.

Best tractor you’ve ever had?

I love the old 10 series Fords we used to have (7610s and 7810s), and 10 series John Deeres such as the 6810 and 6910.

But I’d love to own a 1960s John Deere 4020, which I spent a lot of time driving in Ohio duringv my college sandwich year in 1998.

There was something special about that old six-cylinder sound and no cab.

And the worst?

Our only experience owning a Deutz tractor was a 2008 Agrotron 150.7, and it gave us no end of trouble.

Breakdowns that stick in the mind include a self-destructing front axle and a gear lever that came away in my hand when driving down the road.

The only reason we got it is because we had a local lad joining us, who promised he’d happily buck rake silage all summer with it, but that didn’t work out. 

We were probably just unlucky, as I hear people get on well with them and they’re quite sought after second-hand.

Most surprisingly useful feature on a machine?

The quick button on the top of my Valtra screen to make it go black when driving at night. It’s a great feature in this modern age of super-bright oncoming LED headlights (or is it just my ageing eyes?).

Most pointless piece of technology?

I’m all for an effective horn or airhorn on tractors, but those daft ones that play “Baby Shark” and the like annoy me and don’t project a very professional image.

Biggest bargain?

We needed a trailer to transport our 11m slurry lagoon whisk around, and it was looking like we might need to spend a small fortune building something bespoke.

Then we happened across an old Shelbourne Reynolds combine header trailer for just £800 that would form the ideal base.

Once the header supports were removed, we added a couple of brackets and it was good to go.

Biggest bugbear?

How little space there is on modern tractors for tools and other kit required for a day in the field.

This means you need to spend a fortune on a specially made cabinet that replaces the right-hand steps, which probably won’t fit your next tractor.