Farmers Weekly Awards 2022: Contractor of the Year finalists

Balancing business growth with sustainable investment – against a backdrop of soaring machinery and diesel costs – has been key to the success of this year’s three Contractor of the Year finalists.

The judging team visited each of the finalists for a three-hour interview and tour of their business.

See all of the category finalists for the 2022 Awards

The finalists:

Glover Agricultural Contractors
Hill House Farm, Norfolk

Martin Hays Contracting
Top Farm, Derbyshire

Vince Janes
Winterwell Barn, Gloucestershire

The judges:

John Fraser
Last year’s winner

Oliver Mark
Farmers Weekly’s machinery editor

Jill Hewitt
Independent judge

Glover Agricultural Contractors

Hill House Farm, West Dereham, Norfolk

A flexible, open-minded approach to expanding their range of services has seen the Glover family’s agricultural contracting workload surge since it was established in 2009, when it acquired 200ha of sugar beet harvesting and combining from a retiring local contractor.

But it was son Sam’s arrival in the business that provided a real shot in the arm, as he landed a 500t/year contract baling deal with Snetterton power station that has subsequently ballooned to a 15,000t/year enterprise across three counties and a 50-mile radius.

This sees straw bought per bale, transported from field to plant by the firm’s wagons, and sold per tonne, with the 15-year contract providing income stability that has allowed investment in other services.

Most recently, this has seen the addition of a deal to grow 100ha of carrots, alongside 10,000ha of spraying; 2,000ha of sugar beet harvesting, which has doubled in the past year; 1,000ha of combining with a pair of Claas Lexions; and lime spreading – plus a 500ha contract farming agreement.

All of this is predominantly managed by Sam and his assistant Harry (aged 25 and 24, respectively), with their youthful enthusiasm reliably transforming small jobs into big ones over a rapidly expanding territory.

Machinery

With hasty expansion comes the pressure of buying and maintaining a machinery fleet to match.

This now includes nine tractors, most of which do 2,000 hours annually and are replaced every three years. By that point they are fully paid for and still within their warranty cover.

The Glovers favour this systematic approach to replacements to maintain residual value, eliminate the risk of having to soak up expensive breakdown costs, and make it easier to accurately calculate costs – including depreciation.

The same applies to the Agrifac sprayer, which is bought new and kept in warranty – albeit over the course of six years.

However, the business takes a different approach with the self-propelled harvesters. The pairs of Lexion combines and Roper beet harvesters come second-hand, leaving someone else to stomach the initial cost and savage early-life depreciation.

This approach is made easier because there is an on-site workshop run as a separate entity by another family member, providing a 24-hour mobile call-out service to keep the kit running and taking care of regular maintenance and out-of-season overhauls.

These costs are logged, allowing the team to monitor reliability and determine the timing of replacements.

Fuel data is also recorded, and a Quartix vehicle tracking app is used to log hours, distance travelled and location of equipment for management purposes.

Staff and customers

Having up to 200 annual customers brings its own logistical challenges, so communication is key in maintaining relationships – regardless of whether the news is good or bad.

Two admin staff work from a purpose-built office block, while there are 10 full-time operators and up to eight more at peak times.

The company has also started running an apprenticeship scheme in collaboration with Easton College, where one student each year couples their agricultural diploma studies with practical experience.

New staff get an employee handbook and a full induction, and there are annual appraisals that allow both employees and managers to give feedback on the year’s work.

This is set through HR software that also allows staff to log their hours each day – eliminating the challenges of managing paper timesheets.

And Sam and Harry conduct regular “toolbox talks” that cover topics from understanding risk assessments to reminders about overhead powerlines and tips on fuel efficiency.

What the judges say

A willingness to take on new opportunities and invest in the machinery required to make the most of them has delivered impressive growth for the Glover family’s contracting business.

Martin Hays Contracting

Top Farm, Rylah Hill, Bolsover, Derbyshire

Martin Hays © Tim Scrivener

Despite having no agricultural background, Martin Hays has been hooked on farming since watching a Ford 5000 and Kidd double-chop forager clear a field of grass over his garden fence.

He served an eight-year “apprenticeship” with a local contractor, before deciding to go it alone with a Case IH 956XL, small square baler and flat-eight sledge.

His level of service, even in those formative years, speaks for itself, with his second-ever customer still on the books 27 years later.

Early success with the baler led to further investments in a plough, power harrow and drill, but his big break came in beating the competition to the purchase of an umbilical spreading system.

In doing so, he rapidly cornered the market.

Slurry spreading has remained the backbone of the business, though he continues to search for ways to improve his offering with technology such as flow meters and nitrogen sensors.

Eventually, this allowed him to buy his yard, take on a 180ha farm tenancy and expand the contracting arm – most notably with the addition of two big square balers and a combine that covers 400ha annually.

Other services have come and gone, with a recent effort to streamline the business leading to peripheral, less profitable work dropped and the associated machines sold.

This has reduced the workload, minimised wasted travel time, and increased profitability.

Machinery

Martin has a laser-sharp focus on his costs, which allows his to assess the worth of every service he offers.

Each job is accurately costed, and his spreadsheets constantly updated to reflect any changes – whether it be a 50p/ac variation between mowing light and heavy grass, or the addition of a fuel surcharge beyond his baseline £1/litre diesel price.

As such, prices tend to be raised every year and, by his own admission, he’s one of the dearest contractors around – but that hasn’t deterred his customers, who still feel they get a good deal.

This is because he’s always looking for opportunities to add value, whether it be a weigher and moisture meter on the baler, or variable-rate nitrogen spreading using Isaria’s wing mirror-mounted CropXplorer.

Assessing nitrogen requirements in real time means he no longer relies on customers to provide maps and, at a cost of just £2/acre on top of his standard spreading rate, they only need to achieve a modest yield rise to benefit from it.

It’s not all about new technology, though. The last two-tractors came second-hand, and Martin proudly claims to have never paid more than £100,000 for one, though his resolve is likely to be firmly tested over the coming years.

This willingness to dip into the used market for frontline machines can pay off handsomely, with the most recent investment, a Massey Ferguson with a little under 1,000 hours on the clock, coming in almost £30,000 cheaper than buying new.

Further savings are achieved by completing intermediate services in-house, cutting maintenance costs by 35p/clock hour compared with committing to a full dealer service package.

He has also been able to tap into grants to fund improvements – most notably with the construction of a new spray store and wash-down area complete with rainwater harvesting system.

Staff and customers

Several of Martin’s 125 customers have been with him for more than two decades, and their loyalty demonstrates the impression he has made on their business – both in terms of reliability and quality of work.

He employs two other members of staff, including his son, Daniel, who is taking on more responsibility for the baling side of the business. It also means Martin can remain hands-on – something customers appreciate, and he loves.

What the judges say

Martin’s unrivalled passion, hard-working mentality and sharp eye on costs, plus a keen interest in new technology, has seen his contracting operation become an indispensable part of his customers’ businesses.

Vince Janes

Winterwell Barn, Northleach, Gloucestershire

Vince James © Richard Stanton

Every arable field on Vince Janes’ books is treated as if it is his own, and the farms he works for are reaping the rewards with fewer weeds, better yields and higher profits.

It’s the perfect relationship between customer and contractor – made easier by the fact that Vince specialises in whole-farm agreements, which account for 85% of his work and allow him to take a more active role in agronomic decision making.

As such, he has become a one-stop shop for his seven main customers, offering everything from machinery servicing to combine harvesting.

He started his business after leaving a job on a big estate and was subsequently offered the opportunity to take on its arable work as it transitioned to an organic system.

Not long after, he bagged two more conventional arable farming contracts, and word of his success in knocking back blackgrass led to another neighbouring farm of 400ha signing him up for spraying and combining.

Machinery

Shrewd machinery buying decisions have become a hallmark of the business, with Vince’s keen interest in the second-hand market – and willingness to do plenty of homework – paying dividends in buying, selling and servicing.

Examples of canny purchases are everywhere. His first combine, a New Holland CX8.60, came for £65,000 and, after 11 seasons’ work, was sold for £55,000.

And his first tractor, a 160hp John Deere 6920S, came for £33,000 on 3,000 hours and left 5,000 hours later for £27,500.

The fact that Vince likes to clear any finance quickly means the kit is paid for, so it can be sold and upgraded easily if attractive purchase or selling opportunities come about unexpectedly.

Machines with high early depreciation, such as the combines, always come second-hand – leaving someone else to take the sting out of the price – but grain trailers and others implements that lose little value are often bought new.

The two frontline tractors are new too, with finance payments restricted to a maximum of three years.

In these cases, with a Fendt 720 and 828, extended five-year warranties were considered justifiable – a decision that has paid dividends given the 828 is on its second replacement engine.

Servicing, repairs and fabrication is completed in the workshop to keep repair bills down, and Vince avoids too much diary-filling winter work in favour of time spent looking after the machinery.

This saves running his equipment ragged on lesser paid general contracting jobs and keeps it in the best possible condition for the rest of the year – without the cost of employing a dealer for the job.

Staff and customers

Vince’s business relies on regular communication with his customers and their agronomists, allowing him to play an important role in decision making. He often joins in-field agronomy meetings and helps shape future cropping plans.

Payments are made quarterly, with the terms of the contracts differing in lengths, from one to five years. This provides the security of guaranteed work and allows Vince to shape his machinery and staff investments accordingly.

A fuel price adjuster is factored into the agreements, and diesel is metered and recorded for every job. This can then be provided to any customers that are interested in carbon counting.

Vince is determined to build a sustainable business, which means balancing work with family commitments – both for him and his two main staff members, plus another four during harvest.

Rainy days are taken as an opportunity to unwind, families visit the fields, and winter workloads are kept relatively light to minimise the risk of burnout.

What the judges say

Vince is a perfectionist who takes great pride in the service he delivers to his arable customers, and the results they achieve as a consequence.