Relatively new agricultural contractors, N and R Constable, share their journey in achieving where they are now from their base in Blairgowrie, Perthshire.

The partnership between Robert and his parents, Neil and Ali, was formed in 2016 and it runs alongside the family cattle and sheep hill farm.

“I came back from a year working on a grain farm in Western Australia and upon my return there was not going to be enough work all year on the farm for both my dad and I,” said Robert.

“So, I started doing odd jobs for a local contractor who then retired, we then decided to set up the contracting business alongside the cattle and sheep enterprise to try and supplement our income and we haven’t looked back yet.”

The family have found that to be successful in such a competitive industry you have to be different from your competitors and find that niche market that your customers are looking for.

Silage season is fast paced and the Constables have the right kit for the job Ref:RH170721065 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

Silage season is fast paced and the Constables have the right kit for the job Ref:RH170721065 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

Bit of background?

I grew up on the sheep and cattle farm which had been farmed by my family since 1984 however, I have always been interested in the machinery side. I gained a HND in Agriculture at SAC in Aberdeen in 2012 followed by a harvest down in Essex. After which I carried on working on the family farm whilst spending the summers with contractors experiencing all types of tractor work to gain more experience before venturing out on our own.

What did you do in order to grow your business?

I started my first year with a mower and baler together, alongside another contractor who had a wrapper, which allowed us to work hand in hand. However, after having a successful start after my first year, we decided to buy our own wrapper and took on a self-employed worker to help at busy times.

Starting off with two tractors, by 2018 we soon required a third to keep up with the wide range of services we offer.

Over the winter Robert built this wrap carrier for the rear of the tractor also add a bit of ballast to the rear of the tractor when working with the loader Ref:RH170721067 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

Over the winter Robert built this wrap carrier for the rear of the tractor also add a bit of ballast to the rear of the tractor when working with the loader Ref:RH170721067 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

What areas do you cover?

The majority of our work is local in the glens of Perthshire and Angus, but we do cover a large area around 35 miles from the yard. We have worked as far afield as Carnoustie and down to Dollar.

What are some of the services you supply?

The full operation of baled silage work, from mowing, tedding, raking, baling, wrapping and stacking. That works alongside a full grass re-seeding, dung spreading, grassland spraying, fertiliser spreading, disc direct drill, one pass grain and fertiliser drilling service.

We also supply a lot of straw to local farmers in the area and if that doesn’t keep us busy enough during the spring, we do potato stone separating and have narrow wheels for two tractors for this type of work and come the potato harvest, we also have three tractors to help move potatoes around.

During the winter, to keep us busy we undertake a lot of snow ploughing work, to keep our options open.

New Holland T6.180 with Erth Engineerings Agriseeder Seed Drill, Direct drilling turnips for winter fodder for deer herd Ref:RH270721075 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

New Holland T6.180 with Erth Engineering's Agriseeder Seed Drill, Direct drilling turnips for winter fodder for deer herd Ref:RH270721075 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

Diversification?

Finding there was a gap in the market for direct drilling in the area, we got a demo of an Erth Direct Drill in 2019 and decided to buy one for the spring of 2020. With it being such a versatile drill, we’re able to sow barley, forage crops and grass, we have found plenty of work for it.

In 2021, we were approached by a good customer to sow their barley and so purchased an Amazone grain and fertiliser drill, which allowed us to now offer another service.

Before purchasing new kit, we need to ensure there is customers out there wanting the service, to ensure it pays its way.

After leaving college and expanding into contracting, we found that the sheep and cattle can work hand-in-hand with each other although some of the work coincides, but our workforce has managed to make it work well.

What keeps you busiest throughout the year?

Things never seem to stop, but our busiest time is silage and hay making – everything is flat out then.

McHale 991 high speed bale wrapper is used by N and R Constable for the efficient and effective round bale wrapping it does Ref:RH170721063 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

McHale 991 high speed bale wrapper is used by N and R Constable for the efficient and effective round bale wrapping it does Ref:RH170721063 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

How important are your staff to the business?

The success of the business relies on them, we are very fortunate to have one local worker.

Without reliable staff who you can trust to keep your standard of work high, it would be impossible to run the business with the long hours required during the busiest times. Around silage and the potato harvest time we also pull in self-employed staff to allow us to keep the farm running at the same time as the contracting.

How brand loyal are you and which dealerships do you mainly use?

Ever since the farm started, we’ve bought New Holland tractors, along with some implements as well, which have all been purchased from our local Agricar dealer, which gives us an excellent back up service and has a store facility in Blairgowrie. We rely on them during our busy times, so when we have issues with the tractors, they are great at being on call when needed.

The baler and mowers, grass harrows come from Reekie’s in Perth, who are also great for service and spare parts and the fertiliser spreader and hay tedder are from Sellars. The two wrappers are from Drysdale, over in Fife, along with the power packs that work them.

New Holland T6.180 with mounted NH 760TL loader and McHale round bale handler Ref:RH170721066 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

New Holland T6.180 with mounted NH 760TL loader and McHale round bale handler Ref:RH170721066 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

How often do you change your tractors?

The tractors normally do four years on the contracting side and then two on the farm, turning around 7000 hours after six years. Since the business has grown in recent years, tractors are doing a lot more hours and will probably need to be replaced after four years.

Best and worse bits of contracting?

In this role you have to love what you do to make it work, it helps having such loyal customers who work around us through our busy times. When everything goes to plan and the customer is happy, that gives you great job satisfaction.

On the flip side, when we have a lot of work on and there are breakdowns, and the weather is not playing ball, it is not quite so enjoyable!

working hard, New Holland T6.180 and Massey Ferguson RB 4160V round baler in action Ref:RH170721068 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

working hard, New Holland T6.180 and Massey Ferguson RB 4160V round baler in action Ref:RH170721068 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

How do dramatic weather changes impact your business?

The weather has a great impact on our business annually, it is ideal for us getting long dry spells as we can undertake a lot of work. If the weather is on our side, we can also do a lot of hay, which can be a bit of a nightmare as you are trying to juggle it alongside being busy at silage.

Although, having said that, we have seen some terrible years where the weather is not playing ball and silage drags out for months.

What advice would you give to a new contractor?

Just go for it! Do your homework and research, but don’t rush into anything, don’t try to get too big too quickly as machinery is very expensive and it needs to pay its way.

You also need to make sure you have a good dealer who will look after you in the busy times when the machinery is most needed.

It will definitely be hard work and long hours, but there is great job satisfaction to be had along the way, especially when you have satisfied clients. The best thing you can do is try and find a niche in the market that will allow you to get a good start as it is a very competitive business.

New Holland T6.180 setup with rear and front mounted Vicon mowers Ref:RH270721072 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

New Holland T6.180 setup with rear and front mounted Vicon mowers Ref:RH270721072 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

Interest outwith the business?

Trying to find the time to do anything out with contracting is a bit of a struggle, but when I do I like to do a bit of wakeboarding and shooting during the winter when we are bit quieter.

I have also done a lot with the Strathmore YFC which has been a great experience growing up, attending their competition evenings and especially making new friends.

Is there a lot of demand for local contracting?

There is a high demand for contracting work in the area, but there are also a lot of contractors around which makes it a very competitive business, but with us having such loyal customers it works. Having branched out into the direct drill we have realised there is a big market for it as it is a new machine for the area.

In the glens with ground unsuitable for ploughing, the drill works really well not disturbing any stones, being a one pass system, it also saves on costs with not having to work the ground at all.

The Constables operate New Holland tractors from their base at Tomlea farm, Ballintuim near Blairgowie Ref:RH270721071 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

The Constables operate New Holland tractors from their base at Tomlea farm, Ballintuim near Blairgowie Ref:RH270721071 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

What struggles come with contracting?

The increasing price of machinery prices, with more work coming our way we find ourselves changing equipment more regularly at a very inflated cost.

I guess the other big issue is the weather because when you get a good spell everyone is on the phone, so it is about managing your day properly to get the most out of them and I am sure every contractor will say there are never enough hours in the day.

Biggest achievement?

Running a successful contracting business to be able to help our customers.

New Holland T6.180 with Erth Engineerings Agriseeder Seed Drill, Direct drilling turnips for winter fodder for deer herd Ref:RH270721073 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

New Holland T6.180 with Erth Engineering's Agriseeder Seed Drill, Direct drilling turnips for winter fodder for deer herd Ref:RH270721073 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

Has the pandemic had an impact on your business?

I think the agricultural industry has been very lucky in that it hasn’t been hugely affected. From our point of view Covid-19 didn’t affect the business very much, as keeping in your own bubble in a tractor cab all day was very easy.

I have heard some horror stories of people waiting for agricultural parts for ages, but fortunately our local dealers have been very good and we haven’t had any supply problems ... so far!

With the general public being stuck in the UK and not being able to holiday abroad, I believe it has done wonders for the livestock prices and I think you can see this added income being spent around the farms to try and increase production.

What did you miss most during the various lockdowns?

I guess I missed the social life during lockdown, although it meant a lot more production on the business side of things.

You always need the Highland games and especially the Royal Highland Show to let loose and catch up with friends from all over, and to get new ideas from all the new agricultural products displayed by the suppliers.

working hard, New Holland T6.180 and Massey Ferguson RB 4160V round baler in action Ref:RH170721069 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

working hard, New Holland T6.180 and Massey Ferguson RB 4160V round baler in action Ref:RH170721069 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

What changes have you witnessed over the years?

Again, it would be with the rising costs of equipment. We have found a lot of farmers trying to make everything a lot more productive and cut costs where they can.

The biggest change to farmers has to be the increase in machinery prices, which has seen a lot of smaller farms move to using contractors, as purchasing the machinery is not justifiable. There has also been a lot of technology changes as we have just branched out to installing a full GPS on one of the tractors, just to allow more accuracy with jobs like mowing, spraying, sowing and fertiliser spreading.

Problems within the industry?

The main problem I see is trying to encourage the younger generation into farming. We’ve been losing a lot of the small farms around us to bigger operations and there are a lot less people in the area, but with costs increasing, I understand how these operations have to get bigger which makes me think there will always be a place for local contractors.

How are your future-proofing your business?

We are expanding the business each year and are fortunate enough to have loyal customers who appreciate the challenges in our industry. We have always got to keep up with new ideas that are coming forward and find that niche market.

New Holland T6.180 with Erth Engineerings Agriseeder Seed Drill, Direct drilling turnips for winter fodder for deer herd Ref:RH270721074 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

New Holland T6.180 with Erth Engineering's Agriseeder Seed Drill, Direct drilling turnips for winter fodder for deer herd Ref:RH270721074 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer

List of Inventory

  • New Holland T6 180
  • New Holland T6 180
  • New Holland T6 160
  • 3x Stoll loaders
  • Massey Ferguson baler
  • Vicon front and rear mowers
  • McHale 991 high speed with power pack
  • McHale 991 static wrapper with power pack
  • Claas 2900 rake
  • Claas Volto tedder
  • Bunning dung spreader 10 tonne
  • Erth direct drill Amazone 3m grain and fertiliser one pass
  • Teagle fertiliser spreader
  • Opico grass harrows
  • Howard rotavator
  • Kverneland four-furrow plough
  • 2 x Snow ploughs
  • 8-tonne JCB digger
  • McConnell flail topper
  • 2 x bale trailers
  • Marshall potato trailer