Strathaven-based contractor Robert Hamilton gives Farmers Weekly a tour of his sizable machinery shed.

How did you get started?

We got going in 2001, right in the midst of the foot-and-mouth crisis. I used to work with another contractor and got the chance to spread fertiliser and lime for Soil Fertility Dunns at Ayr and it slowly moved from there. Robert Reid has also been involved since the start.

How loyal are you to individual brands?

It doesn’t really matter to us what logo is on the bonnet. We buy all our machines based on their reputation and whether we reckon they’re up to the job. At the moment the frontline tractors are Fendt, but we’ve got a couple of John Deeres and a New Holland TM130 that we picked up cheap as it had been on fire. On the spreader side we’ll be sticking with Terragators as they’re awesome. It’s just a shame they’ve stopped making them.

See also: Map of our featured What’s in Your Shed farmers and contractors

Favourite dealer?

We work with almost all the local dealers and try to share our business around between them. You never know when you need to be helped out of a hole, so it’s important to have a good relationship with them. We use J & S Montgomery and HRN for John Deere stuff, Ross of Lanark for JCB, Gordons at Strathaven for Claas, Ramsay & Jackson for McHale, JH McNae for Fendt and Agricarr for New Holland.

Favourite piece of kit?

The best machine we’ve ever bought is the McHale Fusion. We got our first Fusion 2 in 2010 and it doubled our baling and wrapping output immediately.

Unlike most bits of new kit it worked perfectly from the off and in 37,000 bales it barely skipped a beat. We’re now running two Fusion 3 Plus balers, which are just as good.

They look a bit slicker though and have got slightly more complicated touch-screen controls. The only downside is that it takes a bit longer to show someone how to drive them.

Least favourite piece of kit?

Thankfully it’s gone now, but we had a John Deere 744 combi baler that was a complete disaster. It was one of the first models and had some serious gremlins in the wiring loom.

That meant it would do things like eject half-made bales, forget to put wrap on and generally behave badly. It went back after three months and we switched to the McHale.

Latest purchase?

We’ve just invested in a pair of 14t Stewart Hardox silage trailers. We shopped around and almost went for something cheaper, but we quickly realised the Stewarts are in a different league. It’s also good to know you’ve got something that will stand up to scrutiny if we eventually need to get them inspected.

Oldest piece of machinery still at work?

We’re still running an McConnel PA2060 hedgecutter that’s 24 years old. We bought it about four years ago for £1,200 and it’s clocked up about 300 hours a year without giving us any serious bother. We’ve also got a 1989 West 1300 Dual Spreader that we rescued from a farmer’s scrap heap. We refurbished it here and goes well now.

How long do you keep your machines?

We try and keep maintenance to a minimum, so if something is starting to look knackered we’ll move it on rather than spend hours in the workshop patching it up. Generally we’ll run frontline tractors up to about 6,000 hours, but the Terragators will stay on longer, partly because they’re hard to come by. One is already on 9,000 hours and the other is on 5,000.

What’s next on your wish list?

I’m desperately looking for a good used Terragator with a spreader box on the back. I want to add one to the fleet before they become even harder to get hold of.

Worst machine you’ve had?

We made the mistake of buying a Transpread lime spreader with a new computer-controlled metering system. It was completely useless and we couldn’t get it to work at all. We sent it back and got one with a much more reliable manual land-drive system.

Biggest machinery mishap?

Last year I was servicing one of the Terragators and I had the floor running slowly while I was trying to get the auto-lube system working.

I got my right hand caught in the bed chains and it snapped it off just above the wrist. I’ve now got a hook there instead. It’s easy to get complacent, but farm machinery is seriously dangerous – don’t forget it.

Most awkward grease nipple?

The one on the boom knuckle of the JCB Loadall.

Best invention?

We built a simple peaked grid for the lime spreader to replace the original flat one that blocked up for fun. It only took a day to do and it’s transformed the job – we haven’t had a blockage or broken a disc since.

What couldn’t you live without in the workshop?

We do all our own maintenance so we’ve got quite a few useful bits of kit. The mig welder is the most-used item, but we’ve also got an 80t press, wheel changer, plasma cutter and mag drill.

A while ago we bought a full range of Milwaukee battery-powered tools, which have been brilliant.

Do you buy second-hand?

Frontline equipment is nearly always bought new, but we get the odd ex-demo machine with a few hours on the clock. The Terragators are the only bits of kit that tend to break that rule.

Favourite job?

Robert H: Baling with the McHale Fusion – it’s easy and satisfying to drive and it’s usually a pretty decent day. We don’t get many here.

Robert R: Lime spreading and mowing with the triples

Least favourite?

Robert H: Changing the bed chains on the Terragator – it’s time consuming, expensive and they’re always covered in muck.

Robert R: Stone picking – it’s incredibly tedious.

What’s your everyday transport?

The general run-around is a Transit Connect van that’s had more hits than the Beatles. It does all the running around when we’re busy so it tends to get thrashed and knocked into things. It’s only done 130,000 miles but it looks like it’s been to the moon and back.

Best tractor you’ve ever had?

We had a pair of 2009 Fendt 718s and they were both amazing tractors. We fitted them with Steinbauer chips and they were pumping out 240hp, but they never gave us any trouble.

They were cheap to own too. We bought them for £72,000 each, put about 4,500 hours on the clock and sold them for £60,000. Before that we had a 716 that was pretty good, too. That clocked up 6,500 hours and didn’t let us down either.

Biggest machinery bargain?

The John Deere triple mowers we bought last season were a good deal. We picked them for £11,000 and got £5,000 for the John Deere 1365 mower conditioner we traded in.

What would you buy if you won the lottery?

Two new Terragators – if someone would start making them again. Then I’d get some insulated doors for the workshop and put up another shed.

Any machinery toys of classics in the shed?

Robert H: I’ve got two Ford 7610s – one generation 2 and one generation 3 – as well as a John Deere 3350. TM 130 dual command

Robert R: I’ve got a New Holland-badged Fiat 110-90 and a Ford TM120.