JSE Systems of Wood Lodge, Lincolnshire, is Farmers Weekly Contractor of the Year.

Keeping up to 38 staff working efficiently and safely across a territory that stretches from the M25 to the Humber is no mean feat, but it’s one that JSE Systems’ management team has down to a fine art.

Led by owner Nik Johnson, and supported by Joe Hampsey and Bertie Harper, the business spreads 350,000t of biosolids, 25,000t of manure and 20,000t of compost annually, and covers another 40,000ha with ash-based ­fertiliser.

See also: Farmers Weekly Awards 2024: Contractor of the Year finalists

The business was built on the foundations of a contract service started in the 1970s by Nik’s father Les.

Its transformation started after gaining the Fibrophos fertiliser agency in the mid-1990s and, more significantly, when it took on an Anglian Water biosolids contract in 2006.

This brought its own challenges, with vast amounts of red tape and zero tolerance for mishaps.

Not easy with up to 25 seasonal staff to keep the reins on but, thanks to fastidious organisation, it is a burden the company takes in its stride.

Fertiliser supply

As well as contract spreading, JSE has a fertiliser supply business – selling its products from Cornwall to Orkney – and also offers carting and clamping services for anaerobic digester plants.

Careful costings are central to the long-term health of the business.

Hours are spent formulating a pricing structure that accounts for machinery – maintenance, breakdowns and depreciation – as well as insurance, management and staff.

Biosolids are spread with seven self-propelled Vredos, most of which are owned by Anglian Water, while two twin-axle Bunning Lowlander 230HBDs deal with the muck.

Fertiliser is put through a fleet of five heavily modified Bredal K105s, some of which will throw material to 24m thanks to an in-house-developed spreading system.

Given the corrosive nature of the product they are applying – and the fact that, between them, they might cover 40,000ha a season – each one is stripped to the chassis every winter and given a full health check and rebuild.

Staff and customers

To manage the 13 full-time staff, a ruck of seasonal employees, and some 400 annual customers, JSE developed its own smartphone app that has revolutionised record-keeping.

Employees use it to submit timesheets and conduct tractor and implement checks, the latter via QR codes stuck on every machine.

These daily assessments are geo-stamped and timed, meaning managers know they’ve been done when they should, and any faults generate an automatic email to the firm’s mechanic.

The app is also used to store road dispensations, customer maps and contact details – all of which are readily available to users – as well as books of compliance for every machine, training records, and health and safety ­information.