This time What’s in your Shed heads over to Dorset to visit contractor Will Box.

We hear how he built up his business and customer base and why hiring in his tractor power works best for his outfit.

See also: Perfect storm of price rises causing carnage for Devon contractors

How did you get started?

My passion for farming came from growing up on a small 65ha farm near Wimborne, but sadly this was sold at about the time I left Kingston Maurward Agricultural College in 2004.

From then I built up some funds working for local farms and contractors before heading off to New Zealand, where I was employed by the Pye Group on the Canterbury Plains for six months.

Then it was back to the UK and more time working for Dorset farmers and contractors.

Eventually, I was able to get a smallholding on the edge of Wimborne in 2008, running a few head of sheep and cattle, while subbying at the same time for other contractors with an old Massey Ferguson 6290 to bring in some extra income.

This was all fine, but I soon realised that I needed to find my own customers if I was going to develop the business. So, in 2013, I bought a slurry tanker and muckspreader, and the business has grown ever since.

I now have eight regular customers, who I’m working for regularly throughout the year, topped up by about another 10 who I carry out certain jobs for, as and when.

The other big change came a couple of years ago, when we moved from the smallholding near Wimborne to our current base at Whatcombe Down Farm, Winterborne Whitechurch, which we rent from Piers Chichester, of La Lee Estate.

Most of my work now lies within a 20-mile radius of the Whatcombe yard.

How brand loyal are you?

I used to be. I ran MF tractors for 15 years, but the past two were not great… right dogs, in fact.

We had an ex-demo 7718 that, once out of warranty of course, snapped three propshafts at about £3,000 a pop, including the labour.

It lost its pick-up hitch, suffered countless electrical issues, and had loads of cooling problems. At one point, so much had been changed on the tractor that it felt like we’d ended up with Trigger’s broom.

To be fair, the dealer, C&O Tractors (Blandford), helped us into a new 7719, which was marginally better.

Again, we had electrical issues – screen freeze, guidance malfunctions and a software glitch that meant there was no float on the third service.

So, last year we decided we’d had two bad ‘uns and wouldn’t risk a third, hence the switch to New Holland.

On the other kit, we tend to go with whatever we think is best suited to the job.

Favourite dealer?

Today we’re more dealer loyal than brand loyal. Despite the problems with the two MF tractors, we had no issues with C&O, which went above and beyond to get us sorted.

The tractors were simply Friday nighters; we were just unlucky. We still deal with C&O for MF implements and Kverneland kit.

Our other favourites are Buglers (Botany Bay) for New Holland and Kuhn, and CJ Cox (Bagber) for Krone. All three of these dealers have excellent workshop staff who really know their stuff.

Our main bugbear with them, however, is their out-of-hours call-out contact numbers, which could be more effectively manned in the busy periods.

They’re not always easy to get hold of. For a contractor, this can be a nightmare.

Favourite piece of kit?

Possibly an odd choice, but it’s the MF RB4160 round baler. It’ll literally roll up anything into a lovely bale – from the dirtiest grasses and wild flowers on environmental plots to a thick swath of straw.

We’ve even baled wholecrop with it. The baler’s done three seasons with us, clocking up about 15,000 bales, and the only downtime was two hours for a replacement drive sprocket.

Least favourite piece of kit?

It’s gone now, but it was a Kuhn 360 haybob that we bought new in 2012/13 and persevered with for 10 years before part-exchanging it against the new MF 762 TRC rake.

The Kuhn was supposed to be dual purpose for tedding and swathing, yet it did neither job properly – the classic “master of none”.

Latest purchase?

We’ve had an expensive winter. New to the fleet are the Kuhn triples, the 10m Joskin bale trailer and a six-rotor Kverneland 8576 tedder.

These were all either last year’s stock or shop-soiled, and we’ve also recently spent £27,000 on a used 14,200-litre Pichon slurry tanker with a 12m dribble bar.

Basically, we’ve used the capital released from the tractor switch – from owning to hiring – to fill in the gaps in our implement range and the services we offer.

Oldest machine still at work?

Our 3m Sulky box drill, which is paired with an admittedly slightly younger Amazone power harrow, has recently celebrated its 35th birthday.

It’s not worth much, but it still does the job, establishing a small area of stubble turnips and grass seed every year.

How long do you keep your machines?

Nothing is set in stone; it’s more about how an individual item is performing. Generally, though, the implements are budgeted to stay with us for about 10 years.

However, my thinking on tractors has changed. Up until last year we ran just the one tractor, which we owned, and then hired in another when it was needed. In 2023 the hire tractor was a New Holland T6.180 from Buglers.

After all the problems with the two owned Masseys, I decided to look at the cost of hiring two tractors rather than buying.

As it turns out, the last owned MF cost about £18/hour over its 4,700 hours, whereas the hire bill for the T7.225 is about £14/hour for a fixed 1,250 hours, including servicing.

Even with the excess use charge, hiring still works out cheaper.

It’s a bit of a no-brainer. Although it was a psychological leap – to not own a tractor for the first time in more than 15 years – hiring, for me, makes more sense.

Ultimately, it’s the implements on the front and back of the tractor that earn the money, so they are what I prefer to invest in.

Next on your wish list?

A baler wrapper. This would make our operation much more efficient. We’d then have one tractor on the triple mower, cutting and grouping into a decent-sized swath, and the other tractor on the baler wrapper.

Job done – rather than cutting, tedding, raking, baling and wrapping, all as separate operations.

I’ve got my eye on a Kuhn variable-chamber combi, with 3D wrapping, currently in stock at Buglers. But at about £80k it’s going to have to wait. I’ve already spent enough this year.

Biggest machinery mistake?

More an uncomfortable and embarrassing moment rather than a mistake, it would have to be one of the MF 7718’s snapped propshafts.

I was hauling a load of straw when, on the approach to the busy Canford Bottom roundabout on the A31, the shaft failed, slid forward and jammed into the yoke.

I was just able to jerk the tractor forward enough to get it out of the way of the other traffic, and then had to wait for C&O to come to the rescue.

Most expensive repair bill?

We ran a Claas Quadrant 2200 big square baler for several seasons, and in 2016 it decided to shear its main flywheel drive shaft.

We were quoted £8,000 to repair it, so, as it was already an old and pretty tired machine, we opted to scrap it. A real sickener.

We only got back into big square baling last year, when we spent £30k on the second-hand Krone Big Pack 890.

Most expensive spare part?

Although a decent pto guard is obviously essential, the prices seem ridiculous.

We priced up a new pto shaft, UJs and guard for the Krone baler, and the plastic guard bit accounted for more than a third of the £1,500 total. A lot of money for a bit of plastic.

About £80 for a heated New Holland mirror glass seems excessive, too.

Best invention?

We’re not really inventors. Matt is a very good welder and will patch up stuff, and we’ll also carry out all the normal maintenance.

But the hire tractors are now on service contracts, and we’ll call in the dealers for more major repairs. For example, we’ve just spent £7,000-£8,000 with CJ Cox on a major over-winter service/overhaul of the Big Pack baler.

What couldn’t you live without in the workshop?

The Steamtech pressure washer is certainly the most used item. I insist that all kit leaving the yard has to be tidy, as its condition is a reflection on the business.

Customers notice if you turn up with machines that are plastered with muck and dirt.

Favourite and least favourite jobs?

When it’s going right, nothing beats ploughing. In fact, if I could spend all year ploughing, big baling and hedgetrimming, I’d be a happy chap. Sadly, it doesn’t work like that.

I spend too many hours for my liking on hauling bales, my least favourite job. Faced with 2,000 bales to shift when you’re only moving 20 at a time, it’s soul destroying.

What’s your everyday farm transport?

An 11-plate Nissan Navara double-cab with 148,000 miles on the clock. She’s been a good truck, but is now starting to look like many Navaras do – rusting and cracking.

Not sure what I’ll do next, although I’m not keen on spending a lot of money on something that will inevitably get a hard life.

Best tractor you’ve had?

Ironically it was probably my first, the old MF 6290. It had already racked up 8,000 hours on a dairy farm before arriving with me in 2012, and then I added another 2,000 hours in two years.

It cost me nothing in repairs and just kept on going. The radio didn’t work, but I wasn’t bothered as the engine sounded so great.

If I won the lottery, I’d buy a mint 6290 and stick it in a shed. A guaranteed classic.

Worst tractor you’ve had?

The MF 7719 already mentioned. We were so excited when it arrived, as it had everything on it – our first CVT, front pto, front linkage, electric spools, guidance – but, in the event, it was such a disappointment.

After two years of electrical gremlins, we were glad to see it gone.

Biggest machinery bargain?

The Browns bale squeeze for handling wrapped bales would have to be right up there. We did about five hours of muck shifting for a customer, who said we could have the bale squeeze as payment.

Though it was 10 years old at the time, it had hardly been used. New it would’ve cost us about £2,000.

Best and worst pieces of technology?

Best in recent times is the AgDrive phone app, which logs where all the machines are, what they’re doing and can even be linked to QuickBooks financial software for faster invoicing.

I can schedule jobs so Matt can see what he’s going to be doing the next day, and we can also record our daily vehicle checks. For £15/month for two people, it takes pretty much all the paperwork out of the job. We love it.

In contrast, the telematics on the MF 7719 were next to useless.