When 13-year-old Rex Baker got in touch offering to show us his family’s machinery fleet, we could hardly pass up the opportunity.

What’s in Your Shed heads to Kent to meet Richard Baker and his tractor-obsessed son.

See also: What’s in Your Shed? visits Contractor of the Year Tim Russon

How did you get started?

We moved to Kent in the 1960s from Dorset and, at the time, we were milking dairy cows twice a day.

The day of the move, we milked the herd in Dorset in the morning, loaded them up and then milked in Kent that evening.

However, in 2006 we sold the dairy cows as we felt the money just wasn’t there for us – we’d either have to expand considerably or sell up.

We kept a beef suckler herd until 2013 and then made the decision to go all arable.

Are you brand loyal?

We like New Hollands because they are simple and competitively priced. Over the years, we have never had any reason to change and have always struggled to justify anything fancier.

We also believe sticking with one brand helps build trust in both directions.

We do have a rogue John Deere in the fleet, though, which was purchased as the local New Holland dealer, Haynes, couldn’t supply us a small four-wheel-drive tractor at the time.

It cost my dad, Eric, £15,500 and because he wanted a radio in it, the salesman had to drive it to the farm as the dealer couldn’t afford the cost of a lorry to deliver it.

Favourite dealer?

We have a long history dealing with Haynes in Maidstone and the closest branch is about 10 miles away. It supplies New Holland, Vaderstad and the Kuhn fertiliser and hay kit, so we use that dealer a lot.

Crawfords has a new depot only three miles away, which is handy for parts, but sadly we can’t afford any of its products.

Favourite piece of kit?

I spend most of my time in the T6.155, hedgecutting through the winter and baling in the summer.

It is pretty comfortable and doesn’t use a lot of diesel, and I don’t see the point in having a flashy tractor on a hedgecutter because the flying debris gives it a battering.

Although I don’t drive it much, the T7.210 has a comfortable cab.

Rex: My favourite is the TM175.

Least favourite?

Ironically, my least favourite is Rex’s favourite. In my view, the TM175 has a horrible gearbox, and I don’t like spending a lot of time in it. Rex doesn’t like the John Deere 2850 because it’s green.

Latest purchase?

Last year, the biggest purchase was the combine – an ex-demo 2018 Claas Lexion 660 with a 7.7m header that had done 230 drum hours.

Our previous 2004 Lexion 510 was only a 5.4m cut and, with 2,000 drum hours on the clock, it was starting to give us a few issues.

I couldn’t really refuse the deal as we were saving a third on the price of a new one and getting the luxury of Laser Pilot.

It is slightly over capacity, but that allows us to wait for the right weather and take on more ground if and when it comes up.

We’ve always had Claas harvesters, starting with a Senator 70, through the Dominators and now our second Lexion.

We’ve bought a fair bit of hay making kit in the last couple of years, too – a new Kuhn mower, twin-rotor rake and eight-row tedder. Most recently, we got a second-hand Arcusin small bale collector.

Oldest tractor still at work?

A 1972 Ford 4000 that my father bought for £1,480 brand-new, and he still has the original tax disc and logbook. It hasn’t done a lot of work since the dairy herd went, but still starts on the button.

Replacement policy?

Whenever something becomes less efficient than it has been then I will look to change it.

The 6090 and T7.210 will be switched sooner than the rest as they cover more ground and carry out primary cultivations and drilling.

Sometimes we end up keeping older machines even when we buy a new one, particularly where trade-in values are low and they’re worth more to us as back-up options.

That’s probably why we have three telehandlers, but with the 600t/year log business, it is really handy to have an extra loader around.

Do you buy second-hand?

Yes, the current T6.155 and TM165 are both second-hand. Whether it’s new or used, any machine we buy has to offer a decent improvement in efficiency or output compared with the one it is replacing.

Next on the wish list?

A move to GPS will be probably be the next but, as our current tractors aren’t guidance ready, it may mean that it is strung out over a few years, as I will only upgrade to autosteer when we replace each model.

In the meantime, a bigger plough would help us cover the ground a bit quicker and a couple of higher-capacity grain trailers to keep up with the new combine would also be handy.

Most expensive repair?

It’s not really a repair but our previous TM175, which we bought new, had a real issue with spinning off the back oil filter. I think it happened three times in the end and was causing me real headaches.

Haynes supported us very well during the 18 months we owned it, and it fought our case with New Holland to eventually exchange it for another TM175 at no cost.

It proved to us the value of having a good dealer, as the alternative could have been a lot worse.

Fix and repair yourselves?

Most of our machinery comes new so we have standard manufacturer warranty included, but Robert Davies, our full-time staff member, carries out oil and filter changes in-house.

There is an independent chap down the road who used to work for Haynes, and he can sort out any bigger issues.

Favourite job?

Little square baling is probably my favourite. We’ve got a 2013 New Holland BC 5070 but the sledge is a pain, so we have just invested in a second-hand Arcusin small bale chaser as no one wants to manually load a lorry anymore.

We have bought it in partnership with a neighbour, along with the fully-mounted Kuhn twin-rotor rake.

The Arcusin is 10 years old, and I paid £36,000 for it at a farm sale in Suffolk. We are hoping it will really speed up collection as between the two farms we make up to 25,000 small bales a year.

Hopefully, it will also add a bit of value to the hay as it will be easier to handle, and there will be no awkward single bales.

Rex: Tedding is my favourite as I find it a really satisfying job, and it’s usually a lovely day in early summer.

Least favourite?

I hate spanner work. I find it frustrating and I’m no good at it, so I resort to a hammer – which I’m quite good with.

Hedgecutting can be frustrating but I have a 1.5m rotary blade head that can cut in both directions and go a lot quicker, which really speeds up the job.

Everyday transport?

I have a 2015 Toyota Hilux. It’s the 3-litre model but I might get it chipped as it feels slightly underpowered.

It doesn’t do much though, as I’m usually on a tractor and my uncle and dad don’t like it because it’s an automatic.

We also have a Ford Transit tipper for delivering logs in bulk to our local customers.

The business has grown considerably since 2003 and keeps us busy through the winter – we use a Posch 375 firewood processor, which is the third machine we’ve had from them.

Biggest machinery mistake?

I bought a second-hand 2011 Kuhn FC283 mower recently as a bearing failed on the last one, which caused it to catch fire.

While mowing last summer, I wondered why there was so much pollen flying around, looked behind me and there were flames coming from the grass on top of the gearbox where the oil had got so hot.

I had to throw my flask of coffee over it to try to put it out.

I think it was down to washing it off before parking it in the shed at the end of the season, leaving the water to work its way into the bearing.

Since then, we’ve decided to only clean machinery pre-season. 

Best tractor you’ve owned/driven?

Without doubt a New Holland 7840. I owned it for 10 years and got back what I paid for it, while clocking up 8,000 hours in the process.

I paid £10,500 and sold it for £9,000, then offloaded the front linkage and weights privately to make my money back. It was a great tractor and the only issue I had was a water pump.

Rex: A neighbour has just brought a T6.180 and has specced it up really nicely. I’d really like a Blue Power New Holland on the farm, but dad says I’ll have to justify one first.

Worst tractor you’ve owned/driven?

I owned a Zetor once.

Best bargain?

My New Holland small square baler would be up there – I paid £8,200 for it at only a year old. Brand-new it would have cost £16,000.

I was lucky really as the contractor who bought it new had a car drive into the string box in the first year.

Haynes did all the repairs and then it sat in the shed as he employed a contractor with a Bale Baron. I snapped it up three years later and it is a super machine.