[Grant]

I have been off this site for nearly 4 years whilst working in Qatar, I'm looking to come home permanently at Xmas. I still have my 20 acres in North Ayrshire, that my 17 year old daughter has cared for exceptionally well in my absence, and kept our small flock of ryelands going, along with horse, donkey and 2 mad dogs.

I will probably need to get a job, but I would rather work for myself doing a wee bit of wheeling and dealing and give me more time to develop our holding. In the past I couldn't always afford the toys that I wanted to have, or even borrow and sometimes machinery or plant is just to difficult to hire or just not available.

So my question to the forum would be- What items of machinery would you have the need for on a short term basis, but can't hire easily and would like to be able to get the use of occasionally and at an acceptable rate.
My previous items that I needed to hire or borrow were:
Quad
Livestock trailer
Mini digger with timber post driver
Towable weed sprayer / weed wiper for quad
7.5t mobile display truck
Towable topper
Hydraulic log splitter
Mini tractor, with various attachments
Small bale hay baling equipment
Etc, etc

I am looking at the possibility of developing a small hire business, servicing the needs of smallholders in central Scotland, so I am trying to find out what equipment would be most useful and regularly sought after by small scale operators.
I am also looking at sourcing & procuring bulk bought items from England or further afield ( I have a few contacts in the transport business) at more preferential rates, when buying in bulk and full loads. It's amazing how many trucks trundle back up the M6/74 with part loads. So again I am looking for suggestions of what you  buy regularly, but you feel that you are not getting a good deal, this could include things like; hard feed, bulk vegetables, fencing materials, hay/straw, tin sheeting, building materials etc.
So for example if I could source materials to completely erect a 5km post & wire fence, but this might be split over 8-10 people, we would all hopefully save a few quid, that could be put to use elsewhere? Obviously I would buy in advance and materials would be paid for on collection and based on a promise and handshake.
Happy to hear your views or opinions (even if you stay further afield)
Moderator, I hope this post isn't too large
Grant

[Buttermilk]

We have hired a steam cleaner in the past for cleaning calf penning.

[benkt]

Not in Scotland, but I've borrowed/hired/lent the following

Livestock trailer
Mini digger
Mini tractor, with various attachments inc. large trailer for fetching hay/straw bales - also potato lifter (have a planter - but we only use it for an afternoon a year so might work well for hire as it saves so much work!)
Plucking machine
Bench saw
Refrigerated trailer
and probably a whole bunch of other things I can't remember at the moment!

oh yes and on the list of things I'd like to borrow/hire if only I could find someone with some: poultry crates! We very occasionally have to move a lot of poultry say 50-100 birds and it never seems worth buying crates for the ''one-off' but the one-offs keep happening

[Womble]

I might well hire a towable topper or a large walk-behind flail mower.


I've also really struggled to get good prices in Scotland on wrinkly tin, so that might be worth investigating further.


[member=4128]benkt[/member] - when we took broilers to the slaughterhouse, we borrowed crates from them for the occasion. Could you do the same perhaps?

[ellied]

I struggle to get contractors to spray my fields due to the bigger contracts.  I've a friend with a quad but a sprayer and chemicals for small acreages would be useful or an option including the quad.  Even with driver perhaps.  To treat ragwort, dockens, nettles, and perhaps also ccs or lime for buttercups at various times.

Also stock trailer but 7' headroom one with cattle gate for transport of highland ponies esp mare and foal combo.  Most are only 6' headroom or else set up with horse partitions.

And occasionally a large trailer to fetch or take a load somewhere.

I'm self employed with limited income so prices would be  critical to whether and how often I would use the service.  Collection/delivery arrangements also relevant if the base is Ayrshire as I doubt I'd ever manage to collect use and return in person and costs might price you out to deliver to the east coast.

Great idea tho, hope you get it going even in a more limited regional way.

[oor wullie]

If it was localish to me (sadly you aren't) I would hire a plucking machine (and stunner) once a year.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Just wanted to say welcome back! and be careful and buying in loads of machnery I know people who went bankrupt that way. Second hand stuff would be cheaper, conditionwould be paramount though.

[benkt]

Is there generally room for local smallholder machinery circles, then?

[member=2128]Womble[/member], unfortunately, my poultry crate needs aren't always for abattoir trips - usually required when we buy  in ex-free range hybrids at 18mths to bolster our laying flock.

[Rupert the bear]

Scotland, especially the remote parts ie north of Aberdeen if the couriers are to be believed suffer the transport premium, for example the pallet of paint I ordered from northern England  was going to be surcharged £150  for delivery  albeit delivery to lands end in the other direction was free , almost the same distance    in the end arranged transport by backload £20. Oh and the paint from the factory was £120 .
same with roofing sheets, tools and equipment trade off between paying inflated prices or reasonable prices and rip off transport prices . I now spend more time getting competitive transport pricing than shopping around for the item price , and how come  I can purchase a MKII dobury ( genuine ) from far far away land for £2 and free delivery to Scotland whereas purchasing it in England for £10 and an additional £7.50 delivery  to the bit on the map marked " There be dragons " ( Aberdeenshire ). rant over and back to the roof and paint sniffing

[Grant]

Womble  - I forgot about the Scag mower I used to borrow from my work. It was a great tool for cutting back 3 acres of rough woodland overgrowth, and something that anyone could get to grips with, and it's relatively quick.

Wrinkly tin, that's probably something that a few people struggle to get for their pigs at a fair price.

WBFarmer - I haven't any intentions of jumping in and buying Lots of kit, but I would like to start with the stuff that I know I could use and take it from there. I'm sure if there was a few like minded people out there, we could all benefit, save a few quid and get access to a lot more toys at the fraction of a price. I need to give this some more thought, but a sort of cooperative might work?  I might not want to pay for a JCB for 2 days work, but perhaps I could swap 4 ton of cut & split dried elm? We would all put a different value onto things we own or produce, and there will always be someone willing to put a price on it......
G

[Possum]

Mini digger and towable topper please. (Well, if I lived in Scotland anyway).

[Rupert the bear]

decent sized wood chipper  and pedestrian flail mower , like hens teeth up here.