Crofts yield plenty work for Jonathon

A itsyoung farm contractor has quickly expanded his business since inception in the Outer Hebrides as demand for his services increased.

Jonathon Mackay set up J Mackay Contracting, operating across Lewis and Harris, two years ago, starting off with a few construction jobs and then moving on to farm work.

It was quite a bold step for the 29-year-old as sourcing finance to buy reliable machinery is always a major hurdle in agri-contracting.

But with determination and hard work, Jonathon was able to get the business up and running quite easily.

Jonathon hails from Nisabost on the Isle of Harris, where he grew up on the family croft working with livestock and tourism.

He returned to his home soil with a view to setting up his business after working off the island to earn enough funds to buy some machinery.

“I always had the ambition to set up a contracting business on my own at home, especially after working so long for others,” said Jonathon.

“In the beginning, I was able to use my dad’s threetonne Takeuchi digger to get me started, cleaning out ditches and digging drains for customers.”

He said the search for a tractor was especially important as he did not want too much of his money tied up in a vehicle, especially when starting his business.

“As my father Angus and I had been used to the Massey Ferguson brand, it was the obvious choice to make but choosing the right model was a little bit more difficult,” added Jonathon.

“In the end, I managed to pick up a 2013 Massey Ferguson 7620 Dyno VT in Elgin rated at 180 horsepower.”

He said crofters do not normally make pit silage, and they prefer to make round bales for their winter forage.

“You won’t find many swanky, self-propelled forage harvesters working on the small isles but round baling is certainly popular among the crofters,” said Jonathon.

“Between my father and I, we cut 45 acres of our own silage for round baling and last year completed the first cut on June 15.

“We also bale for quite a few neighbours as well and use a 2012 Vicon RF125 round baler followed by a Mchale 991BC wrapper to wrap the bales.”

He added: “I carry out a lot of grass seeding with my Opico surface seeder and would cover in the region of 150 to 200 acres per year of seeding both on these isles and the neighbouring Isle of North Uist,” added Jonathon.

“I also carry out a small bit of ploughing using a Kverneland two-furrow plough when requested.

“My working season is well spread out during the year, so I have income pretty much all year round except for January and February, which would be quieter.”

ON TRACK: Jonathon Mackay established his contracting business two years ago.