On Wheatrig Farm, just outside Longniddry in East Lothian, Willie Thomson farms over 360ha of cereals through a variety of arrangements. The Thomson family has farmed 60ha as part of a secure tenancy since 1904 and since 1934 has worked 76ha of owned land nearby.

In addition to this, Willie operates 30ha as part of a shared farming arrangement with his landlord and has also entered into a joint venture to contract farm a further 195ha with another local farmer.

The farms have been set up with rotations to suit their land type. On the owned ground, which largely consists of heavier clay soils, there is a rotation of oilseed rape followed by three wheat crops. On parts that are situated on loam soils, there is a six-year rotation in place – spring barley, oilseed rape and wheat followed by spring barley, potatoes and wheat. The land is rented out for the potatoes. The contract farm is planted with oats instead of potatoes.

Scottish farmers invested nearly £190m on buildings, plant, machinery and vehicles in 2016 alone. Machinery makes up a large part of this figure and it is a cost that Willie has been keen to minimise on his farm. “In 2008, myself and the other farmer involved in the contract farming decided to purchase a self-propelled sprayer between us. That’s how the shared machinery end of things got started for us.”

In 2008, both farmers where faced with a situation where they had aging machinery fleets that needed an upgrade. Rather than both parties spending money on equipment that would be used for the same purpose, they pooled their resources and began buying shared machinery.

“Maybe originally it wasn’t the plan but nearly 10 years on, it’s been a success,” Willie says. The pair have since set up a public limited company through which all the equipment is bought. It is then leased to the separate farms which are charged based on their usage. The system means both farmers can maximise their capital allowances.

“I guess the most important thing in a system like this is that you have good relations with the person you’re going in with,” Willie explains. “For us it works very well based on the farms locations. My farm is 250ft above sea level so they’re always the first to require a machine in any given rotation. Then the contract farm is 500ft above sea level so there’s never a demand for a single machine at the same time.”

As with any decision made on farms, the proof of its success is in the pudding, or in this case it is in the quantity of money saved. That is where the regular benchmarking that Willie carries out takes centre stage.

“I always try to keep a strong handle on my costs. Given farmers cannot control prices outside the farm gates, it’s important we control the ones inside it,” he says. Through the AHDB he regularly benchmarks his machinery costs against those of similar sized farms and regularly finds the shared machinery system coming out on top.

Willie has also used this benchmarking system to influence his cropping decisions. Although traditionally winter barley was always planted on the farm, he said, “the numbers just didn’t stack up. We weren’t getting the return we needed so it has been dropped from the rotation.”

Improving through small steps

The efficiency of capital spending on the farm has allowed them to invest in a high degree of technology. Not only is fertiliser, lime and seed spread via GPS field tracking, it is also applied at variable rates based on data gathered from previous years. This ensures the most efficient use of inputs.

‘This has resulted in the most effective use of resources and the positive benefits have been seen in the fields. “Especially on the spring crops,” Willie says, “we’ve seen both increased yields and quality. I think the real benefit comes in dry years when crops have good access to fertiliser and can hold out until the rain arrives.”

Improving both nutrient availability and soil structure has become an important part of what the farm does. Soil structure is always top of the list for improvement, especially on the heavier ground. From autumn onwards, all planting on the farm is done through minimum tillage in an effort to maintain the soil structure during times of the year when waterlogging and compaction can be quite common.

“We’ve found since we’ve moved away from the plough on the wetter parts of the farm that there’s been less problems with flooding,” Willie explains. “Since 2012, all our wettest ground is sown using a Horsch Sprinter. It moves less soil and causes minimum disturbance. This prevents water becoming trapped in the growing zone.”

Keeping a companion

The farm also practises companion cropping. This involves sowing two crops alongside each other in the hope that the companion crop will help the main one to thrive. The companion crop harvests sunlight that would be otherwise wasted and converts this to organic matter. The companion varieties selected then naturally die off over colder periods and deposit this organic matter in to the soil for the main crop to utilise.

In Willie’s case this means sowing berseem clover alongside his oilseed rape. Not only does the clover provide extra organic matter but it also plays a large role in helping the oilseed rape to establish itself. The berseem roots act as natural soil aerators and create routes in the soil for the oilseed rape roots to use, which aids their establishment.

This effect is best seen in the kind of minimum cereals soils that Willie encourages on the farm. Roots can penetrate deep into the soils without burying any nutrients close to the surface. “There’s no doubt it helps with establishment. Since we’ve started using it there’s been a definite increase in our yields.”

Off-farm Willie is also heavily involved in the tillage sector. He chairs the local Lothian monitor farm group as well as acting as vice-chair for the NFUS combinable crops committee. “It can take up a lot of time,” he says, “but it’s worth it because you learn so much from your fellow farmers.

“Ultimately I think the level of cooperation is set to increase in farming. Taking our machinery sharing system for example, when you share out the costs and work burden it reduces your own risk and makes thing easier to operate.

“We’re very far down that route but it is still an evolving process.”