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We had a chat with Rab and Carole of R&C Cameron regarding their Fendt Grass Machinery. R&C Cameron have been a customer of ours for a number of years and have recently started purchasing Fendt Machinery to support their busy contracting business.
Rab Cameron (left) and Fendt Brand Manager, Steven Player (right), with Rab’s new Fendt Former 671!
Can you tell us about yourself and your business?
Rab – I’m in a business partnership with my wife Carole– the real boss! We do quite a bit of contracting for drainage, and hay and straw which we sell to the equine business. We have more customers with mob grazing cattle nowadays so they want silage made as well. We also plough, sow and combine our own land and neighbouring farm. We do a bit of everything.
What are the main challenges you are faced with?
Rab – Machinery costs. I would say for any farming business its machinery costs. No matter who it is, when you need a repair done it will be a couple of grand even if its nothing major. It just adds up and adds up. It makes you think, should I be buying new and go into a full service plan with a tractor rather than what we had done. Certainly, the baler and equipment we have bought new because they have got to go. If there’s been a fortnight of wet weather and then you have a breakdown, someone else will pick up the job just like that. So, we need to have good machinery.
Are you busy all year round?
Rab – Yes, definitely busy all year round.
Carole– We also do forestry.
Rab – Yes we have a timber harvester as well and we also have a Wacker Neuson digger that we use to do drainage work with. So yes, it’s busy all year round.
Have you always been a contractor?
Rab- No, 12 years ago we started the contacting business and we took over half of Northbank Farm – now named Camlace (a combination of Cameron and Wallace) which is 160 acres of which 50 acres is woodland.
What Fendt machinery have you bought from us and why did you decide to buy them?
Rab- We bought the Fendt Lotus 770, 160V Baler and Former 671. Basically, we had Kverneland machinery before that and the dealer we bought from lost the Kverneland agency and we were going to be too far away from the nearest dealer. I knew that the Fendt Balers and Tedders were good so that’s why I went to Fendt. We bought the Valtra tractor and the digger from R&R Machinery and god knows what else! So, it makes sense to buy from there when it’s on the door step. When you’ve got good communication with the boys in there, they will keep you going.
Fendt Former 671 Rake
What are the main benefits of choosing Fendt?
Rab – The quality is good and the backup is excellent – which makes a difference.
What is your Fendt equipment like compared to other brands?
Rab – The rake is definitely a lot better. I had a single rotor before, now we are onto a twin rotor, so that’s a different ball game all together. The tedder makes a super job of scattering the grass out and you’ll 100% not get a better baler. It makes the bales really firm and its great that its variable chamber so I can change the size as well for straw etc. We’ve got a lot of different customers, so some want bales that aren’t as full so they can push them out and some want them solid because they are going on a lorry. That’s why I need a variable chamber in this business, and my Fendt baler does the job perfectly.
The vintage R&C Cameron lorry – doesn’t it look fantastic!
How long have you been a customer with us and what are the benefits of dealing with Hamilton Ross Group?
Rab – Well, it’s been 12 years since we started on our own, although I’ve worked with them for a long long time when I was employed before by someone else. So, 12 years ago we started R & C Cameron and we’ve dealt with them since then. The main benefits are everything really. If you go in and you’re needing something they always carry a good stock in the yard, they won’t say it will be a 6 month wait until you can get it. You will be able to get what you need within a few weeks if not in stock. Also, the workshop is second to none.
What was your buying experience like?
Rab- Very good. Steven is approachable – I can just text him or phone him anytime and if he is busy, he always gets back to me as soon as he can. If I had a problem with a plough or tractor or if I’ve broken down, Steven always makes sure I’ve got something to keep me going. That accounts for a lot, because downtime can really make an impact.
What’s the next machine you would like to purchase?
Rab- It might be a baler, we might change that for this season coming depending on what stock is there. The baler would be a new one. We have done roughly 27,500 bales with our current baler. So roughly 9,000 bales per year. Or our wrapper – it is clocking up the bale count, so that could also be on our wish list. Realistically, the next purchase will probably be a new pair of boots out the store!
Fendt 160V Baler in action!
What are your plans for the future?
Rab- Not really any big plans. Carole retired in the summer there and she does the books for the business. Carole worked full time in admin at the school and she was doing the books for our business at nights and weekends. The busier we got, the more books there are to look after. That’s why Carole decided to retire. We are going to just carry on the way we are. We are busy with the timber harvester due to biomass boilers in the local estates in the area who want so many tons a year. As for contacting with the hay and forage, we have a website and we sell to the equestrian centres and also do deliveries.
Carole– Yes, we are really busy with deliveries and it’s increasing as well so it’s trying to weigh up where do we stop? At our own place we’ve got fencing needing done, a shed to put up and other tasks to do.
Rab – Yes so, no plans to stop but we might rearrange some of the jobs going into the future. Just keep going and charging on. We also have a new vintage lorry which is our pride and joy!
Hamilton Ross Group would like to thank Rab and Carole for the support over the years and we wish you both well for the future!
Written by Kirsty Pettigrew, Group Marketing Assistant
