Manager’s Report - Bruce Hamilton

 As you can see from the team photo below, there are now six of us in the office with John & Lynne having joined in the Spring. The extra staffing has allowed much more time to be spent on visiting members and arranging training courses than ever before. As a result we are projecting a record turnover for the year in all areas of our business.

Membership has broken through the 800 barrier and turnover is projected at £7m.

Labour supply is not quite as difficult so far this year compared to last. This is in part due to the construction downturn which has encouraged some new labour only suppliers to join and making some existing members  more available. We would however expect a shortage of supply during September and would appeal to any member who is available to let us know.

The massive increase in fuel cost has made it essential to keep the cost separate from the job. The fuel usage from a 160hp tractor can easily be 18 litres per hour and this costs over £12 per hour. Our guide rate for this tractor is £19.50/hr and so the real cost for tractor, man & fuel is over £30/hr. It is of course very variable depending on the workload and therefore please, keep the fuel separate. Either arrive and leave with a full tank or meter it in and charge it separately.

We would remind you that by April 2010 all Diesel tanks must be bunded and to this end we are now stocking 2,500 Litre Bunded Tanks with a Pump. Larger sizes are also available.

Grain drying will also be hit with the fuel price. We are recommending an increase of £1/%/t this equates to £15.70/t to remove 4% moisture.

  New Members

UA Livestock Ltd, Stirling Auction Mart, Kildean

D Geddes (Contractors) Ltd, Swirlburn Farm, Colliston

Falkland Estate Limited, Falkland House Stables, Falkland

Tatlock & Thomson, The Old Corn Exchange, Inverkeithing

Scott Greenhill, Leuchars Lodge, Leuchars

Ian Fraiser, Hillend Cottage, Gauldry

Woodmill Shootings Ltd, Woodmill Farmhouse, Lindores

J & D Roberts, Farmton Farm, Auchterarder

A M D Laptops (Fife), 377 Julian Road, Glenrothes

Kelly Tree Care, 59 Low Road, Auchtermuchty

Mr & Mrs A Macfarlane, Muirhead Farm, Crail

Jack Ingleby, Coldrain House, Cleish

Brechin Homes Ltd, 31 Rose Street, Tullibody

Riach Contracting, Avalon Business Park, Guardbridge

Karen & Archie Waterston, Drums House, Freuchie

Henry Frame Plant Hire, 91 Queens Crescent, Chapelhall

C & N Wivell, Inchcoonans House, Errol

Kincardine Castle Estate, Kincardine Castle, Auchterarder

Harry Fairley, Fairholm, Shiels Farm, Larbert

Innergellie Farm, Innergellie House, Kilrenny

Rain water systems- by Dan Riach

Ask any visitor to Scotland and they probably expect it to rain a lot. Scotland’s reputation in this respect is not unfounded, but few people have stopped to consider the value of this under-used natural resource.

In Scotland, commercial mains water consumption is metered and incurs significant monthly water bills. The installation of a rainwater harvesting system can make considerable financial savings to these. Modern agricultural and industrial businesses typically have a significant requirement for water. They also accommodate at least some of their operations in large units. A shed roof of just 120 sq metres offers a potential catchment 120,000ltr of rain water per year. The rainwater quality is good: soft, not ph-balanced and relatively clean, so it’s ideally suited for cattle drinking water, spray water and wash down water.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) does not regulate the collection and use of rain water, so rainwater harvesting has even more to recommend it: it is not considered an abstraction and therefore rainwater arrives directly on-site, just where you need it - and is totally free!

Rainwater harvesting systems allow you to take advantage of this free resource to supply your water demand and to reduce the overall runoff and drainage burden from your site. By detaining rain water in a tank and then using it less water is being sent to the drain.

High water demand + shed roofs + Scottish weather = Riach Contracting rainwater system.

Putting it that way, can you afford NOT to make such a fundamentally beneficial investment?

Gaining a full understanding of customer requirements and applying a good dose of common sense, Riach Contracting chooses high quality used tanks and specific rain water harvesting equipment to install very cost effective systems which are fit for purpose without being over complicated.

Following a careful ‘Client Needs’ assessment, Riach Contracting will supply and install the entire system “From Tank Base to Tap - a One-Stop Solution” with full back up and servicing to follow. Depending on the application and specific customer requirements, rain water can be stored above or below ground with relevant filtration options – for example filtration can include UV sterilisation if required – and to ensure uninterrupted supply Riach Contracting rainwater systems can include a fully automated mains back-up.

For more information Ring the Ring

Training Update -     By Vicky

Firstly I would like to thank all those who have undertaken a NPTC qualification for their patience.  Certification for those involved in the Certificate of Competence in the Transport of Animals by Road has been massively delayed and this has had a knock-on effect on all other NPTC awards.  Monitoring this situation has proved tricky, as all documentation is sent directly to the candidate.  If your NPTC certification is still outstanding, please contact me to deal with on your behalf. Lantra Awards are also experiencing delays issuing their documentation.

Moving onto a positive note, training has been going well with plenty of the usual courses such as Forklift, ATV and Animal Transportation.  However, in addition to this, a successful Combined Vermin Course occurred and also Appraisal Training which is a first for Tayforth.  This course is designed to assist in the implementation of an Appraisal System and can be adapted to suit your needs.

As training will be set to slow down during the busy harvest period, I am now taking bookings for the autumn/winter months.  Summer dates are still available though, if  required.

Anyone interested in…..

Dry Stone Dyking – The Dry Stone Walling Association will instruct this 2 day beginners course. For this, an existing wall made from level bedded sandstone would be dismantled and rebuilt.  The delegates will gain the basics  to be able to maintain or build their own dry stone walls.

Transportation of Hazardous Goods (ADR) - Since January 2007, all drivers of vehicles carrying dangerous goods (including those with a GVW of 3.5 tonnes or less) must have an ADR training certificate. ADR training is carried out over 5 days and will cost about £380

Just a little reminder…..

If you have undertaken a course or assessment recently, I may still be awaiting a passport photograph.  Please send this to me as soon as possible as this could be the reason for a delay in certification.  Also, there are still some of you out there to sit your Certificate of Competence in the Transport of Animals by Road.  As I’m sure you have had enough of me pestering you on the phone, please call me to arrange a date and time for your assessment.

Building Supplies -   by Mark

June and July is the traditional time of the year for farmers to upgrade and repair their steadings. Over the past couple of months we have enjoyed a healthy demand for ready-mixed concrete as well as a good demand for the tools to lay it with. Also there has been an increased call for aggregates and other building materials, all of which we have supplied at very competitive prices.

Those who have already received their supplies have enjoyed the benefit of cheaper prices, as ready-mix concrete is set to go up by at least £3.20 per cube from the 1st August. 

Please note that from within the membership we are able to supply much more than the basics for shed building, so please give us a call with all of your requirements.

FiFine Fresh Food From Fife - by Lynne

The Ring would like to offer, through our website, a full range of locally produced food products that are currently only available at local farmers markets and farm shops.  At present I am collating information on products and availability and would appreciate members who are involved in production of the following items; Beef (Highland), Beef (Aberdeen Angus), Eggs, Pork, Bacon, Vension, Water Buffalo, Lamb, Vegetable, Soft Fruits etc to contact us.

We believe this service will appeal to members who wish to support local farming business, but cannot spare the time to attend a Farmers Market.  For more information please give me a phone.

New & Underused Services

Employment Status  Health check - Whether you are in Farming, Construction or any other Industry, if you’re self employed or a firm using large numbers of self employed or subcontract workers, we have a member who can carry out a full Employment Status health check, assist with a PAYE/Tax investigation or Review your Contracts.

He has unrivalled experience and expertise in Employment Status (12 years) & IR35 (5 years) through his employment with the Inland Revenue.

Computer Engineer - When you encounter a problem on your computer, you may think one of two things: where’s the number for that tedious helpline or who do you know that can fix this for me without mucking about? We now have a computer engineer trained specifically in computer maintenance and repair. He can provide a diagnosis on site as early as the same day. This service also extends to managing operating systems, installations, data transfer and health checks.

Hay, Straw & Silage - As always we will be very actively involved in trading forage this Autumn. If you have any to sell or require some, please tell Mark in the office. We already have excellent Hay & Haylage for sale.

Self Loading Forage Wagon - These have started to come back into favour and are particularly suited to second cut and the smaller producer. Far fewer people are required and far less fuel is used to make your silage - saving money.

Rainwater Harvesting - As Dan Riach’s article says, if you are on a metered water supply, you should be looking at this. Payback can be as little as one year.

Tanks - Fuel, Water, Slurry & Gas Tanks -

Please do not buy a tank without giving us a ring. We can give you unbiased advice on what you need - as well as what the Law requires you to have. One thing to think about fuel security - there are almost no recorded cases of theft of LPG and at 32-35ppl it is without doubt the cheapest way to dry grain.

Computer & Internet Security - by Jim McLaren

The Internet is a very powerful business tool with many government agencies, banks, shops, and businesses now offering their services online. Unfortunately to go with this there are cybercriminals who are out to exploit all these new 'opportunities'. So how can your average computer user protect themselves from Internet threats?

Viruses: Worst case, computer viruses will corrupt the data on your hard drive. At the very least they will make your computer run very slowly. Please make sure that you have a reasonable recent version of anti virus software, and that the virus definitions are kept up to date.

Spyware/Adware: These are small programs that you can pick up when browsing the web. Worst case is that you will get bombarded with pop up adverts of a dubious nature and your web experience will turn into a misery. Make sure that you have anti-spyware software installed on your PC and it is up to date.

Hackers: Hackers are people who try to break into your PC from the Internet. They will either steal information from your PC, or use your PC to steal information from others. The solution is to either install firewall software on your computer or make sure your router has an inbuilt firewall. A firewall makes your computer 'invisible' on the Internet, and so hackers cannot find you.

Phishers: If you receive an e-mail supposedly from your bank asking you to click on a link to verify your account details. This is more than likely a phisher who is after your details so they can then log on to your account and help themselves. E-mails offering you a share in a legacy in return for you helping him move this money abroad are looking for your bank details to plunder what you have.

E-mailing Invoices

We have had a great response from members accepting their invoices by e-mail with 143 of you moving to this (that leaves 657 who have not yet!).

If you would like to help save a bit of time and money and you check your e-mails more than once a month then please give us a ring and we will move you onto this. It saves us 2 stamps, some of Judith’s valuable time and it gives you the paperwork 2 days quicker. It also keeps an electronic copy for you.  

Since the Spring Newsletter, the number of members enrolled in e-invoicing has increased to 447 – well over half of the Membership.  We anticipate that this will increase to 550 over the coming months.

If you are not already doing so, we also provide the option for members to send us their worksheets PAPER FREE!

To save the costs and time of sending worksheets through the post, and to ensure you get paid as quickly as possible for jobs completed, you can send your Paperless Worksheets via our website: www.tayforth.co.uk > Member’s Section > Submit a Worksheet

Once you have entered all the relevant information, all you have to do is click ‘Submit’.  You will also be provided with a Reference Number to confirm that Judith has received your worksheet(s) instantly.

Tractors and Forklifts Running on Red Diesel - How to Keep within the law

· Keep below a Gross Train Weight of  24.39 t

· Strap or rope your load - it cannot be held on by its own weight

· Cover your load if anything could fall out

· Do not get caught over 20mph unless you have airbrakes and suspension on all 4 wheels (i.e. Fastrac)

· If stopped,  please do not say you are  ‘carting’ as haulage is not permitted on red diesel -  You are of course ‘assisting with an agricultural operation’ e.g. Sowing, Silage making or Harvesting

· If you are caught doing non-agricultural work, we can have no sympathy!