Contracting on the Outer Hebrides: Highland farming

It’s a big ask for any young farmer to come up with the finances to start up their own contracting business and source decent reliable machinery, never mind find enough customers to make the venture economically viable. Take a step into the Isle of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides and these factors that would entice anyone to start up an agri contracting business are not so blatantly obvious. That is of course unless you are 28-year-old Jonathon Mackay who is a native to the area and knows exactly what the needs of the local crofters are.

the Isle of Lewis and Harris is the most populated of the Scottish islands. Although usually referred to as if they are two separate isles, Lewis and Harris is actually one land mass with the northern two-thirds known as Lewis and the southern third, Harris, being the same island. Difficult Highland terrains mean the Isles are predominantly