Keeping it classic
West Grassland Services, run by Willie West, is based in northwest Dumfries and provides a grassland management and hay-making service in the area aimed predominantly at the equestrian market, but also caters for smaller farms between Annan, in the east of the county, and Castle Douglas in the west.
Willie had a desire to get into the agricultural industry from a young age and having left school at 16 he worked on a local farm to gain experience and pass his tractor-driving test.
“This achieved, I moved on to work with a local contractor who specialised in round baling and wrapping,” Willie explained. “I worked there through the 1990s before moving on to work for a larger-scale contractor, in 2001, that ran multiple silage teams and combines, as well as doing general contracting work. I always preferred contracting to farm work, as you were never on the same farm more than a couple of days.”
It was at this time Willie spotted a gap in the market, as although modern machinery is fast, efficient and extremely capable, it’s large – and this is quite often its downfall when operating in the confines of small fields and on challenging ground.
“In this part of Scotland many fields cannot
