Getting any new enterprise off the ground is a tough task, but it’s even harder to step into an established market. Yet in just four years, Oxfordshire-based RJR Contracting has grown from a one-man, onetractor outfit into a business that runs seven big square balers and a precision lime spreading operation alongside a diverse range of other arable services

With ambition and determination underpinning his young business, Robert Redman has set out his stall to make a total of 65,000 bales this season. It’s an increase of 30% over last year’s 50,000 bales, and, while the bulk of this bale count is derived from straw, he adds that hay, haylage and silage bales are also part of the process.