2021-24 supervising forest machine and haulage operations on Scottish west coast forestry sites as a Tilhill harvesting supervisor.

2019-21

2 years at BSW Fort William sawmill as production operator including operating Volvo L110 and L150H (25 tonne) wheeled loaders log handling including unloading articulated lorries, sorting and handling logs (c. 450,000 tonnes / year for site).

Side loader (forklift) operator for sawn timber.

Daily checks and maintenance greasing etc.

2018

6 months for store lamb finisher including Manitou pivot steer telehandler operating including bale handling and bucket for feed. Quad bike and Rappa ridley electric fencing machine. Minidigger operating to install new water troughs including trenching across fields and ditch clearing/maintenance. ATV spot spraying for pasture weeds.

2018

2 months for farmer in Galashiels including feeding out silage bales with bale grab and JD tractor with front loader.

2016

1 year working for a NZ dairy farm (Camden Group) (Canterbury Plain) with tractor driving and front end loader work, mainly moving irrigators and hoses (100m boom rotorainers and 300m hose trailers including PTO powered reversing wind up). John Deere tractors and Ford 3000. Some experience with feed out wagon (beet, silage and haylage), heavy rolling, fodder beet harvesting with beet bucket, silage grabs. Extensive lowland Polaris diesel ATV (and trailer) , honda quad (and trailer) and two wheel ag bike/motorbike use.

2015 & 2017

2 years working for an Australian Merino sheep farm including: Massey Ferguson with front loader hay feeding round bales with roll king, wool pressing, handpiece crutching and beginner merino shearing, Electrodip for fly and lice. A little experience stick welding, grinding, drilling and workshop skills. Use of hand and power tools. Very limited chain harrowing for barley ground prep. Extensive lowland use of Honda quads. A bit of chainsawing, tractor driven woodsplitter use and fencing.

2005-2010

1.5 years Royal Marines Tracked articulated (pivot steer) vehicle operator (Hagglunds BvS 10/Viking) and C+E drivers Licence.

2003 onwards.

8+ years casual work in a woodyard including Manitou telehandler operating moving round and sawn timber with forks and timber grab, some experience with Trekkasaw mobile sawmill, ripping table saws, planing etc.

2018 UK

Shropshire

General farm worker for store lamb finisher including working dogs mustering, processing hundreds of lambs per day on v machine, including vaccinating, drenching, bolusing. Foot trimming and antibiotic administration. Mustering, loading lorries, counting sheep. Some limited store cattle including feeding, handling e.g. helping with TB testing. Lone working. Checking stock - sheep and cattle.

General farm worker helping shepherd lambing at Ladykirk, Scottish Borders in "beast from the east". Including lambing, mothering up orphans, stomach tubing etc. Quad bikes and trailers for moving ewes and lambs.

2015 and 2017 Australia

1.5 years as general farm worker for Woodside Moutajup, Western Victoria. 10,000 ewe dual purpose lamb and wool production business with 10 ewe per ha stocking rate across 1,500ha. Lowland.

Assessing animal health, feeding, checking water. Working Kelpie dogs in yards (lots of bugle yard work), paddocks (mustering), shearing sheds (penning up) and trucks (loading). Stock work including drenching, vaccinating, drafting, jetting, counting etc. Limited crutching, shearing and wool handling. Record keeping. Pick up and trailer whole grain feeding (oats and barley, lupins) with associated auger (self propelled and PTO driven) and silo work. Butchery.

Lots of lone working with dogs.

About 2 months for Minto Pastoral, NSW and Victoria. Lamb marking 20,000 + lambs, goat fencing.

About 2 months for Kaladbro Pastoral, Victoria. Lamb weaning, assisting with the angus stud including birth recording tagging.

2016 New Zealand

1 year at Willsden Farm, Canterbury Plain. 1,100 cow irrigated 300ha dairy farm. Part of the Camden Group, a 5000 milking cow business plus young stock and Jersey Bulls. Grass based outdoor system. Part of team of 5 on Willsden. Role included: milking plant operation and plant/vat wash, yard cleaning, getting the cows in on two wheelers (motorbikes) and sending them out post milking as per rotation, grubbing thistles etc.

Helped set up a new winter runoff including trough and fence installation. Worked at the winter runoff overwintering 1,100 cows strip grazing mainly fodder beet with some kale and grass including daily electric fencing for breaks.

Responsible for calf rearing including rearing 300 replacement heifer calves to 100kg, weighing, feeding (milk from penicillin cows/milk powder, crushed barley and concentrate), weaning, vaccinating, dehorning. Preparing Bobby calves for haulage.

Helping with springer drafts, strip grazing springers with twice daily breaks, drafting out calved cows for joining the milking herd, collecting calves with ford 3000 and calf trailer.

Trained staff in milking plant (50 bail rotary) and milk vat operation and washing, irrigation and calf rearing. Set up for electric fencing strip grazing etc.

Busy AI period assisting whilst the farm manger put 1,100 cows in calf to achieve a tight calving window. Some experience of tail painting and drafting cows on heat. Some experience of animal behaviour e.g. bulling etc.