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How do you manage Haulage companies?

How do you manage Haulage companies?

  • Let them dictate the day, then hang around waiting!

  • Tie them down to a morning/afternoon but accept the day given.

  • Accept the day given but give a time to load, if they’re not on time they get turned away.

  • Give them a day and time to load and that’s it, tough if they can’t do it.


Results are only viewable after voting.

Phil P

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North West
I’ve pretty much had a wagon in the yard every day last week for various things such as grain/straw collections etc.
The problem I have is that I sometimes struggle to be around the yard all day waiting due to other business commitments, and some hauliers struggle to even say if it will be morning or afternoon when they’ll be there let alone an exact time!

So I’m wondering how others arrange what day/time haulage company’s can come for collections and how you get on pining them down to a time of day to be in the yard. Also what do you do if they’re not there when they’re ment to be!
Delivery’s aren’t as bad unless they insist on a signature.
 

solo

Member
Location
worcestershire
I receive the bookings via text and email with the haulier details. The good hauliers arrange approximate time of day the day before and then the driver rings a hour away as arranged. Cherwell Valley Transport have been the best this last month. Frontiers harvest movement osr was dire service, just couldn’t get lorries at all. I generally load at anytime within reason, but I do refuse to load every lorry at 5am or after 9pm. Loading this time of year suits my system best.
I haven’t voted as I am flexible on the designated day so long as the driver gives me 1 hours notice.
 

Phil P

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North West
Let them sit for half a day.
They soon learn to make a call.

I've never allowed anyone to just pop in, they make an appointment, call back when there is time or expect to be disappointed.
I had one company call me at half eleven in the morning and ask if I could load after dinner! I was like, errrm:rolleyes: NO :facepalm:.

I receive the bookings via text and email with the haulier details. The good hauliers arrange approximate time of day the day before and then the driver rings a hour away as arranged. Cherwell Valley Transport have been the best this last month. Frontiers harvest movement osr was dire service, just couldn’t get lorries at all. I generally load at anytime within reason, but I do refuse to load every lorry at 5am or after 9pm. Loading this time of year suits my system best.

Is 24h notice acceptable though? I usually know what I’ll be doing most days best part of a week in advance. Do hauliers operate day to day and hope work comes in! Or is it the end users don’t give enough notice to the haulier?
 

Phil P

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North West
Could you not just ask them to call an hour before they plan to be at your farm? I appreciate if they are tipping at mills close by this wouldn't be possible. This would allow you to leave job your at and get home to load.
That’s ok if I’m working locally, but not knowing a time really restricts what other jobs I can be doing.

I’m wondering if I’m been a little soft with these companies:oops:, but how flexible are they on collections?
 
I had one company call me at half eleven in the morning and ask if I could load after dinner! I was like, errrm:rolleyes: NO :facepalm:.



Is 24h notice acceptable though? I usually know what I’ll be doing most days best part of a week in advance. Do hauliers operate day to day and hope work comes in! Or is it the end users don’t give enough notice to the haulier?
It's bad enough getting a call after 10:00 and having to change plans, but an hour is no use, you're trying to run a business.

Calling the evening before isn't difficult.

Harvest time isn't easy for haulers, but most can at least tell you the day before if you'll be getting lorries to load the next day.
 

solo

Member
Location
worcestershire
The email and text are sent about a week in advance. Haulier phone call is the day before movement unless I phone him to arrange. Occasionally the merchant will ring to see if I will load a contract early and it is sorted by mutual agreement. The only time I get issues is when the mill breaks down and contracts get cancelled but I don’t seem to be informed. They just rebook and you don’t know whether they have rebooked tuesdays loads or Fridays. Usually requires me to chase the haulier up then. This time of year suits as I’m not miles away from the yard and doing maintenance work. About 700t of cereals has been loaded over the last 6 weeks with about half of that in one week.
 

7610 super q

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
It was better before the invention of the mobile phone. A call from the office the day before arranging a time was pretty standard. Now it's either a running commentary from the last 100 miles , or turn up unannounced. Trouble with unannounced visits is buckets have to be washed ( and dried ) , trailers of grain brought down from the official Red Tractor store, and tipped in a taller shed, passports hastily printed off, 3/4 hour trying to get the Manipoo started.......

Always glad to see my produce shifted though. I don't buy into this dictating to hauliers what to do idea.
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
I’ve pretty much had a wagon in the yard every day last week for various things such as grain/straw collections etc.
The problem I have is that I sometimes struggle to be around the yard all day waiting due to other business commitments, and some hauliers struggle to even say if it will be morning or afternoon when they’ll be there let alone an exact time!

So I’m wondering how others arrange what day/time haulage company’s can come for collections and how you get on pining them down to a time of day to be in the yard. Also what do you do if they’re not there when they’re ment to be!
Delivery’s aren’t as bad unless they insist on a signature.
Drive around the M25 and then ask the same question
 

Spud

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
YO62
Blimey, some of you have no idea how haulage works!! Some mills can turn a wagon round in an hour...but there's 6 trucks in front. Traffic incredibly variable. Some jobs come in with a few hours notice, not a few days.
Some farmers can't help themselves mind, screaming for grain movement, but won't get out of bed and load it before going shooting...

We run seven trucks on agricultural haulage, mostly grain. Usually, we'll ring the day before for the first load, which if empty the night before, we'll be there earlier than promised. Too many don't roll out of the house til after 8, to then find something parked in the way, forklift needs diesel, not got the passport ready or whatever.Some forget to tell us they only have a teaspoon sized bucket or a 4" auger to load with either!
Some are brilliant and are there with the 2t bucket full ready at 7am (or before)

If we're loaded the night before and need to tip first, some mills are tip up and go. Some are an hour through the sock. Some might have a queue of half a dozen or so. We won't know til we get there - in any case, the driver will ring half an hour or so before arrival for directions and to confirm eta - assuming he doesn't get snarled up in what will be by then rush hour traffic.
Second load is often planned the night before, and prearranged with the farmers, but a rejection, traffic snarl up, mill breakdown or deadline to tip the second load might mean we have to rearrange and send a different truck to get the load where it needs to be on time.

The third load isn't usually planned beyond the transport desk the day before, because at least 80% of the time something occurs to change the schedule - a rejection, traffic delay or whatever - or more likely a merchant rings with a 'can you just pop' which jumps the queue.

As ever in life, most folk are spot on, and some folk are pillocks on purpose.
 
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Phil P

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North West
Drive around the M25 and then ask the same question
I appreciate traffic can play a big part, but surely it’s not unreasonable to give a morning or afternoon approximation?
If I’m sat in the yard waiting around it’s costing me time and money I won’t get back! Why should hauliers get it all there own way!
 

solo

Member
Location
worcestershire
I appreciate traffic can play a big part, but surely it’s not unreasonable to give a morning or afternoon approximation?
If I’m sat in the yard waiting around it’s costing me time and money I won’t get back! Why should hauliers get it all there own way!
Can you not pre empt the collection by arranging for loading last thing the day before or be the early bird collection?
 
For outgoing livestock I usually get a text first, the evening before at the latest with an approximate ETA. Then the driver rings with a more accurate time when he's on his way, unless we're first load of the day, in which case the predicted time would be spot on.
One regular weekly collection is usually the same day/time each week with the same driver so he only lets me know if he's been unavoidably held up.
Any deliveries that need unloading we can accommodate with about 30 minutes notice.
 

Banana Bar

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bury St Edmunds
In the past we have run one or two trucks on bulk work collecting from farms. Bearing in mind in 99% of my life I meet farmers as an associate. Jump on a truck for a few days and some of the farmers you think of as decent people turn into the most arrogant pricks you can imagine until they realise you’re also a farmer! It beggars belief why these people should emit such an air of self importance.
 

A1an

Member
Welcome to my world.

I've tried for nearly 2 years to work WITH haulage companies but they are hard work . I've found that from the owner/driver to companies like AWJ they are all the same.... hard work.
I recently approached a large haulage company to shift chip for me, I needed 4 lorries every Thursday at 8am, no chance .

I've had them turn up out of the blue, 2 turn up when 1 is booked in and lorries that have tipped the load back in to my shed after loading, cancelled order whilst I was loading .
 

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Webinar: Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer 2024 -26th Sept

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On Thursday 26th September, we’re holding a webinar for farmers to go through the guidance, actions and detail for the expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer. This was planned for end of May, but had to be delayed due to the general election. We apologise about that.

Farming and Countryside Programme Director, Janet Hughes will be joined by policy leads working on SFI, and colleagues from the Rural Payment Agency and Catchment Sensitive Farming.

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