See William and Adam Pollock’s JCB Fastrac in transit or working in a roadside field and there is no mistaking whose it is.

The bright yellow paint that usually identifies JCB equipment has been hidden by a matte black vinyl wrap and the normally yellow wheel rims now have a satin silver finish. Get up closer and a discrete gold pinstripe around the hood and ‘WP’ logos – for William Pollock and Son – either side and on the nose become apparent.

Adam Pollock explained: “We like to look after our vehicles and give them a distinctive appearance – my Ford Ranger pick-up and our Optum tractor are in the same matte black finish. People know it’s our equipment when they see us travelling or working, which is good advertising; although it also means there’s no hiding place if the quality of work isn’t up to the usual high standards we set ourselves – that’s why we’re always striving to do the best possible job.”

The Fastrac in question is an 8330, the top model in the range with 348hp from its 8.4-litre engine, a stepless transmission providing seamless speed control, and active self-levelling suspension front and rear. The tractor was bought last year from Scotland-wide JCB dealer, Scot Agri, after something of a tussle between the father-and-son contracting team.

“Dad wanted a change from his Optum and suggested a Fastrac, but as a Case man through-and-through, I was dead against it,” said Adam. “Now, after 18 months and 1500 hours, I must admit I’m converted – it’s been a great tractor and if you ask me whether we’d have another, 'yes' would definitely be my answer!”

From their four-acre poultry unit located opposite the Royal Highland Showground, at Ingliston, Messrs Pollock operate a contracting business that specialises in primary and secondary cultivation, sowing grain and oilseed crops, and hauling harvested produce.

“I never meant to create a full-size contracting business when I started out after leaving school but that’s just the way it’s gone,” Adam recalled. “We both enjoy tractor work, have done well enough to invest in good kit and kept the business at a size that avoids the complication of having employees, even though it means we have to work long hours at peak times.”

Each of the operation’s two tractors clocks up 1200-1300 hours a year, with the Fastrac’s roles including combination drilling and turning the land with a six-furrow on-land plough working up to 3m of soil with each pass.

Read more: 

“We imagined the Fastrac would need around 1600kg of ballast, but we’ve already taken off 700kg and she just purrs along at 1200-1300rpm with no more than 1% wheelslip, so we’ll probably try it without any ballast because the weight distribution and traction are so good,” added Adam.

“We’ve found that having suspension for the back axle, as well as at the front, really helps with traction, especially working a roughly ploughed field with our 5m power harrow-seed drill combination. It keeps the implement level and stable as the suspension absorbs movement at the rear wheels rather than pitching the tractor about.”

That also translates into a more comfortable experience for the operator, of course, both in the field and on the road when in transit to the next job or when pulling a trailer. “The Fastrac cab is certainly a nice place to be,” Adam confirmed. “It’s very spacious with good visibility, even to the rear hitch with the camera feed.

“And the brakes are incredible. I feel safer doing 70kph in the Fastrac than another tractor at 50kph and especially when our tandem axle trailer is loaded up to 36 tonnes at harvest running in-field and on farm tracks,” he said. “I also like being able to keep an eye on the brake discs – which you can do easily, of course, because they’re exposed on the end of the axles.”

Other tasks that go the Fastrac’s way include operating a 3m deep tine, disc and packer combination cultivator on vegetable land preparation, and consolidating seedbeds with a 10m set of rolls.

Come winter, the Fastrac is kitted out with a 3m, three-segment high-speed snow plough to keep roadways and car parks passable on the nearby showground and other private locations, easily keeping up with a pick-up and salt spreader.

“Back-up has been good, too,” added Adam. “It’s our first experience with JCB dealer Scot Agri and they’ve been really good, going out of their way to sort things quickly when we’ve had the odd issue. Overall, the Fastrac has exceeded our expectations – while mine, anyway. Dad was right, the 8330 really is a great tractor that offers so much more than others of its size and power.”