Search results

Thinking of going back to 24m from 36m. My boom height control system on my 36m is woeful and needs a big upgrade which is huge money so I’m thinking of going back to 24m which would also allow me to go back to granular fert instead of liquid (I’ve posted a thread on that in the cropping...

I’m thinking of making the move back to spreading fertiliser instead of using liquid. Anybody done it and regretted it? We can’t put on liquid P & K so have to use a contractor and as we are 36m spread pattern is hit and miss. We’ve had scorch last year and this year with this year in...

What’s the longer term view of what is going to happen with prices? I’ve been around a few dealer yards over the last week or so and generally they all seem to be trying to reduce stock levels. They are reluctant to trade things in and the amount of times I’ve heard ‘you’d be better off selling...

I’m aware of that but that doesn’t answer my question. One of my named fields for THIS year which I’ve already named on the application needs to change. Can I just swap it without telling them as long as the total area remains the same. Think about it from the prospective of an inspection this...

46% not planted here. Managed to rent a bit out for early potatoes so it’ll end up at 32% earning us nothing this year. That’s now gone into SFI to make up for the lost income.

we’ve accepted an SFI offer and have 45ha of AHL2 split up into 10 blocks. On the offer we obviously named the fields for this year it’ll go in. However due to a last minute change to cropping I need to swap an area around. The total area will remain the same so is this just done on the annual...

I think that’s the way I’m going with it. No service or mot costs for 5 years is worth around £3000. Then with the extended warranty it’ll be worth a bit more if I decide to sell it after 50k miles.

I really don’t like the defenders to be honest. I think they are sparse inside and the insurance costs are sky high according to a friend who has one. The first year he paid £700. Last year it was £1700 and he’s got to renew in April so just waiting for the quotes now. I can insure a £50,000...

Look at the business structure first because you can halve your tax bill by going ltd compared to a sole trader. That ultimately will increase your profit after tax. If you’ve already done that then yes you need to increase production to increase profits. I’ve never paid so much tax than I have...

And VW then. Same engine now.

Why pay the tax man £80,000 when I can offset a lot of it in a new vehicle I was going to buy in the summer anyway.

So they’ve got the same chassis, gearbox, engine and suspension. Body panelling are different marginally but effectively they are the same vehicle. The price difference is £5000-£6000 for the same model with the Amarok being more expensive. However the Amarok has 5 years warranty where as the...

That’s what I’m going to do on 500ac. I’ve got no choice to be brutally honest. If I don’t sign up we’ll be in a mess. Sadly it means a summer job will go along with a couple of tractor hires. A much reduced fertiliser and chemical order on top of that. Next year if things look better I can...

I’ve no idea where the figures these merchants are banding about have come from. Myself we are 50% drilled and the other 50% will now go into SFI for 3 years because spring cropping isn’t viable here. The fertiliser, seed and chemical order won’t now be made which is just under 500ac worth. The...

The problem lies at Stoneleigh and with the council itself. It’s not the people on the coalface in my view.

Happy to. My local Nfu secretary told me directly. It’s not second hand information from a mate down the pub. If you can’t believe an Nfu group secretary then who can you believe. This secretary has been Nfu for a long while and provides an excellent insurance service (we still use them as they...

Got an offer to put 400ha into AHL2. Seriously makes you wonder as I can dump red tractor and we’ll save thousands on our Nfu mutual insurances at around £10,000. A full time and one casual staff costs at around £50,000. Fuel savings around £10,000. Probably in total around £100,000 a year...

From the highs of the 90’s they are actually over 10,000 down, however there’s some natural wastage in that due to industry consolidation from retirements and farm sales. It’s the last 5000 they are worried about but as said I no longer know a farmer who’s still a member of our national farming...

But then when the ‘helpful’ neighbours gearbox goes do you offer to contribute or is it his problem?

We tried one but it’s far too heavy and smeared clay soils. Extremely expensive and power hungry. It’s built for seeding rock terrain in New Zealand and best left there. There’s a few for sale for a reason.