Think after this season we are going to take our combining back in hand for a few reasons. Anyway the budget would be £150,000 and we’d want to keep it 7 seasons. We are cutting 800ac of w wheat and 200ac of spring wheat or spring barley. We bale majority of the straw but it goes into bale choppers for livestock so aren’t bothered about having long pieces of straw as per a straw Walker machine. Average field size is around 30ac and we’d like to be able to get at least 2 done in a normal day or possibly 3 running longer hours. We’ve have JD and Case dealers within 15 mins. NH and claas are 40 mins but the claas dealer is exceptional with backup so 40 mins doesn’t bother us. MF is not an option for us as once bitten twice shy from years ago and our last MF was the reason we went to contractors! We’ve got underfloor grain drying so there’s no cap on tonnes we can cope with per day. Trailers are 14t in size and we have a seasoned combine driver working for us who’s keen to take it on. What machine please as we are a bit out of the loop.
£150,000 combine
- Thread starter Highashgrange
- Start date
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Lexion 760.
We quite like the look and simplicity (from brochures not in the flesh) of the biggest Tuncano? The 800ac of wheat is planted over 6 weeks so it’s not all ready at once so there’s no mad rush, but then again my father is airing on the side of going biggest model possible but well used because of wet harvests like 2012 where capacity meant the difference between selling good quality wheat at £225/t while some people had to leave it in the field uncut because they were getting stuck or eventually cutting it and loosing quality anc bushel weight. Something like a Tucano is nice and light though. Should add we are well equipped for repairs that don’t require laptops.
- Location
- West Wales
Axial Flow 9230, NH CR9080, Lexion 580TT/600TT/750TT, JD C670i or S680i ?
With that budget you can get a seriously nice machine!
With that budget you can get a seriously nice machine!
Short straw from a rotary is no issue the problem is it goes tight in the swath and won’t dry causing straw to be baled too soon if wet weather forecast. Just depends how important the straw is to you and if it’s for your own use a couple of days baling damp straw can make a winter of misery on a livestock farm depends if your going to be busy skiing of pulling the strings out in winter! For that acreage a 6 Walker Lexion or new holland would do the job easily and would have lower running costs than a rotary but I can’t deny that the speed of the rotary would be good with a fair acreage of wheat and s barley all ready at the same time. The rotary tucano isn’t great on straw neither is axial flow but the claas and nh would be ok
TheEarlOfMoray
Member
- Location
- Morayshire
Says the man who has just bought a NH
If overall width isn’t a issue for you for travelling on the road then I’d go wide body rotary, claas or newholland they both have there good and bad points. If width is a issues then narrow body on tracks will be a must. What combine previously cut it? We’re you happy with the straw quality and output the contractor got from it?
startinghandle
Member
The only corn we harvested was oats and that was cut green with a binder in the 60's.... but if weather predictions come true ,extreme heat , extreme wet that needs to be taken into account when buying combine
If I had 1000 acres to harvest I would seriously consider buying 2 ... an older machine as backup
If I had 1000 acres to harvest I would seriously consider buying 2 ... an older machine as backup
- Location
- Buckinghamshire
CR8.90 all the way
- Location
- West Sussex
Endless choice of mid sized Lexions 4-8yrs old for that budget
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
I know what I would rather have had!Says the man who has just bought a NH
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Have you considered buying a new one?
We were working with a similar budget and with the 130% capital allowance scheme we thought it made more sense to buy new with associated tax benefits.
- Location
- Shropshire
I’ve just spent that on a Lexion 630 with less than 300 work hours on it.
For that acreage I’d look at 650 Lexion, 560 Tucano or consider a bigger, slightly older machine (750 or 760).
Having said this, Oliver’s did have a Lexion 750 with less than 500 hours on clock for £150k last winter. It was on 800 wheels though, so that was probably the reason. Add approx £100k to that for tracks
For that acreage I’d look at 650 Lexion, 560 Tucano or consider a bigger, slightly older machine (750 or 760).
Having said this, Oliver’s did have a Lexion 750 with less than 500 hours on clock for £150k last winter. It was on 800 wheels though, so that was probably the reason. Add approx £100k to that for tracks
Are you not getting on with your NH ?
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Only cut 25 acres with it so early days yet. Sure it will be fine. Just not a 760.
- Location
- West Wales
£100k for tracks
The old rule of thumb when the 600TT’s first came out was add £20k?Just looked it up, circa £35k in 2012
Tracks become increasingly popular over tyres - Farmers Weekly
Peace of mind is a valuable commodity in farming, especially when it comes to the grain harvest. And the ability of tracked combines to get on to damp
www.fwi.co.uk
- Location
- Shropshire
Sorry, what I meant was not having tracks probably devalues a big secondhand combine by around 100k.£100k for tracks
Just looked it up, circa £35k in 2012
Tracks become increasingly popular over tyres - Farmers Weekly
Peace of mind is a valuable commodity in farming, especially when it comes to the grain harvest. And the ability of tracked combines to get on to damp
ie on the machine I described previously (760, 10.5m vario, around 400 hours, 2017) would probably have been £220-250k on tracks (based on other examples I have seen)
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Tracks seem to be a bit of a UK fashion in my view. I don't think I saw any combines on tracks when I visited Claas combine factory. One of farmers I was travelling with had just bought a new 770 on wheels.
I would want either tracks or 4wd for UK conditions.
Be a bit embarrassing not being able to move on a wet year