Machinery for a 'smaller' farm?!

[LincsLad]

Following on from other threads about what type and size of farms we all have - I got wondering about farms the size of mine!

We have 200 ish acres of arable. Wheat, barley, osr and spring linseed.

Whilst spending £000's on fancy machines might work - it's hardly practical!
I'm not going to buy as simba elita to drill 50 acres of osr!

So what machinery would / do people use on this size farm?

Maybe the old fashioned 150hp tractor, plough and combi still has a very legitimate place in this scenario?!

 

[Thick Farmer]

How much are contractors charging in your area?

 

[Daniel]

We have around 260 acres of arable that we farm 'inhouse' plus some grass. We've got a 6930 with cvt a 6530 and a 6310SE John Deere, the 6930 goes on a 5f Lemken plough, does some round baling, hedgetrimming etc, the 6530 on a 3m powerharrow/drill combi, muck trailers, corn cart, the 6310 does lighter jobs and sits on a 21m knight trailed sprayer all summer, actually probably clocks up as many hours as the rest.

Plenty of people will roll up here and say thats too much and it is, but we have pigs and poultry as well, which means some kind of tractors are needed, we drive them ourselves so they might as well be nice ones! Those days when you make some hay, are combining etc that third tractor is extremely useful (each year I think we should offload the 6310 while it still has some value, each year we keep it!) and this level of equipment means we can be livestock farmers in the morning and arable farmers in the afternoons! Tractors are kept to about 5000 hours which is approximately 10 years.

Do what suits you and allows you to turn a profit.

 

[John 1594]

Im running 75 acres and a small contracting business with 4 tractors (60hp 2wd, 70hp 2wd with loader, 90hp 2wd and 110hp 4wd) 12ft combine, 3m combination drill, 12m sprayer, spreader etc, etc.
I think there is easy enough capacity amongst that lot to at least do double the acreage if i had access to it. Total value of everything stood in the yard probably comes to around 40k id imagine

All done by me with no help except the other half running me about harvest time to pick grain trailers up from outlying fields. All machines were paid for in full when they were bought, never had or intend to have finance on anything, ever! and when you start paying people to help you the profit soon vanishes, id rather take longer and do it myself personally, i always manage to get round everything even when there is contracting to be done on other farms

as has been said, do what suits your particular system, but keep as much in-house as you can to minimise costs. No point paying a contractor when you have a machine in the shed what will do same job, even if it may take you a bit longer

 

[Clive]

Another way of looking at this is to buy some big but old kit and spend less time in a cab and more quality time with family and perusing other interest maybe ?

 

[Andyrob]

I work on a farm locally at cereals all ring fenced 350 acres and we have this

6480 dynashift
6480 dyna 6 one of the first ones
1 x 10t kane trailer
1 x 12t kane trailer
1 4 furrow europal 6 Lemken plough 8-9 year old
1 simba/horsch drill 3m
1 21m 1200 litre mounted Bargam Sprayer
1 3m Rabe disks
1 3m erth engineering front press
1 home made bale trailer
JCB 530-70 handler
7274 mf activia combine.
6m cambridge rolls
x36 sulky spreaer

hire a manure spreader, contractor does all baling

only combine sprayer fert spreader is bought new rest always second hand.

 

[milkloss]

It is quite demoralising to see neighbours running around in big shiny kit, gps etc etc but don't lose heart. As said some decent second hand kit and the odd contractor result in some great farming and pride in what you do. Just don't expect to thrash the life out of your gear like the others may be doing!

We used to do 200ac with:
14' mf combine
150hp + 120 hp tractor(with loader)
3M power harrow combi
Discs
Couple of tined cultivators depending on conditions
6M rolls
Kuhn spreader
Had a 4 furrow plough if we had to.
Old 12M sprayer but palmed that job off to contractors.

And we did it quite well considering. None of it new kit and all second hand.

The only thing that prevented us carrying on with it was trying to do too many things, too far apart and not doing any of them very well because of it.

 

[Daniel]

Another way of looking at this is to buy some big but old kit and spend less time in a cab and more quality time with family and perusing other interest maybe ?

Exactly, we're overspecced but we can easily do things in a timely manner, grow all milling wheats and make sure we get them harvested at the optimum time etc and don't have to work excessive hours.

Dad keeps saying he's like a big old Ford FW60 or similar so he had a big toy to play with, and get over the land in no time!

 

[A Trebor]

150 acres all combinables
17' combine
24m sprayer
3m combi
100hp & 114hp 4wd
overspecced but do work for others as well or spend time with family.

 

[farmeronecow]

250 acres beef (ex dairy)
4255 JD
3040 JD
1594 db with loader
1412 db (permanent straw chopping tractor)
996 db Scraper tractor
Various implements and machinery but all 10 years or older

Its all old gear but it covers all the work that we need it for!

 

[nick...]

200 arable acres and plant hire business. and 100 acres hls/conservation stuff
1 tractor jd6620
kuhn 4 furrow reversable
amazone combi disc drill 3m
8.3m cousins rolls
front 3m press
hedge cutter
krm spreader.
contractors do spraying and combining and beet lifting
will add stuff as and when,either home built or second hand stuff
nick...........

 

[J 1177]

180 acres arable
Jd 1177 combine
Case 5130 plus bomford loader
Nh t6050 with trima loader
2x 8 ton grain trailers
1x 4 ton trailer
1 homemade bale trailer
Maschio accord 3m combi
3m maschio
6m heva rollers
9 ton opico dryer
Hardi 12m sprayer
And the old vicon wag tail

 

[J 1177]

Oh and the old db 1210 with about 13000 hrs on it dunno how I forgot that

 

[masseyjack]

300 acres of cereals and 100 acres of grass running
Massey 6480
Massey 3095
Massey 3070
Massey 590
22' Massey 7274 combine
Were half organic so still on 12m tramlines
And plenty of cultivation, drilling and Hay/Silage making equipment as we never seem to sell any old stuff
Only hire in a muck spreader and get a contractor to cut hedges
It makes life easy being over equipped with good value generally decent kit

 

[DRC]

300 acres of cereals,plus grass for hay and haylage.
I also keep thinking i shouldn't get left behind with kit,but realize i have quite good tack for the size of farm.
Try and do most things myself with contractors for hedge cutting,maize drilling and if i get behind with anything.
NH 6070
MCCORMICK 135
Class Dominator 108,20ft cut
5f kuhn plough
3m combi,3leg subsoiler, 6m rolls.
18m amazon sprayer and fert spinner
2x 12 ton trailers and 12t drier.
hay tedder and 25ft flat trailer.
Also use contractor for mowing and baling and hire muck spreader
2ton tracked digger[which has been used a lot lately cleaning ditches].
flail topper.
One thing that does annoy me are certain neighbors that want to borrow trailers etc,saying that they only have 100 bales to carry or 30 acres of cereals.buy your own or hire one!

 

[DRC]

I also forgot the most used JD3215 telescopic with various attachments.

 

[-chris-]

350 acres arable (Barley, wheat, beans and rape) 70 acres marsh/permanant grass. +80 beef cattle.
NH 6040
NH 6010 with Loader
NH 5640
case 485
IH 444 (mill)
IH 414 with loader (not used much)
dowdeswell 4f reversible plough
old kuhn 3m power harrow
cousins combination 3.5m spring tine + juko 4m drill replaced this year with 3m vaderstad system disc
lely/tulip centerliner
12m hardi sprayer
dominator 98
bunnings dumper trailer
muck spreader hired in for 2 days

 

[Rsockett]

450 acre hill farm. 900 sheep and 230 store cattle.
MF 4270 (24x24)
MF 5455 (tier 2 dyna-4 c/w Q40 loader)
Fordson Super Dexta
Sanderson TL6
New Holland FX30
Yahama grizzly 450 quad
Kuhn 10ft centre pivot mower
2 x West 8 Ton silage trailers
1 x Collins 8 Ton silage trailer
Wylie 14 tine buckrake
Teagle 8080 straw chopper
JF Stoll 8 cube tub mixer
Amazon 12 metre fert spinner

 

[ARW]

It all comes down to if you like machinery and driving them!
There's a 400 acre cereal arable farm near here with 2 staff and a part time with 4 tractors under 5 year old and over 150 hos!
Then his neighbour has 400 acre and just does it all himself, just taps on and gets it all done somehow, doesn't work stupid hours and still has time for his sucklers. He has plenty of old tractors but only uses 2 on the farm for main jobs.

Just shows farming isn't a race

 

[Chae1]

You should maybe all join together and have 1200 acres with one combine, big tractor and sprayer. Which is more efficient?