New combine cost

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Think I read an article lately about them using controlled traffic ploughing which seem possibly one of farming's crazier inventions
Driving a number of combines for hours on the road to go to a farm to cut and then back again seems nuts - I know someone that worked there for a while and the road mileage was crazy, he said he would’ve preferred splitting the combines up where distance was involved…
 

Vader

Member
Mixed Farmer
I have always found buying 2nd hand combine is the most profitable way to cut your corn, unless your a very big grower.
Most combines are traded in around 1500-2000 hrs and still have plenty of life left in them, always helps to know your way around them with the spanners, a friend has been running a 2006 lexion 540 they bought for about 60k 5 years ago, it cuts about 500a a year with very little issues, has about 3500 hrs on the clock now and still looks tidy, could even be more than that. Probably don,t owe them much now, stuck in the shed for 10 months of the year is not such an issue anymore.
That's new!
Our 410 is a 96 plate lol
 

glasshouse

Member
Location
lothians
Driving a number of combines for hours on the road to go to a farm to cut and then back again seems nuts - I know someone that worked there for a while and the road mileage was crazy, he said he would’ve preferred splitting the combines up where distance was involved…
I read that big placeold blinky runs has stopped splitting combines up and puts all three in the same field!!
Mad
 

kiwi pom

Member
Location
canterbury NZ
We could cope with servals thousand t a day dry and up to about 800 wet (20%.Ish). No problem

this is one of the attractive arguments of a contractor (s). I could have serveral working at the sand time and get harvest done faster than we ever could done our self. Eggs not all in one basket either as they are now, if a single machine breaks (your own or a contractor) nothing is getting cut ! Our full time staff would fill store and be able to sit tight behind combines drilling cover crops /. Osr etc

I’m not saying it IS the solution or way we will go howver - I just said we are exploring EVERY option without emotion or pre conceptions as any good business should do when making 500k plus decisions on machinery or employing additional staff
Just looking at it from an employees point of view, you're pretty much down to pulling a direct drill, sprayer and combine at the moment. Just about ok but take combining out of it too, its not much of a job for a decent worker.
Will contracting out one of the better jobs be ok with staff or will they move on?
 

glasshouse

Member
Location
lothians
The thing is running a new 250k machine must give a huge annual depreciation cost per acre and when they go wrong I imagine it's a pricey repair too. Therefore substituting that with a contractor won't make much difference to his operating costs.
On the other hand a smaller farmer running a 7k machine on say 200 acres won't have any depreciation but just repairs. I would imagine the smaller farmers combining per acre costs are way less than the 1000 acre man. Same goes for tractors, drills and sprayers.
So is there such a thing as economy of scale any longer?
Spot on
 

le bon paysan

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Limousin, France
Watching the big Lexion here over the last few years I thought ‘ That’s the way to go.’

Now I’m not sure, and I’m beginning to subscribe to the argument for two smaller combines and another bum on the seat.
This year is a case in point for your own machine. Cuma wanting to cut at 17% , friend said no, back of the queue then!
Glad we got our own which we bought 50/50 with a mate. 👍
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
Also 200 acres of arable, and I mean no disrespect by this, is barely even a part time job these days.

I see where you are coming from. I'd suggest a 200ac farm may well only be able to provide a "part time salary", but I certainly wouldn't say that it is a "part time job". The work is there, the money isn't.

I'd say that a 200ac arable one man band probably does more work (and has more work to do) than many thousand acre "farmers" or managers who have staff specifically to just do the tractor work. Even if the farming operations were ceased or delegated to a contractor, there's quite a lot more work still left to do both for the business, and also the day to day maintenence work.
 

ajd132

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Suffolk
I see where you are coming from. I'd suggest a 200ac farm may well only be able to provide a "part time salary", but I certainly wouldn't say that it is a "part time job". The work is there, the money isn't.

I'd say that a 200ac arable one man band probably does more work (and has more work to do) than many thousand acre "farmers" or managers who have staff specifically to just do the tractor work. Even if the farming operations were ceased or delegated to a contractor, there's quite a lot more work still left to do both for the business, and also the day to day maintenence work.
£ value of work is another important thing to think about. Deploying your time that produces the best returns. £20, £200 and £2000/hr jobs are all just as important as each other. But it’s about deploying yourself and others where you are best.
the £20/he jobs are the most important and keep the business going, but if you are so bogged down in them that you miss the big opportunities it’s pointless.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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