New Self Propelled Forage Harvester for a Farmer?
- Thread starter Barleycorn
- Start date
massey765
Member
- Location
- nr clitheroe lancs
get a similar machine to run along side what you have got.....one breaks down go get the other.... headers inter change ect
- Location
- Le Veurde, Allier, France 03320
From local experience I would strongly advise against buying a Fendt.
Gerbert
Member
- Location
- Dutch biblebelt
Well, me being a masochist, why not a wagon indeed?
No, not trying to stir things up, just curious on the reason why not. Three 10 year old or so wagons, not to big, would make it a relaxed job I think.
No, not trying to stir things up, just curious on the reason why not. Three 10 year old or so wagons, not to big, would make it a relaxed job I think.
Wagon for wholecrop?
Gerbert
Member
- Location
- Dutch biblebelt
That is a pretty good reason for going the spfh route I think.
- Location
- West Wales
Krone Forage Solutions had a lovely 780 for Ā£90k, 2015 but she was on Biogas spec.
Plenty of nice 7480/7580 Deereās around or Claas 950ās. Local dealer would be the biggest concern, see what most of the contractors in the areas use, especially those with multiple machines and ask them what the dealers are like. JD and Claas very good down here, NH non existent since the FXās, Krone never managed to have a good dealer down here but the new one looks to be turning thatā¦
Plenty of nice 7480/7580 Deereās around or Claas 950ās. Local dealer would be the biggest concern, see what most of the contractors in the areas use, especially those with multiple machines and ask them what the dealers are like. JD and Claas very good down here, NH non existent since the FXās, Krone never managed to have a good dealer down here but the new one looks to be turning thatā¦
- Location
- Northumberland
Into our 3rd season with a new Claas 850, doing similar acreage to the OP. It is as an important machine to us as a combine to a large arable farm. If the chopper breaks down there will be more value lost out the grass waiting for 24hrs than a combinable crop.
- Location
- Co antrim
1 of the smaller krones 480,530,580 or 630 is a fantastic machine and will outshine and similar powered harvester of another brand. They also arent as big physically as some others so good for gateways. It would be my first choice anyway. Then claas, jd, finally nh
- Location
- Devon
What would the servicing costs be on a new sp? Local contractor was telling me it cost him several Ā£1000s per year in servicing?
Guessing an older machine could be done much cheaper by an independent or even diy?
Bloody hell mate of mine must be a hero , puts 4000 acre through a new reco every year ,and keeps his 890 just to do 500 acre maize , old 926 fendt on front , i know who is making money , no big finance ,if any , and his customers like the set up and pace , boy do they do some hours at times , but before you say why , have asked him ,and he loves it as do customers , lots of small farms and suits smaller set up ,
We made the move to self propelled 3 years ago with a used machine. Itās cost about Ā£15k in repairs and servicing in that time, there was an awful lot of wearing parts to do in the first 2 seasons but itās pretty good now. It hasnāt ever broken down as such, besides the odd blade pushed back which Iāve got pretty handy at fixing in 5 minutes with a 3/4 rattle gun through the sharpening hatch. Weāve just completed 3600 acres with it, itāll be 4000 by the end of this season on grass only.
In hindsight we should have just had a brand new machine back then, but it was a bit of a step into the unknown coming from a trailed, and to be fair itās been a good proof of concept. Iāll never go back to a trailed, the cost of running them and having a team of people watch you put it back together twice a day is just too stressful and expensive. Even on light crops you can travel so much faster, we did 230 acres in a day last week.
The upside is with the crazy machinery prices these days itās still worth about what we paid for it, but new has probably gone up Ā£30k in the last 3 years. I think weāll run this one for another couple of years then look at upgrading. Grass only basic spec 450hp machines are broadly speaking Ā£180k.
In hindsight we should have just had a brand new machine back then, but it was a bit of a step into the unknown coming from a trailed, and to be fair itās been a good proof of concept. Iāll never go back to a trailed, the cost of running them and having a team of people watch you put it back together twice a day is just too stressful and expensive. Even on light crops you can travel so much faster, we did 230 acres in a day last week.
The upside is with the crazy machinery prices these days itās still worth about what we paid for it, but new has probably gone up Ā£30k in the last 3 years. I think weāll run this one for another couple of years then look at upgrading. Grass only basic spec 450hp machines are broadly speaking Ā£180k.
8100
Member
- Location
- South Cheshire
Spend some money on the one you have ( better the devil you know etc) and have a reco 40 in the barn for a back up maybe with a big engine tacked on it over winter 
Khan
Member
- Location
- Emerald Isle
Spend some money on the one you have ( better the devil you know etc) and have a reco 40 in the barn for a back up maybe with a big engine tacked on it over winter
I would tend to agree with above except for the engine, if you have 150hp on front it would keep a team going minus a couple of trailers. We had a major blow-up with our Mex 6 in 2016, decided to use contractor and 2nd cut 2017 was a disaster, contractor three weeks late and was virtually direct cut. Bought a fresh Mex 6 for 2018 and also bought the original back from insurers along with another scrapper and went through it top to bottom to have a decent back-up machine last year.
YELROM
Member
- Location
- North Yorkshire
@Barleycorn where have you gone,are you still mending your forager
- Location
- Cumbria
With your acreage your stuck between the devil and deep blue sea. having had a sp, I can't see you wanting to go trailed, and the need to buy a high HP tractor for basically one job.
Having your own SP, like everything else needs justified, and of course the improved silage quality is a major contributor.
Why are you having so many breakdowns ?
I think your on the right road, finding a good s/h, however why not use it for a couple of seasons and move it on, calculate the depreciation and maintenance costs, and see if it's feasible.
Have you considered hiring a SP ?
Having your own SP, like everything else needs justified, and of course the improved silage quality is a major contributor.
Why are you having so many breakdowns ?
I think your on the right road, finding a good s/h, however why not use it for a couple of seasons and move it on, calculate the depreciation and maintenance costs, and see if it's feasible.
Have you considered hiring a SP ?
A lot depends on your business, but thereās potential for a Ā£46k tax reduction on a new machine. Assuming itās worth Ā£70k in 10 years will see depreciation at around Ā£8-Ā£10/ acre as a best case scenario. Worst case is you sell it to the trade after 12 months, donāt pay any tax anyway and it stands you at Ā£85/ acre!
ollie989898
Member
Self propelled, even a little one, will make a tractor and trailed forager look daft. Will chop more grass with less grief and use less fuel into the bargain.
Can't see there is a dairy farmer in the land who can afford to spend days on end trying to make silage, it is now such an important and valuable crop to get right first time. Buy a tedder, beg, steal or borrow a big enough rake and you won't go far wrong. Throw in the wholecrop angle and your decision is made. Fill a pit in a day with time left to sheet up as well. I know of two farmers who went from trailed chopper to self propelled and never looked back.
Can't see there is a dairy farmer in the land who can afford to spend days on end trying to make silage, it is now such an important and valuable crop to get right first time. Buy a tedder, beg, steal or borrow a big enough rake and you won't go far wrong. Throw in the wholecrop angle and your decision is made. Fill a pit in a day with time left to sheet up as well. I know of two farmers who went from trailed chopper to self propelled and never looked back.