- Location
- Lincolnshire.
There is a bit of discount if you buy two.
So which year do you chose for combine capacity?
- Thread starter Pilatus
- Start date
spin cycle
Member
- Location
- north norfolk
i'dve thought if you're justifying £450k on a combine you'd need at least 30 days work/yr
last thing i'd want to do after long shift driving combine is to turn round and service it
last thing i'd want to do after long shift driving combine is to turn round and service it
A few random thoughts;
I have been involved in various peoples harvests in Cambs and they have all taken longer than 10 days but have used a variety of machines, mostly quite old and with limited (mostly none) drying facilities. Generally though these machines have been reliable and the weather in Cambs is often kinder and earlier than many of you on here. I know of a 6 year old lexion that has cut over 2000 acres a year on the same farm from new with very little cutting above 18%. Here grain handling can be a limit on output. Also an older 5 walker machine is in use here where a 6 walker would be better value but the 5 walker is much easier for the many road movements we do. Older 6 walker machines especially can be ridiculously wide on the road (1188 4.3m from memory) If I was ring fenced I would have bought bigger. Newer combines with their electronics scare me but this hasn't stopped some neighbours who have lexions cutting well under 1000 acres.
I have been involved in various peoples harvests in Cambs and they have all taken longer than 10 days but have used a variety of machines, mostly quite old and with limited (mostly none) drying facilities. Generally though these machines have been reliable and the weather in Cambs is often kinder and earlier than many of you on here. I know of a 6 year old lexion that has cut over 2000 acres a year on the same farm from new with very little cutting above 18%. Here grain handling can be a limit on output. Also an older 5 walker machine is in use here where a 6 walker would be better value but the 5 walker is much easier for the many road movements we do. Older 6 walker machines especially can be ridiculously wide on the road (1188 4.3m from memory) If I was ring fenced I would have bought bigger. Newer combines with their electronics scare me but this hasn't stopped some neighbours who have lexions cutting well under 1000 acres.
Daniel
Member
- Location
- Mildenhall, Suffolk
Electronics isn't scary! It's all just a process of logical elimination to find the fault.
Time consuming, annoying and very expensive though!
Time consuming, annoying and very expensive though!
Are claas canbus? I guess they are. Whatever that means. Early JDs fitted with it can be a sod.
warksfarmer
Member
Yes they can cut it because you can still be cutting in October but what I am saying is at the expense of crop quality with regards to wheat and barley and potential crop loss with osr.
- Location
- Berkshire
Well, all I can say is we cut those acreages without cutting in October!!
We would also would hire in extra capacity when needed if crop quality was at jeopardy and still cut comfortably more than 2000 acres, but like I said, it's perfectly possible in this part of the world...
- Location
- Berkshire
That's mainly because the snorkel equipped, self drying combine hasn't been invented yet ?
l'ordinary bonville
Member
- Location
- N Yorks
My lexion 670 got the same done over the last 7 days as a 760 would have
However I will wish it was a 760 by the time we are not curtailed by weather and flat corn
However I will wish it was a 760 by the time we are not curtailed by weather and flat corn
warksfarmer
Member
So you agree then because hiring in to protect quality means your combine isn’t big enough in that year and what I’m saying is that in the last 11 seasons we’ve had 4 poor harvests weather wise.
I know people with 600hp 35ft monsters cutting 1500 ac per year who have already this year lost milling quality because they can’t cut the stuff.
- Location
- Berkshire
I think we are at cross purposes here, we used to make it work as there was a 10 day spread of maturity across the farms and around 35% of the cereal crops were quality ones, in that situation it was relatively easy to keep up with the quality crops as they matured and feed crops would get left, I think you are assuming a much higher percentage of quality crops??
If you are then that is an entirely different discussion of risk v premiums than was originally stated.
And as for your 1500acre example, no amount of capacity can alter the course of nature and change the weather, a sh!t wet summer is what it is !!!
warksfarmer
Member
Yep so as I said initially there’s no machine capable of more than 2000ac per year when talking about ‘milling’ and ‘malting’ products and then factoring in osr loss etc. So as Clive said you buy the biggest you can afford and don’t even bother thinking about acres to cut. 35ft 600hp on 500ac is fine if you can afford it.
Steevo
Member
- Location
- Gloucestershire
Why would anyone on big acreage try and grow/aim to harvest 100% milling/malting? You can guarantee some will spoil if it's all ready at the same time.
warksfarmer
Member
Because you can grow as ‘feeds’. Ontime harvesting is where quality comes from to a point so if your chasing your arse you miss the premiums.
Steevo
Member
- Location
- Gloucestershire
Expecting to be able to harvest 100% of your wheats as milling year in year out over several thousand acres seems crazy to me.
Winter/spring crop is to spread risk and workload
Crop rotation likewise
Milling/feed should be treated the same imo.
Great if you can get it all milling, but expecting to do so it a whole different ball game.