Successful machinery collaboration

[2wheels]

Home | Borders Machinery Ring

www.bordersmachineryring.co.uk

and the biggest and best? ringlink scotland.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

I share a few bits with a friend. At the moment we have,

Power harrow
Cambridge rolls
Post knocker
Grass slitter/aerator
Fert spinner.

The spinner lives with a contractor who spreads for both of us, the rest is just with whoever used it last.

We each have our own sets of power harrow times.

It works fine.

 

[Banana Bar]

In my experience one party does all the repairing/maintenance. You go and pick it up and its unusable, broken. Nobody ever tells you this before.

Need one driver.

I’ve heard of this happening recently.

 

[Banana Bar]

surely they love it when farmers find creative "man maths" ways to buy that new 850k combine ..........

Bringing my wife in as a partner has helped rectify this!

 

[Banana Bar]

Probably best just to setup another business. We've done that on our own farm. A contracting business invoices the farm monthly for all the work carried out.

It's also a good idea for inheritance. My brother and I own all the machinery on the farm now. We are directors of Contracting business. Contracting business is a Ltd company which has tax benefits too.

All repairs, fuel, machinery purchases snd other associated cost goes through contracting company.

You need to go a step further and make the contracting company a partner in the farm.

 

[Clive]

We ran a successful share arrangement with @warksfarmer 15 years or so ago

we didn’t actually share the machines in that we each individually owned various bits of equipment but instead had a reciprocal contracting arrangement, ie he provided a drill and tractor, plus his labour to do all cultivation and drilling over our combined area and we did everything else, spray , harvest etc . Each party billed respectively

it worked well, we got on well and stuff got done on time etc it spread machinery costs over increased area at the time. Agreement only really ended as we moved down the more hardcore zerotill route

 

[Chae1]

You need to go a step further and make the contracting company a partner in the farm.

It was before.

Not quite sure why that stopped. Think it was after the Contracting company became Ltd.

 

[Blue.]

My dad and uncle shared foraging equipment and a JCB,it all went wrong when acreage changed and my uncle started using kit for sideline contracting,there was also the I’m cutting 1st thing.

I hate lending anything out as it ends in tears and I also never borrow,I don’t mind going and helping someone out with my kit,just don’t ask to borrow it.

 

[nickf]

I have shared a combine for over 12 years now.
We each farm about 750 acres and currently share a NH CR8070.
Works very well, it helps that both parties know how to use a grease gun.
Needs trust and a bit of patience at times but for us the savings make it well worth it.

 

[ajd132]

We share a drill with a like minded local farm of a similar size. It’s working well and even when the weather is up against it we are strict and fair with who gets it. It helps that we both have other drills to use aswell though. I wouldn’t want one drill to share over the whole area!

 

[ollie989898]

I have shared a combine for over 12 years now.
We each farm about 750 acres and currently share a NH CR8070.
Works very well, it helps that both parties know how to use a grease gun.
Needs trust and a bit of patience at times but for us the savings make it well worth it.

I've seen that done between two farms and it worked well too. A drill was shared next. I think sharing a sprayer might be a step too far unless both farms agree to block crop and have a cropping plan that fits with the other.

 

[NUFF465]

Three of us bought a Mobile Drier some years ago, we agreed a week each in order, regardless of the weather, the first user kept it over 2 weeks as it was wet , the 2nd user went and collected it after a heated discussion with user 1 and then kept it until the end of harvest , we all fell out so we sold it split the price 3 ways and went our separate way never again as the saying goes
" desperate men do desperate things "

 

[Derrick Hughes]

If I want something I convince my friendly contactor that is a good idea to get one - last thing was a direct drill - in working on a sward lifter next - also look at the Welsh Grant Funding for buying machines

 

[steveR]

Home | Borders Machinery Ring

www.bordersmachineryring.co.uk

We were one of the "founder members" of SASTAK back in the day. A Machinery Ring was then, and still is, (IMO) the only way to make sharing machinery work, other than the separate business model described here.

The problem with the Mach Ring, was that the Provider business all seemed to end up with mainstream contractors, not farmers...

And coincedentally, the Management Committee (Directors?) seemed to be comprised of those same Contractors...

 

[4course]

as grandad said or was it grandmother . A donkey of your own is worth 1/2 an oss and over the years ive found it to be true

 

[Derrick Hughes]

as grandad said or was it grandmother . A donkey of your own is worth 1/2 an oss and over the years ive found it to be true

Is half an oss good or bad

 

[Princess Pooper]

as grandad said or was it grandmother . A donkey of your own is worth 1/2 an oss and over the years ive found it to be true

the biting end or the kicking end?