APH

 

Rather than owning and running their own combines, three farmers in the Halstead areas of Essex have got together to hire a single combine from Agricultural Plant Hire (APH).  The New Holland TX68, with a 24ft header which they now operate is bigger than any of the three could justify on their own, but has proved an ideal way of harvesting their 1,500 acres of combinable crops over the past three seasons.

Essex farmers Chris Blewett, Nick Drane and Andrew Drysdale with the combine they hire to bring about a fixed cost, jobshare business advantage.

“When you are driving your own combine up and down the field you spend a lot of your time worrying whether it will break down and what that might cost,” says Andrew Drysdale, the group member who is the regular combine driver.

“By hiring the TX68 on a full maintenance contract, we know that APH will pick up the cost of any breakdown, but just as importantly we know that the combine will be promptly repaired or replaced if we can’t get it back to work within 48 hours.”

But it wasn’t only piece of mind on the reliability from that attracted the trio to combine hire. 

“The hire agreement means that we have fixed our harvesting costs for the next three years,” says Andrew.  “It also gives us the flexibility to change to a larger or smaller combine at any stage if our circumstances change.”

Andrew, who farms near Stambourne, Halstead, first got involved with combine hire in 2001.

“I had a John Deere combine with 14ft cutterbar and had been helping out neighbour Chris Blewett who had outgrown his 20ft New Holland after taking on more land under contract farming agreements,” explains Mr. Drysdale.

“Then Chris took on some more land, which co-incided with us both wanting to change our combines and the retirement of Chris’ combine driver.  It didn’t take long to decide to get one, bigger combine between us, with me taking on the driving.”

The pair looked at all options including buying new and second-hand units.

“New was very expensive, and we found that second-hand machines were also pricey even though it was clear they had been worked hard.  Then we came across APH and contact them,” says Andrew.  Managing Director Stephen Allen of the Peterborough-based company visited the two farmers and didn’t have a hard job convincing them that hiring was the way forward. 

“It was clear that sorting out a finance deal to share a combine would not be easy but hiring provided an ideal solution,” Andrew says. “We would have a fixed hire cost for each year we had the combine; we could pay be regular monthly payments to spread the cost throughout the year; and most importantly, the combine could be covered by a full maintenance package throughout the life of the contract.”

Mr. Allen clinched the deal by offering the pair a used New Holland TX68 with a 24ft header that was available to hire and, after working out the rental figures, a three-year deal was signed up.  The combine arrived in 2001 and turned in an impressive performance for Andrew and Chris.

“Instead of it taking two days to cut a 60-acre field, we were able to clear it in lass than half that time,” says Andrew.

The 2004 harvest saw a third farmer join the pair in sharing the combine.  Nick Drane, another of Andrew’s neighbours, sold his 12ft Massey Ferguson combine to rely on the TX68 for his harvesting requirements.

Between them, the three farmers run six farms and have 1,500 acres to harvest.

“The key to successful sharing is to have a plan on how the combine will be used,” Andrew says.  “We tend to try and start at the furthest away farm and work back towards base.

“Winter oilseed rape is harvested first, then it’s milling wheat followed by feed wheat.  The winter bean crop is next to be cut followed by spring beans and spring oilseed rape, if there is any.”

This year the group’s TX68 cut 250 acres of winter oilseed rape and 800 acres of wheat, with a further 250 acres of winter beans, 150 acres of spring beans and 50 acres of spring rape – replacing winter-sown rape that died.

“Chris had the most oilseed rape so we tackled his crop first,” Andrew adds.

“When it came to the milling wheat, I cut mine first, then Nick’s before moving back to Chris’s land.  Then I didn’t mind having my feed wheat cut last.”

The cost side of the equation is also handled in a very fair way, with the rental figure being divided between the total number of acres to be harvested and each group member paying for the number of acres attributable to his crops.

“We all pay the same cost per acre and we all make sure the fuel tank is full when the combine leaves our farm,” Andrew says.  “We also share the cost of the fuel filters and grease that are bought for the combine over the season.”

The initial three-year contract has just ended and Andrew, Chris and Nick have just decided to keep the same combine for the next three years under a new contract.

“We looked at the option of changing to a newer model or keeping this owe,” Andrew says.  “A more up-to-date model was a bit more than we had been paying previously, while keeping the combine we had saw a bit of a reduction in rental payments.”

“The combine has performed very well, so we decided to stick with it a bit longer – although we have retained the full maintenance package; and the option to swap to a bigger or smaller combine if our circumstances change.  You never know when more land might become available or if a landlord will decide he wants his land back.”

It is not just the combine that the three farmers share at harvest time.  They share their labour, making up a complete harvest team. 

Wherever the combine is operating, Andrew is the main driver, Nick hauls the grain back to whichever farm they are working on and Chris is in charge of the grain storage facilities and may get involved in hauling if two trailers are required.

“Working the way we do means that we can all follow the combine and provide a full harvesting service for all our units.”

Reprinted from Arable Farmer 2004