Hello all, I'm new here

As my sig shows, i am a 3rd year agriculture student.

I am just about to embark on a consultancy report for a case study farm.
The farm currently is growing 280ha of combinables and some maize. The farm carries out some cultivation work themselves, but most is done by a contractor with a Vaderstad Carrier. I have been given the task of investigating whether it would be viable to rent an extra 260ha on some clay land. The manager sees the economies of scale as important, so this would be a good chance to restructure the machinery and buy some bigger kit.

Here is their current list of machinery:

I would be grateful to hear people's views on what could be kept, and what could be gotten rid of and replaced for the most efficient and streamlined machinery profile for 540ha with staffing of two (3 at harvest).

I'd really value your opinions as I have little experience of what machines work well and what sizes are needed.

Tim.
 

I think the first question to ask yourself is are you looking to make a business appraisal or an excercise in how wonder full the Machinery is.

If its the former try and work out how much its costing to run every piece of equipment per year and per hour.

Then get hold of someone with years of experiance and ask how much can be done in a day in good going and in bad going with the available kit.This will give you a yardstick to work with,you will get a rough idea now of some of the operating costs.Then look at the fixed costs and get another cost per acre.When you have rearranged your backside try and look at how you can reduce your costs with out much Capital outlay [ Number and variety of Crops etc ] then punch the costs in for new Kit on the same basis as above.I bet working the Kit longer and a simple rotation gives the best return on money invested and very often getting larger brings problems not experianced on a smaller operation.

Any one can work figures its making wise decisons and knowing how and when to work land that makes a Business.

Dont know if this is what you wanted to read but Business is not altogether about being the biggest or the fastest its about making Money.

 To answer your question, it is most definitely a business appraisal. On our information sheet it was highlighted about the economies of scale. Have I taken this the wrong way?

I will certainly work out the FC's per hectare currently, with the extra land, and with the extra land and possible larger machinery.

To me, their current machinery structure does not allow for timely cultivations or harvesting over an area of nearly 1000 acres, especially considering recent weather conditions. Going bigger doesnt always mean newer, however I recently got my wrists slapped on a previous piece of work, using older machinery because it is the university farm (and has somewhat of an image to keep up! ~ although this isnt the way to make money in my opinion!)

I will never turn away from sound business advice, and your views are warmly appreciated.

Would anyone be able to give me some ideas about what size machinery would be needed to operate a midi tillage system on combinable crops over this area? And possibly make some recommendations for equipment.

Thanks
 

yo litte dude, firstly at grain prices as they are it is deffinetly worth taking on extra land, you should really be able to handle the extra acreage with what youve got, you need to use different crops to make time in the year for everything eg: instead of planting all winter crops, you could do somthing like an area of spring barley etc.(spring malting barley margins a looking good for the year ahead) so you could have winter barley, which is an early harvest, ideal for getting rape in soon after, then wheat, then winter beans in nov ect, then in the spring put in some barley.

ploughing is best left to contractor, especially if is heavey clay, as is no money saved by doing it yourself, harsh on tractor, tyres metal ect. But should deffinetly be used to control weeds (blackgrass in particular) and for better soil structure/management.

good luck little dude, was a student myself many years ago

To be blunt, if it is clay that will yield well and isnt rank with blackgrass, you can pay say £125 in rent, £140 to a contractor, and buy new seed, decent fert and sprays, and still make a profit. You can actually make a decent profit! You can sell it all forward at todays prices, pay a good rent, get contractors for the lot, and still make profit! Hell, for that money you can get the contractor to do all the work.

Oh, if it is heavy clay then I would avoid anything but rotational ploughing. Blackgrass is best killed with roundup, and certainly not mixed into 12 inches of clart. You can always plough one in 4 or 5 but make sure you arent returning any seed for future years.

For pure economy, you ought be selling mst of your kit and getting contractors over the lot as that makes your true 'ecomony of scale'. Better still get in with another neighbour and share your gross margins for true block cropping. You can use your surplus student labour roguing weeds and grow it all for seed.

Woohoo! Just pray for dry. But not too dry!

 Tesla and MF, thanks for your replies.

The soil is a clay loam over keuper marl base, which can be quite sticky. The Farm already owns some land adjoining the land to be rented, and this land is worked with the carrier. Ploughing hasn't been in regular operation for several years now, last year several fields were ploughed to get rid of some very strawy manure from the youngstock side of the dairy unit, however most manure is from the indoor robotic milker herd.

I can certainly see the merits of using contractors for everything. We had a consultant come to lecture us about farm business consultancy, and he said that it was important to consider other aspects as well as the financial, and one of these for my study is the fact that it is the university farm that appears to value their image. 

It appears I have two options,  one being a purely finacial recommendation of selling most kit and using contractors. I think most other farms around here seem to use contractors, ruling out joining up. My second option would be to use the existing equipment, maybe replacing the ropey set of 3m simba discs with a carrier or sumo trio, or possibley a Horsch FX or FG to get some fuel efficient cultivations going on, and maybe a Moore Unidrill.

We use a Moore at home on heavy soils and find it fantastic. Going with a Moore would mean that the horsepower available could be put to better use compared to other drills.

What are peoples views on drills? How good is a Horsch CO4 compared to the Pronto, Rapid, Unidrill or dare i say, a Claydon?

 Tim,

In this day and age couldn't you use the solver function on excel to optimise the profitability with a given labour/machinery profile. Doesn't have to be too complicated - you can make it as difficult as you like!  The important thing is to identify the constraints well, use labour profiles/local working days available and actual gross margins to find the best combination of crops and then play about with establishment systems.

One can argue about the merits till the cows come home but if you want to really get to the bottom of the profitability you have to do the sums.

Like the idea of the Moore as well, how about machinery sharing?

Bon courage,

JC.
 

 Jacques,

The word liniar programming has been banded out a bit recently! Machinery sharing is limited due to neighbours using contractors (Well I see a big MX310 scampering about on various farms with a set of gregoire besson discs and a big vadersatd).

I think my first task is to do as you say, work out the available labour and then the labour profile for the current area going on assumed work rates etc, and the try it with the extra area, and see what appears.

I have to thank EVERYONE so far who has contributed to this thread, your opinions are invaluable.

Tim,

I do hope you did'nt think me harsh with my reply to your question.I too remember sitting infront of Lecturers asking questions that were so out of this world that you just wondered how he got the job and you have to answer the crap question with crap or you will not get the Marks.I really think that Agricultural Education in particular does not equip folks for Business which is what the whole thing is about and probably has contributed to the mess the Industry is in today.

Anyway good luck and keep looking at that Lecturer and think he has never had to make a pound.

BB, dont worry at all, it was sound advice which really got me thinking.

I'm aware of a lack of business, but here at nottingham they have built it up from the basics of economics and marketing. We have been itching to get our teeth into some real management, and in the final year now we have been doing the farm side of management and the hard theory to begin with is really paying off. Me and a couple of others are about to start the Farmplanner 2008 competition next week, so look out for us in the FW soon.  

Tim,

I love to see young people learning all the up to the minute Technology [Thats how I keep up by Interrogating them ] but I think the age of the " Paper Myth Farmer or Manager are over "the real world is going to come into play now and the reasons are because both Energy and Food are going to become scarce and the production of both will be down to Technical innovators and good Businessmen.There are some very good Farmers and Managers around at the present but the times have not been right for them.Both in Industry and Agriculture we have seen what I term as the" Barrow Boys " they make a quick Buck on the day they are not the true Business Men that invest for the long term Payoff because that takes Brains and hard work but pays for the long term.

I am getting to be a grumpy old man but I want to see you young people prosper and use your education.