Jim Bullock
Jim Bullock
Jim Bullock farms 283ha
(700 acres) in partnership
with his parents and brother
at Mill Farm, Guarlford,
Malvern, Worcs. Two-thirds
is rented or contract farmed,
the rest owned. Cropping is
winter wheat, winter oilseed
rape and winter beans
HARVEST is just around the corner and preparations which could have been made months ago have, alas, been left until the last moment.
Keeping combining costs down to £16/ha (£6.40/acre) by running two old combines looks great in the middle of winter when doing budgets. But as harvest looms one remembers the hassle of keeping them running reliably. The secret is to go through each machine with a fine toothcomb, replacing any bearing or hose that could possibly fail during harvest.
With interest rates at an all-time low the temptation to buy new is great, especially when you visit your local dealer and see a row of new machines ready for delivery to neighbours. However, I tell myself that I will not have to worry about making payments to John Deere finance in the middle of the winter when ones shiny new machine is standing idle in the shed.
There are some very mixed messages coming from the industry at present. Prices for combinable crops are near all time lows yet machinery sales are on a high. Ridiculous rents are being paid for land and the price to buy shows no sign of falling. Obviously there are many with non-farming funds to invest in what seems like a good way of life.
Last week we attended one of the Interculturales events (Arable, June 28) put on by ITCF – the French equivalent of ADAS but with state funding. It was incredibly well organised with a mixture of formal presentations and visits to plots demonstrating specific topics regarding min-till.
More than 600 farmers attended and all were seated for a four-course lunch. In this country we are still arguing the merits of non-inversion tillage, yet in France they are onto the next step looking at cover crops and further ways of reducing costs and improving the environment. One French farmer we spoke to said min-till works for everybody so long as your management ability is up to scratch; doubting Thomases take note. *
Jim Bullock hopes last-minute hose and bearing replacements will keep combines rolling.