Approximately 2425ha of predominantly heavy land is farmed from the company’s Milton Ernest base, mostly combinable arable cropping. The business also separately contract farms 1400ha of arable crops near Leicester.
“Our Bedfordshire machinery fleet included 14 tractors from 120 to 620hp,” says assistant arable manager ‘JJ’ Ibbett. “All except six were John Deere, but because we tended to add to the fleet rather than trade in, we not only had operating systems from two manufacturers but also a range of concepts on tractors of various sizes and ages making operations complex, especially for seasonal workers.
“We therefore reduced and updated the fleet, standardising where possible for improved reliability and efficiency and to lessen our peak labour requirement. With other machinery updated at the same time, seven tractors were replaced by four more versatile machines.”
John Deere tractors have been used here for more than 30 years and large, high horsepower machinery has been favoured. Supplied by local John Deere dealer P Tuckwell, the new arrivals included a 6155R and the three 6250R models, which have been key to the tractor fleet changes.
This story is from the March 2021 edition of Farming Monthly National.
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This story is from the March 2021 edition of Farming Monthly National.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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