Garford Farm Machinery Ltd is a development, manufacturing and distribution company supplying high quality products to the UK and world agricultural market.
Based in the UK, just outside Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, with around 50 employees, Garford manufactures a range of robotic mechanical weed control products including Robocrop Precision Guided Hoes, Robocrop InRow Weeders, Robocrop Baby Leaf Hoe, Manual Hoes, Manual and Robocrop Guided Hooded Sprayers, the Weedfoil Wiper and the Spot Sprayer.
Specialising in row crop equipment, the company is recognised as a world leader for its range of products which use video cameras and image analysis computers to locate crop position and then guide the tractor-mounted equipment quickly and accurately.
The family-owned business, still run by the Garford family, was established in 1986 and today continues to provide advanced technology for progressive farmers. As well as servicing its customer base in the UK, the specialised Garford Farm Machinery products are sold all over the world.
The company prides itself on listening to farmers and identifying their needs, then through the custom build manufacturing facility, provides unique equipment, specific to its customers’ requirements.
It was back in July 1981 that Jeffrey Claydon set up Claydon Yield-o-Meter Ltd. To celebrate 40 years in the industry Claydon have announced they are to hold a prize draw for a years worth of Omnia precession farming systems.
Claydon Yield-o-Meter Limited was set up to manufacture and market a yield monitoring device he had invented the previous year. The Yield-o-Meter was the first ever grain monitoring device to be fitted to a combine harvester. The Yield-o-Meter accurately measured how many tonnes were being harvested by the combine, as opposed to the traditional weighbridge method. The yield monitoring device allowed farmers to analyse data they previously had to guess.
The company is marking four decades in the agricultural machinery manufacturing sector by holding a 40th Anniversary Prize Draw, with the winner receiving a year’s free access to Omnia Precision, a precision farming system provided by leading agricultural and horticultural input advice and supply company Hutchinsons.
Omnia is a multi-layer tool which analyses information from a variety of sources to enable informed decision making for the full range of variable applications. It enables you and your agronomists to work at sub-field level to create variable rate nutrient, seed, or crop protection plans. Its advanced algorithms calculate the optimum solution for an individual area within the field, irrespective of the number of map layers you wish to include or the different zone shapes. For further details visit: www.omniaprecision.co.uk/our-services/omnia-precision
The giveaway is being held exclusively for farmers and farming decision makers. Claydon have confirmed that to enter you will need to be opted in to Claydon emails, which you can do simply by visiting www.claydondrill.com/contact-us and completing the online form, then ticking the box to receive emails. If you already receive emails from Claydon you will be automatically entered. The prize draw will be accepting entries until Friday 23rd July 2021.
The winner will be selected at random and announced at the end of July. They will receive a year’s access to Omnia Precision free of charge and work with an Omnia specialist to meet their precision agronomy objectives. They will be able to either use the service themselves or as part of a bespoke service delivered in conjunction with an Omnia specialist. The service is tailored to meet the individual farm’s specific precision agronomy requirements.
For more information visit Claydon’s website
New Holland main dealer Russells celebrates 100 years of trading this year and remains a family-owned business where customer service is the priority. There are 11 branches, of which two specialise in groundcare products, and nine are agricultural – including five in Yorkshire, two in Derbyshire, one in Nottinghamshire and the most recent at Rothwell in Northamptonshire.
The large trading area includes all sizes and types of farm and contracting business, so the dealer is one of the biggest tractor, combine and baler dealers in the UK. Russells was New Holland’s Dealer of the Year for 2019, and was awarded New Holland Service Dealer of the Year for the same period – it is the only dealer to have achieved this Premium status to date.
“From our new Rothwell depot, we look after customers in Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, while the Northallerton depot is responsible for an area up to Scotch Corner, and with all the depots in-between and those serving areas to the east and west too – it’s a very large trading area,” explained Russells machinery sales specialist based at Rothwell, Andy Loxton. “The Russell family continues to invest for the future and during the past five years the Cubley, Derbyshire depot has been rebuilt; the previous Platts Harris depots at Darley Dale, Derbyshire and Tuxford, Nottinghamshire were taken on; a new depot at Leyburn, North Yorkshire was constructed, and the Rothwell depot and trading area were acquired.”
The area served by Rothwell was previously the responsibility of a dealer which offered New Holland sales and service from a depot at Wellingborough. When this business closed in 2016, a neighbouring dealer, Hallmark Tractors, took on the area and selected the nearby Rothwell site for its depot. In 2016 Russells acquired the Hallmark Tractors business, but the existing trading name and site branding were retained, being familiar to customers in the area. Almost all the sales and service team members remained at the depot under its new ownership, having also previously looked after the same customers at the business’ previous location.
“We have a team of 10 based at Rothwell covering sales and service, of which seven have worked together since being employed by the dealer previous to Hallmark Tractors,” confirmed Andy. “That provides great continuity for customers – something we know is valued by the farming community as this remains a business where people deal with people.”
The depot’s business growth during the past two years has been impressive, even though Covid-19 restrictions prevented many planned marketing activities in 2020. Andy said that as well as continued support from long-established customers, the sales and service teams have also gained many which are new – most recommended to use the latest Russells depot by friends and neighbours.
“Being a big dealer brings a lot of advantages including being able to offer attractive finance and extended service deals, as well as carrying out servicing and superb back-up,” commented Andy. “Many manufacturers and dealers struggled to meet demand for new and used machinery during the past year, but with nine agricultural depots within the Russell Group we hold a lot of stock and could usually source whatever customers needed without delay.”
Farming in the Rothwell depot’s trading area is mainly arable, and the New Holland T7.210 is the best- selling tractor. From the combine line-up, the CR8.90 and 9.90 rotaries as well as larger CX models have also sold in high numbers, and Group harvester sales specialist for the southern trading area David Flippance – based at Rothwell – and other team members have been preparing and delivering new combines and balers to customers for the coming harvest. The workshops and service team also remain busy carrying out service and repairs to tractors and other machinery.
As well as New Holland, the dealer also represents a large number of complementary brands. These include Pottinger, McConnel, Stewart Trailers, Teagle, Sumo, Mzuri, Shelbourne Reynolds, Stihl, HiSpec, Sulky, Wessex, and Schaffer loaders.
“We are very lucky to have Pottinger,” continued Andy. “It’s a brand renowned for great reliability and superb build quality and the excellent products are backed by equally impressive service. All sizes and types of drill have been supplied along with ploughs and the Terradisc cultivators, and although there is relatively little grassland and livestock farming in our local area, we sell quite a few mowers, rakes and tedders and have also supplied three forage wagons.”
McConnel hedgecutters are popular with farmers and contractors, Stewart Trailers are kept in stock allowing orders to be fulfilled quickly, and sales of Mzuri drills are increasing as growers reduce costs of crop establishment while also wanting flexibility for difficult seasons. For farm and estate maintenance, the Teagle range of flail mowers is in constant demand.
“The agricultural machinery industry has seen a lot of upheaval in recent years, but I think part of our success at the Rothwell depot is that the long-established sales and service teams continue to represent the same quality brands. As well as retaining the support of farming businesses which have dealt with us for many years, we have also gained enquiries and orders from new customers and this is largely due to the extra benefits we can offer with the respected Russells name behind us. Looking to the future, plans are well advanced to develop the site further, including construction of a purpose-built 10,000ft2 building designed to optimise working conditions for service and repair of modern, large machinery. This will further improve the service we can provide to customers and ensure we can meet their expectations in future as the business grows.
“We are in an ideal location right beside junction 3 of the A14 which means that even those travelling longer distances can get to us quickly. We are a friendly bunch, always approachable and far prefer working with customers than creating complications,” he concluded.
Ireland is looking to implement mandatory quad bike training and helmet-wearing to help prevent serious injury and fatal accidents from occurring.
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA), in 2019, started a consultation process on an update to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) (Amendment) Regulations which includes safety measures around All-Terrain Vehicles (quad bikes).
The regulations are currently with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation and will likely come into legislation later this year. This is an Irish regulatory update and will have no impact on the UK.
Farmers Guide caught up with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to see what the current advice is for the UK:
In Great Britain, there is no legislation that specifically states a quad bike operator must wear a helmet.
However, health and safety legislation is designed to be aspirational, not prescriptive, as duty holders are expected to take responsibility for managing their own site health and safety within the parameters of the law. If duty holders conduct a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of operating quad bikes then they should come to no other conclusion than that wearing a helmet is mandatory, due to the high level of risk.
Many fatalities occur due to head injuries from vehicle overturns and operators being thrown from or crushed by the vehicle.
An HSE spokesperson said: “We continue to be concerned by the high fatality rates. On average 30 people, a year are killed as a result of agricultural activities. This includes farmers, farmworkers, contractors, children and members of the public.
“HSE continues to follow its published intervention strategy and its work with the industry to take ownership of the issues and drive improvements in the management of risk. Our efforts and targeted interventions are wide-ranging and include work with the farm safety partnerships in England, Scotland and Wales. Inspection, investigation work and enforcement activities continue.
“Training, experience and active riding are not enough on their own to prevent the consequences of a serious head injury, so our view is that a helmet is necessary.
“One point to note is that this applies to the traditional ‘quad’ bike, while ‘side by side’ vehicles have rollover protection and seatbelts designed to keep the operator inside the vehicle in the event of an overturn.”
Ednyfed Jones farms 1,500 acres of hill land in the Cambrian mountains near Tregaron, mid-Wales. His ATV is a vital tool to manage his flock of 1,700 Welsh Mountain breeding ewes and in 2020 he chose to invest in a new Yamaha Grizzly 700 to help with the work.
“I had the same ATV for 10 years and wanted to upgrade,” Mr Jones explains. “Andrea at Dilwyn Roderick & Co in Llandovery suggested the Grizzly because I move the sheep off the hills in the winter and need plenty of power to pull a trailer on the steep gradients.”
As part of the Glastir environmental management scheme, Mr Jones moves the sheep from the mountain to allow plant growth, which helps hold water and reduce flooding. However, he does not simply move them to land lower down – he transports many of them to Devon. “I know, it’s not what you would expect, but I have been living for part of the week with my wife near Tiverton for nearly 20 years. I round up the sheep using my quad and move them to rented land in the south west over the harshest part of winter,” he says.
This split way of life has its advantages because Mr Jones avoids the worst months of winter on the mountain when some areas are almost impossible to reach. “I would have to put tracks on my quad and, even then, I would not want to be up there in the worst conditions. The sheep would be fine, I have been up there in sub-zero temperatures and 40 mile an hour winds with the thermal sight I use for shooting, and all you can see is red heads and legs, the bodies of the sheep are completely insulated, they really are a remarkable breed,” he says.
“I would never go back” Mr Jones starts lambing on 14th April and spends much of the following three weeks on the mountain checking on the flock.
He chooses to supplement their diet with bags of sugar beet in the run up to, and immediately after lambing. This requires frequent trips up and down various hills to distribute the feed. “The new Yamaha is already well run-in and has performed brilliantly.
It is the first automatic quad I have owned, and I would never go back now. It also has power steering which improves the handling and reduces fatigue,” he says.
The Yamaha also has a winch as standard which is useful to load the quad on to a trailer or pull it out of ditches. “I think I have had more for my money with this quad. To have a winch is one thing but it also has a tracker, so if the ATV rolls over 45 degrees it will send out messages to my emergency contacts to enable them to find me. This is a great comfort because the terrain is very tricky on the tops,” he says.
When the sheep are moved off the mountain Mr Jones rents land in the south west which often needs fences laying or repairing. “I have bought a Rappa winder which attaches to the quad and lays the fence in no time. It has saved me hours which in the cold winter months is a real help,” he says.
Less fuel, quieter quad The Grizzly is fitted with a low range automatic gearbox which offers better control on steep gradients. Mr Jones has also found it useful when rounding up sheep. “I rarely use it for hills because the quad is stable enough, but it is really useful to lower the revs of the engine and make the quad quieter. This way I don’t startle the sheep,” he says. His previous manual quad relied on a handbrake to prevent it rolling on the hills, but the automatic benefits from a park function. “I never thought about it, but as soon as I started using the Yamaha, I realised that it couldn’t roll away if I left it in park. The handbrake on the old quad would fail from time to time and I would have to retrieve it from a nearby ditch, whereas this one doesn’t move an inch,” he adds.
Despite being automatic, the Grizzly is more economical. Compared to a bike of 10 years old it uses significantly less fuel. “I had a 500cc quad before and this one is 700 and automatic, so I immediately expected the fuel consumption to go up. I was amazed when I did my usual routes around the mountain to find there was still a quarter left in the tank,” he says.
The extra power enables the Yamaha to perform at lower revs which uses less fuel, especially on the steep land he has to traverse. “It’s been the best bit of kit I have bought for years. It gives me more confidence, is more economical and the automatic box and power steering make it easier to manage on the mountains. I just hope I can enjoy 10 years on it like I did my last quad,” he concludes.
Grain cooling and storage specialist Evans & Pearce explains the importance of looking after fans in and out of season, to avoid damage and downtime through dust and moisture build-up.
At this time of year, it’s worth planning to spend a wet day in the workshop looking over your pedestal fans and the extension leads they run on. Incorrect storage and operation of fans will affect their performance and longevity.
Dust build-up can unbalance fan impellers, causing potential disintegration over time. Purchasing fans with the added strength of a pressed steel impeller avoids this. It’s worth blowing impeller vanes out with an airline before use.
Moisture can ingress into the capacitor causing premature failure. A common repair through the Evans & Pearce workshop is replacing capacitors – not an expensive repair, but it involves fan down time. Moisture and dust can also clog internal electrical elements, leading to voltage leaking across terminals and causing short circuits.
Rob White from Evans & Pearce says: “Our 1ph fans require a run capacitor, designed for continuous duty, to create an even magnetic field to cause the motor to rotate. Capacitors and motors can fail if they receive the incorrect input voltage due to inadequate cable core thickness. Our 1.1kW fans use 2.5mm, twin core and earth cable as a minimum. As cable length increases, so will the cable resistance. A 50m extension cable can see a 10V drop when running a 1.1kW pedestal fan. Voltage drop results in poor motor performance and possible damage to motor components with a tight supply voltage tolerance. Fans with motors protected with a thermal cut out ensure capacitors and motors do not fall victim to low voltage damage. Motor replacement can often be avoided; hence we recommend looking after fans in and out of season.”
Low-volume grain ventilation is relatively maintenance-free. A few hours spent looking over grain ventilation fans, helps protect your investment and the rather valuable crop they are designed specifically to cool. Fans out of action when needed are expensive and reduces ventilation capacity.
As harvest creeps closer and temperatures rise, air con dials will inevitably be turned to maximum. AP Air sales manager Mike Beswick offers the following top tips to keep systems working well.
Firstly, test your air conditioning before you need it. When out of use during winter, refrigerant can escape the system, reducing cooling capacity. Get your system serviced and the receiver drier changed every two years in agricultural vehicles.
This protects the system from running low on refrigerant (the average vehicle loses 10–15per cent every year.) Changing the receiver drier prevents parts from failing or wearing out and breaking down into the system. Make sure the cabinfilter is changed during the service, as this plays a vital part in purifying air within the cabin.
Use an anti-bacterial ‘one shot bomb’ at least once a year to clear the evaporator and air-ducts, to avoid bacteria build up. Also, regularly check drive belts on the compressor for wear or damage, as this could pose a risk to your compressor
Finally, check the exterior grills at the top of the cab and remove leaves and other debris to prevent them from clogging the air-conditioning system.
In addition, open the engine compartment and check the condenser. If necessary, use a hose (not a pressure washer) to clean out any debris that could clog the condenser and make it less effective.
A new survey of contracting prices for 2021-22 has been published by the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC), giving a UK national average to help contractors and farmers benchmark when working out their costings for an operation.
Spiralling input costs over the last year have continued to apply pressure across the farming industry. Overall prices have increased, however contractors struggle to keep pace.
Commenting Matt Redman, NAAC Chairman said, ‘Many contractors report they have difficulty increasing their prices due to local competition.The cost of machinery has gone up 40% in the last ten years, with machinery prices rising, some up to 8% in the last year, and if farmers are demanding a reliable, efficient, safe and innovative service they must expect to pay a sustainable rate.’
Meanwhile the expectations on contractors continue to escalate. Environmental awareness, specialist training, record keeping and the latest technology on board, all require new levels of expertise and equipment. Farmers are increasingly reliant on contractors to take on roles that they may no longer have the labour, or machinery to complete. With 91% of farmers now using contractors it is a vital part of the industry. In order for this to remain a sustainable model it is crucial everyone works in partnership, to ensure business longevity and viability. For a successful contractor, that means costing individual operations carefully and accurately.
‘Our industry has the potential to really drive forward agricultural productivity, in an environmentally-sound format,’ said Matt Redman. ‘We are investing heavily in new technology, but we must be vigilant and ensure we can afford the costs of running a business, whilst remaining at the forefront of innovation.’
The results of the survey serve as an industry benchmark, but costs will vary significantly with region, soil type, customer size and machinery. The report calculates average prices based on red diesel at 50ppl and suggests price per hectare or acre. Customers should expect to see prices quoted higher or lower than the averages. Whilst cost is important to any business, the quality, reputation and reliability of a contractor should always be considered.
The full survey can be downloaded from the NAAC website
Jeremy Clarkson’s new series, launching in June, is set to show the serious challenges of farming and the emotional consequences of failure, as it follows the Grand Tour star on the first year of his farming journey.
Described as a “journalist, broadcaster and a man who travels the world to slide sideways in supercars while shouting”, Jeremy Clarkson has, over the past year shared tales of his backbreaking and often entertaining experiences running a 1,000-acre farm.
The new Prime series, Clarkson’s Farm, follows his first year in farming as he contends with exceptional weather, disobedient animals, unresponsive crops and an unexpected pandemic.
Running the farm with no previous experience, helped only by a “gang of agricultural associates”, Clarkson quickly discovers that a modern farmer must be a conservationist, scientist, shepherd, shopkeeper, midwife, engineer, accountant and tractor driver, often at the same time.
Despite the calamities that ensue, this is most definitely not ‘The Grand Tour does farming’, programme makers say. On the farm, failures have real emotional consequences and Jeremy, completely out of his comfort zone, must lean on others as he strives to grow crops, rear sheep and pull off environmental projects that are close to his heart. Amazon Prime reveals: “This is Jeremy Clarkson as you’ve never seen him before.”
Clarkson’s Farm will launch Friday 11th June on Amazon Prime Video.
Since starting his farm in 2019, Clarkson has shared often amusing anecdotes from his farming experiences, including his attempts to use a barking drone to herd his sheep; his ‘vast’ Lamborghini tractor which as “48 gears and 188 buttons” and his experience opening a farm shop in the pandemic, which saw him welcome panic buyers to buy ‘guaranteed non-organic’ produce.
However, on a more serious note, Clarkson has also shared the highs of farming, telling the Sunday Times: “It does fill me with joy”.
The UK government is reportedly set to offer Australia a tariff-free, quota-free trade deal despite warnings that it could seriously harm British farmers, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Under the trade deal, which is reported to have divided the Cabinet, the UK and Australia will phase out import taxes and quotas over 15 years.
The news follows warnings that offering a tariff-free deal with Australia risks setting a precedent for future trade deals, and could see UK beef and lamb producers undercut by cheap imports from larger Australian producers.
The NFU has said a tariff-free trade deal would cause the “demise of many, many beef and sheep farms” in the UK.
Boris Johnson is said to have pushed for unity at a senior ministers’ meeting yesterday (20th May). BBC News reports that international trade secretary Liz Truss has been at odds with environment secretary George Eustice.
Mr Eustice has argued that zero tariffs should only be applied to a specified quota of beef or lamb imports, to maintain protections if there is a surge in imports. However, Australia has suggested such restrictions would not be accepted.
Commenting on the news, NFU president Minette Batters said: “It is more than disappointing to hear this news via the media – if accurate, this will have a massive impact on British farming – and we are still waiting to hear from government.
“We continue to maintain that a tariff-free trade deal with Australia will jeopardise our own farming industry and will cause the demise of many, many beef and sheep farms throughout the UK. This is true whether tariffs are dropped immediately or in 15 years’ time.”
She added that the NFU believes it would be “wholly irresponsible” for the government to sign a trade deal with no tariffs or quotas on sensitive products, undermining domestic economy and businesses.
“We are now asking for an urgent clarification from government as to how this trade deal is in line with their own policy about respecting sensitive areas and about the apparent ‘safeguards’ that the media are reporting government will put in place to protect British farming.”
