Now our ‘toys’ will be a wee bit more affordable
THERE’S one thing a lot of farmers have in common – they like their big toys.
Tractors, combines, balers, ploughs and sprayers: there’s often a desire to have the biggest and newest piece of kit going.
The only trouble with these big, shiny pieces of machinery is that they’re so costly.
What’s more, they’re often only used for a few weeks of the year.
Some combine harvesters can cost as much as a house but, as the harvest season only lasts about two months, these mega-expensive machines lie idle for the other ten.
Farmers have often been advised to share these machines, or hire them. The only problem is that in any area, especially given the unpredictable UK weather, everyone needs the same machine at the same time.
So unless you have your own piece of equipment, there’s no guarantee it will be available when the sun shines.
Machinery rings – usually co-operative ventures – have had some success in sharing machinery around but, for logistical reasons, have tended to limit their operations to a specific area.
However, a new internet-based scheme has been launched to do the same thing on a national basis.
Now, while this will involve transporting machinery longer distances, it taps into one important aspect of British farming – that differences in climate and geography mean there is a bit of a spread in the timing of seasonal jobs.
In fact, the chap who has set up the new scheme, called Farm-r – which he likens to a farming version of room letting website Airbnb – believes there are often several weeks or even months between important operations across the country.
Having worked in the agricultural supply industry he said that, while farmers in one valley were often busy with a time-critical job, their neighbours in the next valley had either finished – or were yet to start – the same job and their machines were sitting in the shed.
So he has set up a website which lets you hire machinery at the click of a mouse. The system benefits farmers both ways. They can get rental money when expensive machines would otherwise be sitting idle – or they can hire a machine rather than going to the huge expense of buying one.
What’s not to like?