VIDEO: Year of the Family Farm - Will machinery sharing work for you?

Personalities: You are going to need to go in to business with a person or people you can trust and rely on. Do they have a similar outlook to you, and can you work together with this person? If not, the agreement could be doomed from the start.

Geography: Perhaps the most fundamental element to consider is whether you have neighbours within 10 miles or so who would be interested in working together. The alternative is long-distance travel, which can cost time and money, but can work in certain situations.

Cropping and acreage: Are you growing a similar or complementary rotation to the person you want to share machinery with? Does your combined acreage and timing of main operations make the figures stack up?

Case study: Machinery sharing in practice

Figuring out how to make a farm business profitable and sustainable can be a challenge. But for farm manager Rob Fox, the decision was easy: team up with a group of local farmers and kick-start a new collaborative venture of machinery sharing.

The extension of arable land has helped downscale a much larger collection of farm machinery to enable the farmers to operate a relatively thin machinery fleet over 728 hectares (1,800 acres).

And in Mr Fox’s words, ‘size does not matter’. He took the idea from a similar experience with his family farm and has since branded it ‘the way forward’, no matter the acreage of the farms involved. He says: “Machinery expenses are consistently one of the highest spends on our balance sheet, so we have to find ways of getting spend down. “It just makes sense.

We all own different pieces of machinery across the three farms to make sure we own everything we need between us to do our job across the whole acreage.

“We are in a position where we cannot afford to have the luxury of every bit of kit we might need for one or two days of the year lying around the farm.”

Machinery sharing works across a fairly straightforward process, where Mr Fox timetables the equipment for use on each farm. When the time comes for a piece of kit to be replaced, each farmer voices their preference on what to buy next.

But those involved in the system must be sensible about distance, be open-minded and keep up-to-date with communication, Mr Fox says, otherwise it will not work.

He says despite minor challenges, such as having more people in the decision making process, machinery sharing is an enjoyable process which boosts farmer camaraderie.

Mr Fox says: “A 364ha farm I could pretty much manage by myself with one part-time worker, but now through harvest, there are six or seven of us. There is much more of a team, much more of an atmosphere and much more of an enjoyable operation.”

Carrying out simple maintenance on agricultural machinery and vehicles will not only reduce downtime, but also increase operational productivity. Being proactive and committing to a preventative maintenance routine can extend the life-cycle of a machine and improve farm safety. Most operators will undertake basic maintenance on tractors, such as regular oil changes and checking air-con units are gassed up. But how many miss a few other simple, but equally important, checks?

• Are lights and flashing beacons in good working order and secure?
• Have tyres been checked for punctures?
• Are windows clean and latches in good working order?
• Are steering rams and back-end hydraulics working correctly?
• Are there any oil leaks around seals and pipe fittings?
• Are door fastenings and hinges working correctly?
• Is the seat comfortable and securely fixed? Lights, tyres, tailgate latches and hydraulics should also be routinely checked on trailers.

Loaders must be certified for Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations as a legal requirement for the Health and Safety Executive.

Inspections undertaken by qualified inspection engineers will not only identify any performance compromising issues and satisfy safety requirements, but also provide each machine with a comprehensive service history.

Engineering certificates prove a machine has been well maintained and is in good, safe working order in the event of any later sale. Should a machine be stolen or involved in an accident, reports provide evidence as to its condition, operating hours and advisory issues which have been acted upon, and will help establish its true value.