Upgrading, outsourcing, or repairing — the combine dilemma for growers

Irish Examiner

3 days ago

Fewer and fewer of the combine harvesters now in action around the country will be owned outright by farmers, as machinery trends change.
Some of these harvesters are 60 years old, so it's an ongoing dilemma for growers whether to upgrade to a new combine, outsource the harvesting, or keep their old model running.
This was discussed in a recent Tillage Edge podcast by Teagasc Oak Park researcher Dermot Forristal and podcast host Michael Hennessy, with particular emphasis on the considerations for a mid-sized tillage farmer. Combines are now bigger, more complex, and electronic, Dermot explained.
'A mechanically able farmer is not going to be able to keep those machines running as cheaply as their equivalent 20, 30, 40 years ago. That is a big challenge,' Dermot said.
He said manufacturers are not offering small combines anymore. "Or if they are, they're maybe sourced from other markets that are really quite low-spec, in some cases."
There are few options to purchase modest-sized, good-quality machines. The availability of second-hand combines from the UK is much lower than previously.
He suggested:
Self-ownership mightn't be available, or as much of an option as it would have been maybe 20 years in the past.
Alternatives such as shared use, or hire of contractors may need to be considered.
However, purchasing from mainland Europe, for instance, France, is feasible. Most specifications are similar to the UK, but transport costs must be factored in.
'You'd want to be a little bit careful. There are some machines that, rather than having a cereal drum and rasp bar set-up, may have something that will handle a wider variety of crops such as grain, maize and so on, and might have actually a different drum design.
"In that case, you mightn't get the optimum performance with that drum and concave in a largely cereal crop like ours. But I think those cases will be few and far between,' Dermot said.
'I don't want to rule out self-ownership completely,' he said. 'There's another good reason for self-ownership, and that's biosecurity. That is a huge and concerning issue,' particularly in relation to preventing the introduction of very hard-to-control, herbicide-resistant grass weeds.
Main dealer servicing can be quite expensive, albeit the standard will be high. While the mechanically minded farmer may be able to replace ball bearings or simple parts, it will not be feasible for them to repair much of the complex electronic equipment and wiring on the modern combine.
They would need specialised diagnostic equipment to do so. Hence, ownership costs over the longer term are higher now. 'Keeping vermin out of these machines is going to be a big challenge as well,' Dermot said.
Real-Time Kinematic technology (RTK) enables more accurate driving and yield monitoring of, for example, experimental areas. But growers don't necessarily need it, Dermot said.
'With some yield mapping systems, even if you have RTK systems, it's still relying on you telling it how full that header is,' he explained. 'A simple way around that is that you take full-width strips within the tramline.
'Then you know your six-metre header is cutting a six-metre strip, and that's what's set into your yield monitor. Then those yield strips that you take will be an actual accurate area.'
Michael asked what a farmer changing their machine should look for to future-proof their set-up. It's your own knowledge, said Dermot.
'Particularly in making future big decisions about ownership, that knowledge has to be around the machinery costs and the cost of timeliness and things like that.
In other words, if you haven't got the capacity one year in three, what does that mean to you?
'I think that's the basic thing, that you need to know what contributes to machinery costs, the costs and value of timeliness.'
He also highlighted the importance of farmer knowledge about the impact of weather, the implications of various crop choices, and biosecurity. 'Those are all hugely important,' he said.
"If you're going to buy a new combine, or if you're going to do something different, like share the ownership in the combine in the future with somebody else, to get that scale that you need to justify the combine, or indeed even using a contractor, I think the main thing you need yourself is knowledge.'