Three men – a farmer, a procurer and a supplier – talk through the advantages of hiring farm machinery. They are AF Member Tom Clarke, Rob Dunham, AF’s Machinery Procurement Manager, and James Ashbrook, MD of machinery hire company ASHBROOK.
James and Rob’s top 5 reasons to hire
- Cash flow – it’s reassuring to have a fixed pre-agreed price for payment each month, so you can plan cash flow and have fewer depreciating assets on your books.
- Availability – we’ve all seen that availability of machinery is tight. Sign up to a tractor hire agreement and you have one less worry.
- Machines with latest fuel efficiency and technology – receive a new or nearly new tractor, depending on your agreement.
- Flexibility – long- or short-term hire agreements can be made. You can up or down scale your fleet in line with seasonal requirements.
- Peace of mind – any issues are dealt with by the dealer or the hire company direct, leaving you free to concentrate on other priorities.
Why hire with AF from ASHBROOK?
Rob Dunham says:
“AF and ASHBROOK have been working together for 4 years. We choose ASHBROOK because for over 20 years they’ve been one of the UK’s leading machinery hire companies. In fact, they’re experts in plant, access as well as agricultural gear, so as AF we are able to procure more than just tractors”.
James Ashbrook says:
“Having additional wheels on farm really helps with capacity and productivity at peak times. From our base in Cheshire, we deliver on time, every time, nationwide. Your jobs never need to stand still.
We’re a family-run business with a long association with farming, so we understand AF Members’ needs. We have an excellent range of CASE IH tractors (from 55hp to 300hp), manual and auto gearbox options, trailers and more, all available on long- or short-term hire.”
AF Member Tom Clarke says:
“As T W H Clarke we’ve first-hand experience of ASHBROOK tractor hire through AF for 4 seasons.
I’m the fourth generation to farm this land beside the River Lark in the Cambridgeshire Fens, near Ely. It’s about 1,000 acres growing mainly milling wheat and sugar beet. In a joint venture with a neighbour, we grow potatoes and then linseed to act as a break crop.
This mix means our tractor fleet must flex to meet the requirements of this fenland farm. I manage this carefully by using long and short-term hire.
Long term-hire gets us the best possible rates. A 20-week contract, once a year, through autumn/winter months, means we have extra power needed for the sugar beet and potato harvest. It’s an excellent balance of cash flow and tractor power.
The process is straightforward. We call Rob at AF with our requirements a couple of months before we need the tractor. We’re provided with a Member rate and the contracts are issued. Near the specified start date either AF or ASHBROOK get in touch, we liaise on the best pick up date from our nearest CASE IH dealer. The return process is similar.
Back-up is good. Having support of AF, ASHBROOK and the dealer means that on rare occasion any issues arise, they’re sorted quickly.
Each year our short-term hire tractor is a CASE Puma 165. We find this has excellent power to weight ratio to tackle our soils, which are mostly peat and silt with high organic matter and some medium and heavy clay loam. I’ve found the fuel saving with the CASE IH tractors excellent and all helps contribute to the bottom line. Particularly when fuel prices are sky high.”
If you’d like to know more about tractor hire opportunities, contact your AF Machinery team.
machinery@af.farm 01603 881 913
