Sutcombe Agripower
...syndicate reducing members' labour and machinery costs
Sutcombe Agripower is a syndicate of eight farmers who jointly purchased a range of forage equipment, including a forage harvester and road brush to reduce costs.
The venture is a mixture of both beef and sheep farmers and dairy farmers, giving the machinery a greater spread of utilization and seasonal use.
Key learning points
The group has set up a partnership business which manages the use of the machinery.
Labour and usage of shared machinery is charged to each group member on a pro rata basis and is regularly updated by the group.
Some members of the group have reduced fieldwork costs by up to 50%.
The mix of farmers in the syndicate allows for work planning for the machinery and extends the season by having users which compliment each other.
A spin off to the group working has been better knowledge of each others businesses which ahs allowed for sickness cover and social benefits including improved working conditions for staff with the up to date machinery.
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