Barton Place Farms Go Green

Recently the team from Barton Place Farms arrived in force at our Newmarket branch. After 25 years of operating red machinery, they were ready to try going green.

Settling in with a cuppa, Barton Place Farms listened in as Precision Ag manager Paul Moss talked through the set up and technology available in their new machines. After a few demos on farm with Precision Ag Specialist Jordan Ratford and ASM Carl Ashfield, the new John Deere 6R series impressed the farm manager so much, that it was an easy decision to change over to the John Deere brand.

“Our main reason for changing to the John Deere brand was our awareness of the machinery depreciation costs. With Carl’s help we could accurately cost our hourly usage per machine, which was probably the biggest hurdle for us as we can now cost up every hour of every tractor on the farm. We know exactly what it will cost to operate these machines for the next 3 years and that was the biggest turning point for us.

“We decided to go for 3 different 6R models – 6R155, 6R185 and 6R250 based on what crop we’re working in. The bigger tractors will be for our arable operations and the smaller models for our veg operations.

“What most impressed me most about these machines was the John Deere Operations Centre. I absolutely loved it! Having the information is a huge benefit for us as we’re able to communicate with our operators and see what everyone is doing, to help each other on the farm and in the field. We are now looking more into the connectivity side of operations on the farm so that we can identify how much fuel is being used and how the machine is being operated, but also to help us teach other operators how to carry out specific tasks. Just that information flow alone is huge for us. Knowing our costs is key and being able to control those costs will make a huge difference.

“We are new to Ben Burgess so it’s a completely new experience for us but it’s been a great experience so far. We’ve seen a lot of new faces and the communication from the Newmarket team has been great. They have really helped us with the change over and were greatly appreciative of that.

We have a mixed bag with our operators about the change in brand and machinery. We have some loyalists to the previous fleet but everyone is excited for changing. There are some concerns about the time it will take to learn the new operating systems but I think having the added benefit of the comfort cab will make it a nicer outdoor office to learn in. I think with more support in the early stages, our operators will be more appreciative of the machine and its capabilities and hopefully transfer that loyalty across.”– Farm Partner James Hay

For more information about the range of John Deere 6R Tractors available, contact your local Ben Burgess area sales manager.