Albanwise Farming relies heavily on its nine-furrow Kverneland RN100 semi-mounted reversible plough, as it turns over some 2,500 acres each year as part of its establishment process.
“The plough is a very important part of our system,” explains Yorkshire farms manager Will Jones, looking after Albanwise Farming’s 11,000-acre operation at Low Mowthorpe, England. “We are 170 meters above sea level, which results in a late wheat harvest. Following this, we cultivate 1,500 acres of winter barley, aiming for malting quality. Ploughing provides us with a quality seedbed and effective weed management on our chalky flint soils.”
Historically, the farm had been spending approximately £17,500 per year on plough parts. However, three years ago, Albanwise Farming switched to non-genuine tungsten parts to lower its operating costs.
“Initially, I saw Kverneland’s XHD tungsten carbide plough parts as a clever sales pitch, so I went to the aftermarket sector to save money on tungsten,” he says. “Farmstar also provided Kverneland XHD points that we fitted to one left- and one right-hand body for comparison.”
Pulled by a Case Magnum 380 Rowtrac covering up to 75 acres per day, the output is impressive. But after three days of ploughing, Mr. Jones says the aftermarket tungsten parts had worn out, while the Kverneland XHD plough parts had barely taken the paint off.
"It was a lightbulb moment, though the initial investment was considerable," he says. "Instead of spending a little and often, it’s now a bigger chunk up front each year, but the savings are colossal."
"Before, downtime was enormous, but now we only have to swap metal once during the season, and that’s impressive considering how often we had to stop and re-metal before," says Will. "With Kverneland XHD Tungsten Plough Parts, our annual spending on plough metal has dropped to around £3,000 to £4,000, down from the previous £17,500, and the significant downtime we once faced is no longer a problem"
