Change in cropping plans leads to machinery innovation

Change in cropping plans leads to machinery innovation

As farming has changed, machinery has changed with it. This idea is something that McArthur BDC has borne witness to in the 25 years in which it has provided grain drying, storage, and processing solutions.

As the Midlands Machinery Show celebrates its tenth anniversary this November, it will welcome back McArthur BDC as an exhibitor which has supported the show since its inception.

“The Midlands Machinery Show is a fantastic opportunity for us to talk to our established customers from across the region, and also to meet potential new customers as well,” says John McArthur, Managing Director of McArthur BDC.

Since exhibiting at the first show a decade ago, the company has changed the way in which it exhibits.

“We used to focus purely on showing off the machines,” John said. “But as industry demands have gotten much larger and more intricate, it’s not just the equipment that customers want to see.

“Instead, they’ll use the show as an opportunity to come and see us to discuss the challenges or issues that they’re having with post-harvest, drying, storage of processing.

“This year our sales and technical teams will be ready to discuss with farmers their challenges and see if we’re able to give them valuable knowledge or advice or even point them to the right machine that may help them.”

Beginning as a farm diversification by his father Stewart, John and his brother Scott have overseen the Scunthorpe-based company as it branched into the business of continuous flow grain dryers and grain drying silos, as well as project management, design and installation for farmers’ grain drying needs nationwide.

For the past six years, McArthur BDC has been working with Czech manufacturer JK Machinery to add grain cleaning and sorting capabilities to its product portfolio, and has seen interest in that equipment grow.

“Farmers have become increasingly conscious of how clean their grain samples are, and with this comes more demanding specifications, and so our product base and technology in general has changed to accommodate this,” said John.

Most significantly, interest in intercropping (growing two crops simultaneously) has led to the development of new machines such as the VibroMAX and VibroCompact Intercroppers, which are able to split a mixed crop – such as beans and wheat – in a single pass at high output, which is very beneficial in supporting farmers adopting intercropping as a new farming strategy.

The business has also seen first-hand the development of electric and automated technologies in agriculture.

“When my brother and I first started in 2010, well over half of the mobile grain dryers we sold were tractor-driven,” John said. “Now, it’s extremely rare to sell a grain dryer that isn’t three-phase electric-driven and fully automated.

“Just in terms of post-harvest processing of crops on farm, we’ve seen this move towards electrification and then automation to reduce the amount of labour required and increase farm productivity.”

McArthur BDC is also a partner in the Nitrogen Climate Smart (NCS) Project; an ambitious, industry-leading four-year research project involving 200 UK farms and 17 industry partners which aims to increase pulse cropping in arable rotations to reduce emissions across the entire agricultural industry.

“Our involvement in the NCS Project entails leading the work package that focuses on end use of homegrown pulses in animal feeds,” said John. “More specifically, the company is working on heat-based processes that will improve the nutritive value of beans.”

The Midlands Machinery Show will be held on 20 and 21 November at Newark Showground, Nottinghamshire. Entry is free of charge.

Entry and parking is free, but visitors should pre-register here.