Far down in the most southern part of Sweden, the three farms Ellinge, Hviderup and Skarhult have a machinery co-operative and co-own a Carrier 820. After four seasons and almost 4000 hectares
worked, they know that the maintenance costs amount to exactly 1,39 € per hectare. These three large arable farms
together crop 2150 neighbouring hectares. Before the 2003 season, the three farms decided to invest in a Carrier.

Far down in the most southern part of Sweden, the three farms Ellinge, Hviderup and Skarhult
have a machinery co-operative and co-own a Carrier 820. After four seasons and almost 4000 hectares worked, they know that the maintenance costs amount to exactly 1,39 € per
hectare.

Only 1.39 € per hectare
During the growing seasons 2003 – 2006, the farms worked a total of 3785 hectares, i.e. approx. 950 hectares per year. All the spare parts costs including workshop bills were carefully logged, so the farmers know the maintenance costs to the exact decimal. Spread
across the hectares worked, the total is low.
‘Maintenance costs were 1,39 € per hectare’, reports Hans Törnlycke, who is manager of one of the three farms. He knew that the machine
was cheap to run but still could not help being impressed by the final figures. ‘It’s fantastic. Many believe that a machine like this is expensive to maintain, but 1.39 € per hectare is
nothing. The maintenance costs are incredibly low’.

Frictionless co-operation
Over 80% of the maintenance costs are for replacement discs. The managers take the opportunity to have this done during the low season in the winter, so each farm sends a man to one of the farm workshops. It takes one day for these three to replace all the discs. ‘Working together is a pleasant way to lay the foundations for good cooperation’, says Hans Törnlycke. None of the farms could have bought a Carrier with 8.20 metres working width, but placing the
investment in proportion to the area cultivated brings it down to a reasonable level.

The advantage is that all gain access to a machine with an enormously high capacity on the days they require it. The cooperation has been problem-free. The farms use the machine for
different purposes because they have different enterprises and cultivation systems.

The Carrier machine cultivates stubble, levels plough furrows, incorporates farmyard manure and prepares the seedbed for sugarbeet, to list its main activities. ‘Actually, we never clash with each other’. 

Robust construction
The limitation on Carrier capacity is the horsepower of the tractor engine. It is possible to drive at 12 - 13 km/h with Carrier. Despite driving as fast as possible, the machine stays in one piece. A disc or so might be sacrificed when it hits a really big stone, but it is easy to replace and at no great cost. ‘Our Carrier practically never breaks down. The reason is the high quality of the materials and the simple and robust construction’, believes Hans Törnlycke. The machine is stored in the machinery shed when it is not working in the field, so apart from disc replacement at regular intervals, he thinks that their Carrier has a lot more to give. ‘It can easily last for another five years’.