No-Till Economics — Benchmarking and Cost of Production

Financial analysis of no-till farming systems compared to conventional establishment, based on the first UK No-Till Benchmarking Group (Land Family Business/Groundswell/Procam), AHDB Monitor Farm data, and Finnish no-till economics. All from Direct Driller Issue 3.

Land Family Business No-Till Benchmarking (2017 Harvest)

First no-till benchmarking exercise in Europe, presented at Groundswell 2018.

Key Headline Figures

Metric No-Till Conventional (LFB Survey)
Winter wheat yield (avg) 2.7 t/acre (~6.7 t/ha) ~3.4 t/acre (~8.4 t/ha)
Yield reduction ~20% below conventional —
Variable costs £19/acre lower —
Labour & machinery costs 43% reduction —
Cost of production per tonne (WW) £101/t £111/t
Inputs + paid labour per tonne £70/t £57/t
Machinery costs per tonne £31/t £54/t

Key Takeaways

  • Lower yields and lower costs — the metric that matters is cost of production per tonne, not yield per hectare
  • The £23/t saving in machinery costs is the single biggest financial advantage
  • Variable costs are lower (mainly chemical cost reduction)
  • Inputs per tonne are actually higher in no-till (because yields are lower)
  • Substantial reduction in working capital requirement
  • No financial account taken for increase in soil health or environmental benefits

[Source: dd-issue-03, 2026-04-11]

Machinery Capital Problem

From the LFB Rural Business Client Survey:

Metric Top 25% Average Bottom 25%
Depreciation + contracting + hire (annual) £77/acre £121/acre £126/acre
Machinery capital per acre Often exceeds £300 — —
  • Many arable businesses breaking even or losing money because of machinery cost inflation
  • No-till provides a direct solution: lower capital per acre → lower depreciation
  • Profit before BPS is a loss of £10/acre even for the top 25% — farming businesses increasingly reliant on non-arable income

[Source: dd-issue-03, 2026-04-11]

AHDB Monitor Farm — Rick Davies, Newton Lodge Farm

404 ha, Northamptonshire. Claydon 4.8m drill. Heavy clay (Hanslope series).

AHDB Winter Wheat Group 4 — Cost of Production (2017 Harvest)

Metric (£/tonne) Top 25% Average Bottom 25%
Average yield (t/ha) 9.92 9.47 8.83
Total variable costs 42.37 50.89 52.52
Employed labour 8.76 13.25 16.84
Equipment & power 15.49 18.80 25.52
Total overheads 61.22 78.41 103.38
Full economic cost of production 103.60 129.30 155.90

Establishment Costs Comparison (Rick Davies data)

System Cost/ha Fuel (l/ha)
1st Wheat (Dyna Drive + Claydon + rake + roll) £58.40 14
2nd Wheat (Claydon + rake + roll) £40.60 9
Ploughed wheat (plough + crumbler + power harrow + drill + roll) £81.50 23
  • No-till fuel as low as 3–4 l/ha on some farms (vs Rick’s 9–14 l/ha with Claydon system)
  • Rick had one of the two lowest wheat operational costs; the other lowest was also direct drilling

[Source: dd-issue-03, 2026-04-11]

Finnish No-Till Economics

From Harry Henderson (AHDB) visit to Finland. Finland has the highest % of arable cropping in no-till in Europe — 13% (UK: 8%).

Why Finland Went No-Till

  • Winter wheat costs ~€1,350–1,400/ha to grow
  • Optimistic yield: 5.5 t/ha → cost per tonne: €255/t
  • With reducing EU support, farming is often loss-making
  • Response: cut costs to the bone + get a second job
  • No-till is “not a choice, it’s a necessity”

Finnish System

  • Long rotations: winter wheat, faba beans, caraway seed, spring barley, OSR, set-aside
  • Light tractors: 100–140 HP max, nothing above 200 HP; Valtra dominant
  • Drills: Tume or Multiva, simple box drills, 3–4m (not 6m+), capable of both no-till and plough-based seedbeds
  • Dual wheels all-round — compaction avoidance is paramount
  • Government pays €30–40/ha/year for every field drilled and/or left undisturbed (phosphate run-off prevention during snowmelt)

Key Learnings for UK

  1. Compaction avoidance over compaction correction — stop creating it rather than buying equipment to fix it
  2. Long rotations with plenty of spring crops
  3. Farmer mindset — “if you expect no-till to fail, it will”
  4. Be flexible — most farms own a plough and will use it if needed
  5. Small machinery — less weight, more units, more hours in the seat

[Source: dd-issue-03, 2026-04-11]

AHDB Machinery Policy Review (Issue 4)

Harry Henderson (AHDB) ran Labour & Machinery reviews on 20+ Monitor Farms across the UK with Strutt & Parker.

Drilling Cost per Hectare — Range of Systems

Tractor Drill Area Cost/ha
JD 6930 Weaving 6m tine 322 ha £16
Case Puma 225 Väderstad Rapid 4m 419 ha £17
JD 8370RT Horsch Sprinter 8m 1,030 ha £20
JD 7530 Claydon 4.8m 382 ha £27
Fendt 826 Sumo DD/DTS 5m 465 ha £42
Contractor Powerharrow-drill combo 218 ha £63
David Brown 1494 Massey 30 4m 55 ha £7 (nil depreciation)

Cost Breakdown

Average machinery running costs: 26% fuel, 35% depreciation, 19% repairs.

Six Top Tips from Top 25% Performers

  1. Low depreciation/ha — keep machines beyond 7 years or maintain high residual
  2. Low repair costs/ha — employ experienced staff for basic maintenance; tactical hiring of key equipment
  3. Low diesel/ha — top 25% all below 100 l/ha
  4. Low machine cost/hour — main tractors at £17–24/hr for 190–250 HP
  5. Low combining cost/ha — average £66/ha; top farms at £41/ha; target 70+ ha per metre of header
  6. Size — top 25% ranged 500–1,000 ha; neither too small nor too large

[Source: dd-issue-04, 2026-04-11]

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