MRF Contracting

MRF Contracting of South East Kent took delivery of their six-year old pre-owned Agrifac Condor IV back in 2021. Covering a variety of crops including cereals, potatoes, onions and cauliflower, their main aim for upgrading from a 24-meter trailed to a self-propelled 36-meter machine was to allow them to increase their tramlines to become more efficient and as a result, be able to take on more work and grow their contracting business. During the Spring, we caught up with sprayer operator Jack, who has always been an avid Agrifac sprayer fan, to find out how he has found navigating his new ride so far. 

“My name is Jack Barker and we are MRF Contracting in South East of Kent. We are an arable unit here, with cropping that consists of winter wheat, winter beans and oil seed rape. Alongside this we also run a spraying contract business, where clients’ cropping ranges from cereals, potatoes, onions and a variety of vegetable crops too.”  

“Before taking delivery of our Agrifac, we ran a 24-meter trailed sprayer, but decided we wanted to make the move up to 36-meter tramlines to reduce the wheelings for our clients. We realised that with the Agrifac we could adjust our track widths and still maintain 24 and 36 meter spraying with this particular machines’ spec, so we decided to go for a quality second-hand Agrifac self-propelled Condor IV and so far it’s been pretty good!” 

“Another reason for coming away from a trailed machine is to make life easier when spraying in onions, potatoes and vegetable crops. Even though it’s a large sprayer, it’s so manoeuvrable; I wouldn’t have been able to get the trailed machine into half the places that I can get this self-propelled into, even with it being 36 meters, you’d be surprised at how easy it is to get into the places it does. Crop damage is reduced by running this sprayer too. As opposed to previously having six wheels in the field, we now only have four now, and with the four-wheel steer, you’re able to easily get into the corners, into the tramlines and you only have one set of wheelings keeping everything nice, neat, and tidy.” 

“Originally when I was told the year of this sprayer and we were coming away from the trailed and getting this self-propelled I was slightly sceptical of what the condition of it would be due to it’s age. It’s a six-year-old machine, but it’s very low hours and to be fair it’s absolutely immaculate – there’s not a mark on it. You can really tell they’ve looked after it and it runs like a brand new machine – it’s just half the price!” 

“We explored other sprayers but when we got into the Agrifac, ergonomically the sprayer is fantastic to drive. The user interface is brilliant which is key for an operator. Everything is at the touch of a button, and again when you’re a contractor and spray a range of different crops, washing out is pretty critical. To be able to wash out from the cab like I can now, you can see everything it’s doing from the screen which gives you more peace of mind knowing that everything is safe and clean and how it should be ready for moving to the next field.” 

“There was a couple of reasons why we went for an Agrifac really, which one it was the capabilities of the machine, mainly track width and it enables us to carry on with the contracting and the smaller farms around here, meaning we can still meet their needs. Back up is fantastic. On installation day, we had a fantastic chap come down, he went through the whole sprayer with us. There was no question too silly, and he was absolute brilliant. As far as back up goes it’s been extremely reliable, so we haven’t actually needed anything in the year that we have had it, but any questions I’ve had I’ve been able to get answers for over the phone and it doesn’t matter whether it’s Saturday at 7am, Chris their Agrifac Product Specialist is there to talk through anything we need. If they ever need to come down to help us, they will be there either that day or the very next day and get us moving again.” 

“From an operator’s point of view, going to an Agrifac self-propelled is a lot easier to manoeuvre, is much more efficient especially with road speeds, saving you time between clients so it ensures we are always working to full efficiency. I got out of the Agrifac after our first day in the wheat and it felt great. It performed brilliantly; it’s a nice quiet cab, you have the adjustable track widths at the touch of a button, and overall, it’s much easier to use. The screen is extremely easy to use, fuel efficiency is brilliant, and you can get out of it after doing a 16- or 17-hour day and still feel pretty refreshed. It’s a joy to operate. We’ve been able to reduce the hours in the cab too because we can cover ground quicker and faster, so there are less nights in the machine now. The days are slightly shorter, which from an operators perspective, that’s always a good thing!” 

“On the road it’s very impressive. It’s quiet, it’s comfortable and the 50k/m road speed helps massively. Around here there’s lots of single and dual carriageways so we can get that stick forward and get from site to site quicker. Folding system on the boom, we have a 24/36 system on this and it folds in just over a minute. Doesn’t take long – few flips of the switch and it’s in and out. In terms of maintenance of the boom, everything is auto greased, apart from what’s past point of fold which only takes around 15 minutes to go over and it’s tight as a drum! From having the Agrifac Condor we gain a much higher output and turn around to be able to meet the smaller spraying windows. Running with the contracting firm, sometimes the small spraying windows get smaller, and we found that especially with the 50k/m road speed and the boom travelling, plus the adjustable track width, there’s less down time and we can really hit those targets and keep our customers happy.” 

“In terms of pulling out of gateways, there’s lots of busy roads around here, you don’t have to put half the tractor out on the road to be able to see if it’s safe to pull out, you’re pretty much out of the field from where the cab is positioned and the visibility is great, so it’s much safer to drive.” 

“The relationship with Agrifac so far has been absolutely fantastic. I’ve been on the phone to Chris or our Salesman Tom and they’ve been able to hit the nail on the head with everything I’ve needed from them, even remotely. Tom has been absolutely fantastic. He sourced us the machine that we wanted with the spec that enabled us to carry on doing what we’re doing and grow the business so we are very very happy.” 

“I’ve always been a fan of Agrifac sprayers. A few of our neighbours have them and I once had the opportunity to sit in one and was very impressed by it. It goes without saying, I was extremely glad we made the decision to go for the Agrifac even after exploring other manufacturers products. I’m sure we are going to have a very productive future with this machine.” 

“Agrifac to me means peace of mind, efficiency, if someone tells me I’ve got a week in the Agrifac then normally a smiley happy, human being because I know I’ve got a good workplace for that period of time and I’m going to hit my targets, keep customers happy and get the job done efficiently which is what we need. You can’t ask for more than that.”