There are many hundreds of Claydon customers spanning the UK and over 30 countries worldwide.
Click the yellow pins to find out how real farmers are using our system in the UK and Ireland to get great results whilst at the same time reducing their costs and caring for their soils.
Drilling down costs, growing yields.
50ha arable, blow away soils prone to erosion, Aberdeenshire
“The Claydon system is at the focus of what we do because it enables us to establish crops much more quickly at a much lower cost than with a traditional plough-based system as well as eliminating soil blow.”
Download PDF2000 acres arable, variable, from light sand to heavy clay, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire farmer still reaping the benefits of Claydon-drilling a decade on.
Until 2009 Northamptonshire farmer, Toby Saunders, used traditional plough-based and min-till methods to establish combinable crops, but they were slow, expensive and inefficient. Since adopting the Claydon Opti-Till® System in 2009, Mr Saunders has never looked back − it has
transformed the way he farms.
“The amount of time, fuel and expense involved in establishing crops before we changed to the Claydon System was just ridiculous,” Toby Saunders states. “We were operating a full cultivation system based around ploughing, but it was slow, costly, overworked the soil and produced inconsistent crop development under certain conditions. Establishment costs are such a major part of our overall production costs that we had to find a cheaper, more efficient method.
Download PDF186ha arable, Clay loam soils, Suffolk
“We probably save £10,000 a year on fuel alone. The costs have just dropped through the floor. Running the drill costs us £10-£11 per hectare whereas with ploughs, power harrows and the other drills we had we were probably in the region of £25-£30 per hectare. It varied depending on the season.
When we opted for the Claydon system we decided to really go for it. We had a wholesale clear-out and started all new and I don’t regret selling anything. It would all have been totally unused and just left rusting away.”
Download PDF364ha arable, Heavy clay, Suffolk
“We were quite surprised our fuel this last year was £12,000 down on the previous year. And that’s just on the first year of using the Claydon system in the autumn. We’re still on the first set of front tines and they’ll do another season. We must have drilled around 240 hectares with those tines so far.”
Download PDF263ha arable, heavy clay, Suffolk
“We’d been on all sorts of different systems from ploughing to deep cultivating, always trying to make the seedbeds easier. Eventually, 7 years ago, I decided to try to do the whole job myself which the Claydon drill has allowed me to do.”
Download PDF133ha arable, Fen land, Suffolk
“Where we’d ploughed and power-harrow drilled, a lot of the moisture dried out. The Claydon produced much better establishment than the power harrow because the spring was so dry and the Claydon drilled into moisture and the power harrow didn’t.”
Download PDF720ha arable, medium to light loam, some heavy land, Suffolk
“We’re farming mainly first wheats with herbs and rape and going back to sugarbeet next year. It’s generally medium to light. We do have some heavy land and that’s drilled better than I’ve ever seen and other people on the farm have said the same.”
Download PDFCirca 170ha arable, stony, medium clay loam soil , Crediton, Devon
“On our home farm we were establishing combinable crops conventionally in a three-pass system, using a plough and press followed by a tine harrow and then a tine drill. It was a system that produced a good result, but it was very time-consuming and used a lot of diesel. Ploughing alone was costing well over £50/ha.”
Download PDF530ha arable, Heavy clay with flints, Hampshire
“Previously, there’d been a culture of deep cultivations on the farm. Ploughs and heavy tines made multiple passes to beat the soils into shape. Wearing metal and fuel bills were spiralling out of control and proportion.
The Claydon System buys us time on our difficult ground and the main advantage for us is the speed and efficiency of the system. We can comfortably drill 32-40ha in a day. Given our steep banks, stones and some fiddly fields that’s a decent rate, and far more than we could achieve with the plough.
The 7f plough has long since departed, along with several other items of cultivation clutter that are no longer needed.”
Download PDF480ha arable, Gravel and chalk to London and Red clays, Hertfordshire
“Our soils range from gravel and chalk to London and red clays. Drilling in the right conditions is essential and the Claydon gives us time to do exactly that. Before, investment in machinery was enormous and on our very stony land the wear and tear on soil-engaging equipment was very high, so the cost of establishing crops was very expensive.
The Claydon drill has greatly reduced our establishment costs, made a huge difference to timeliness and is really beneficial in helping to reduce slug and blackgrass problems. Since we started using it, the soil is becoming noticeably more friable every year and worm populations have increased dramatically!”
Download PDF728ha arable, Medium stony, Ballywaltha
“The system has saved us an enormous amount of time and money, as well as giving much greater peace of mind, because timeliness is much improved.
Weather was previously always a threat in the autumn, but now we start drilling in mid-September and are finished by mid-October, so the crops are drilled at the right time, under the right conditions, which is essential to maximise yields.”
Download PDF140ha arable, Heavy clay, Hertfordshire
“In addition to the yield gains, though, it’s the reduction in passes, and hence establishment costs, which have had the most marked effect on the business.
In our first season alone we saved £9,500 in contract drilling costs.
The Claydon system enables us to establish a crop in a couple of passes, the first with a straw harrow to distribute chaff evenly and disturb slugs, and has cut our establishment time considerably. With our other enterprises and our lack of staff, we simply wouldn’t have time to plough all our ground and then work it down and drill it.”
Download PDF101ha arable, Medium, Nottinghamshire
“Being a smaller farmer I was unsure if I would benefit from using the Claydon system; since purchasing a 3m Claydon Drill on finance I have saved in the region of £15,000 – that’s £150 per ha compared to my previous plough based system. I have been very impressed by the yields and savings which have more than covered the payments on my finance package. I am now the only person on the farm doing drilling and cultivations and I have even managed to take on 80ha of contract work with the drill this season which is a real bonus.”
Download PDF400ha arable, Mainly medium loam, with some fen silt hills and heavy hollows, Lincolnshire
“We were running a system based around ploughing and combination drilling, and were fairly happy with the yields we were getting –– but not with our establishment costs. Not having to plough, disc and press twice before drilling means we’ve been able to cut around £120/ha.”
“Despite the wheat’s appearance early in the season, we’ve seen no fall-off in yields. The main difference is in the time, fuel and labour savings we’re making now.”
Download PDF25 acres for game cover arable, Bedfordshire
“Firstly, the cost saving is amazing , , , Perhaps the biggest benefit is that the game covers are so much cleaner. Because we are not disturbing the soil, we don’t have a mass of different weeds coming through, which would be a challenge to control”
“. . . there has been a huge increase in English partridge numbers and the system has been massively beneficial to all wildlife.”
Click here for the full case study
Download PDF404 ha arable, Sandy and gravel, sandy clay loam, cornbrash, Hanslope series clay, Buckinghamshire
“With just myself and father working full time, the Claydon System provides huge time, labour and cost savings, as well as increasing drainage, worm activity and increased soil organic matter. Ultimately, it gives us more time to manage our farm rather than just doing tasks that are often ineffective and costly.”
Click here for the full case study: Rick Davies Case Study
Download PDF250 Acres/150 Contracted arable, Loddiswell, Devon
‘’All farmers are looking to reduce the cost of establishing their crops, as this represents one of the few potential areas for savings,”
‘’I can now drill 80 acres a day, so our own 250 acres is just three days work instead of almost three weeks when we were using a plough, power harrow and drill.’’
Click here for the full casestudy.
Download PDF200ha arable, Mixed, Thirsk, Yorkshire
“I certainly have not experienced the drop in yield that often gets talked about on internet forums by people who probably have no practical experience of strip seeding, in fact quite the opposite.”
….. ‘The Straw Harrow is a key part of the system. I bought a 7.5m model and quickly found out how important it is in getting the best from the Claydon System. In fact, it is essential, as the Claydon Hybrid Drill, Straw Harrow and Rolls are designed to work as one.’’
Click here for the full case study from 2016.
And for an update from 2019 click here.
526-999ha arable, Hanslope series clays to sandy clay loam, Acton, Suffolk
“Apart from reducing our costs, it has improved timeliness, resulted in higher yields and increased gross margins, while the huge time saving gives us more opportunity to manage the business and for family life.”
….. “When we compared what we would have spent on glyphosate and slug pellets it quickly justified the cost of buying the larger Straw Harrow’’
Click here for the full case study.
Download PDF300 acres arable, Dorset
“Establishing crops using the Claydon Strip Seeding System has substantially improved the economic sustainability of our business, as well as providing other benefits in terms of improved timeliness, soil structure and yields.”
Click here for the full case study
Download PDF1,000 acres arable, light loam, flinty chalk, clay cap, Berkshire
What does it take to establish 1,000 acres of combinable crops?
“One man, one tractor and one Claydon drill”, says Berkshire farmer Jonathan Holland.
Three years ago, Jonathan Holland carefully considered the future of his farming operation, even though yields were good and the business was profitable. Despite being in a good position, he felt that the economic and legislative pressures on the farming sector will only increase, reducing profitability.
To help future-proof his business Jonathan decided to greatly simplify the system used to establish the 1,000 acres of arable crops he produces around Newbury. The aim was to significantly reduce costs whilst maintaining yields and gross margins. That goal has been achieved. Yields have improved, fixed costs are much lower, the labour bill is zero, wearing metal cost just £760 last season while at under £8,000 the annual spend on diesel is a fraction of what it was before.
Despite saving £60,000 per year (£60/acre) since changing to the Claydon System, Jonathan says his crops have never looked or performed better.
Download PDF170 ha + 840 ha arable, medium loam, Yorkshire
Phil and Simon Redfearn are third-generation farmers whose family have lived at Park House Farm, Birkin near Knottingley for almost 100 years. Phil and Simon farm 170 hectares, the majority of which is owned.
Outlining the background to their current system Phil states: “Traditionally, we used a full cultivations programme. Straight behind the combine we went in with a Flat-Lift subsoiler fitted with a tine toolbar, then left the land to green over before spraying it off and then drilled with a 3m combination unit. This is still the standard approach in this area. It worked, but the big drawback was that the output was only 10–12 ha per day, which made it slow and expensive.
“We began looking at alternatives in 2010, specifically methods that would move less soil, create a better soil structure with increased organic matter, could deal with chopped straw and were faster and cheaper to operate.. . . The Claydon System was an obvious contender: it was well-proven and we had heard good reports from other farmers. When we visited the Claydon farm we saw just how good the soil structure could be, even on heavy clay, and visited several other farms using the Claydon System on the same land as ours. What impressed us was how well the crops looked, the farmers’ enthusiasm for the technique and the benefits they were achieving.”
Download PDF185 ha arable, Heavy clay, East Yorkshire
Establishing crops on heavy clay soils demands a more flexible approach. Being able to farm his very heavy, difficult-to-manage land more efficiently and with more timeliness were the reasons behind Mark Duckitt’s decision to switch to the Claydon System of crop establishment in 2014. The change has brought numerous benefits, both financial and agronomic. Read more here.
Download PDF750 acres plus 500 acres contract arable, Mainly light, Wooler
Changing to the Claydon System of crop establishment on their arable farm in Northumberland enabled the Fairbairn family to replace the 335hp tractor, which was the mainstay of a min-till system, with a 215hp model. This has saved significant capital and operating costs. Despite the considerable reduction in horsepower, the timeliness of establishment and quality of crops has improved, while additional revenue is being generated by using their 4m Claydon Hybrid to drill 500 acres for other farms in the area. Please click here for the full story.
Download PDFDonald Macaulay farms with his brother Stuart at Beckingham Hall, Hardy’s Green near Colchester. In 1986, after completing their agricultural studies at nearby Writtle University College, they established I J Macaulay & Sons. They now farm 820 acres, 90 of which they
own, 200 which is on an FBT, together with land their grandfather took on in 1933 when he became a tenant of the adjacent Birch Estate.
2500 acres arable, Variable, from heavy clay to light sandy loams, Oakley, Diss
Warren Hill Farms in Suffolk produces up to 14 crops, from herbs to maize. Despite the wide variation in seed sizes and sowing depths, all are established using just one drill whose accuracy in establishing crops is “exceptional”.
Click here for the full article.
Download PDF2500 acres arable, Variable, from heavy clay to light sandy loams, Oakley, Diss
Warren Hill Farms in Suffolk produces up to 14 crops, from herbs to maize. Despite the wide variation in seed sizes and sowing depths, all are established using just one drill whose accuracy in establishing crops is “exceptional”.
Click here for the full article.
Download PDF300 acres arable, County Durham
Using strip seeding solely to save money is the wrong approach, believes County Durham farmer David Hankey. Instead, he says that caring for the soil must come first and everything else will follow.
Download PDF300 acres arable, County Durham
Using strip seeding solely to save money is the wrong approach, believes County Durham farmer David Hankey. Instead, he says that caring for the soil must come first and everything else will follow.
Download PDF350 acres, arable, loamy soils, near Dymock, Gloucestershire
At an age when most farmers would have long given up an active role on their farm, Eric Lewis remains as keen as ever to do the job himself. He carries out all the work at Hill Farm, Knights Green, near Dymock practically by himself. Now over 80, Eric has no plans to call it a day and continues to invest in the future. Just before harvest in 2019, Eric took delivery of a new Claydon T6c Opti-Till® trailed drill. This, he emphasises, is the key to keeping farming. “This is my life and I simply wouldn’t want to do anything else,” Eric states. “But if it wasn’t for the Claydon System I would have been forced to give up . . . ”
Download PDF1,000 arable, Light to medium sandy loam soils, Maybole, Ayrshire
“The Firth of Clyde often turns brown after heavy rain as a result of topsoil being eroded from farmland and washed down into the water courses which feed into it,” Lord David Kennedy states, describing one of the major environmental issues affecting this picturesque region. Read more here.
Download PDFOperating the Claydon System has improved our quality of lives enormously at key times of the year because of the time savings.
Having reached a yield plateau using a traditional plough and power harrow-drill-based crop establishment system, Richard and Matthew Bray changed to Claydon strip seeding in 2013 – and they say that there is no going back.
Download PDF
