A multicoloured cocktail of used equipment resides in the sheds of Danish arable farmer Morten Mikkelsen.

How did you get started?

Our family has farmed in this area for generations, but I properly got involved with the business after graduating from agricultural college.

Before this, I had planned to become a ship’s navigator, but I had a last-minute change of heart and decided I would stay in agriculture.

After college, I came back to farm with my dad, Uffe. We were planting all the arable ground with a conventional plough-based system and were milking 70 cows in very outdated buildings.

See also: Direct drills revisited: 9m custom-built John Deere 750A

After seven years it was crunch time – invest in new infrastructure or get rid of the cows.

We opted for the latter, selling the milk quota, paying off our debts and starting with a clean slate.

I then rented another arable farm, which I was eventually able to buy, and we started moving to a more regenerative way of farming.

The land has definitely improved as a result, but that hasn’t helped us much this season.

It’s been the worst in living memory with terrible weather and even worse yields – we had to write off 50ha entirely. Hopefully, things will be a little better next year.

Are you brand loyal?

Not at all. We’ve got five tractors, only two of which are the same brand, and it’s a similar story with the implements.

Almost all our equipment is bought second-hand, and its ability to do the job is the most important thing, as well as reliability and value for money.

Although some of it is down to convenience, as both the New Holland TS115 and John Deere 6820 were already from local farms.

They were also cheap, so hard to turn down.

Favourite dealer?

We’ve got a great Massey Ferguson dealer, Danish Machine Centre, on our doorstep which is why we’ve got a bit more of their kit than anything else.

This was originally a family-owned business and still manages to offer a good, personal service.

Favourite piece of kit?

I’d say the Massey Ferguson Beta 7370 combine. I was initially very wary of getting a Massey as they don’t have the best reputation, but having hired an Activa for a season I was impressed enough to give one a go.

The Beta was five years old when I bought it, it was on low hours and it only cost DKr 800,000 (£89,000) including a 22ft Powerflow draper header.

I haven’t had any major problems with it in five years and 2,000 hours of use, and it’s performed really well.

The Powerflow header feeds the crop nicely, particularly grass seed, and it’s got a huge sieve area that gives a very clean sample.

It also works well in damp conditions and deals with awkward crops such as white clover and hybrid spinach that I pick up with a Ukrainian-built JG header. 

This has a belt at the front covered in small tines that pulls the crop into a conventional auger.

The John Deere 1890 drill comes a close second. This is a US model with 750A coulters that is 9m wide and was modified by the previous UK owner to suit European roads.

Seed placement is fantastic and you can cover a huge amount of ground with it, but it’s very long and the metering system is crappy.

It takes time and effort to get it right, whereas a child could operate the system on our Horsch Sprinter.

Least favourite?

When we had the cows, I persuaded a local contractor to buy an additive system for his forager.

We never noticed a difference in the quality of the silage, and then we sold the cows so he had no use for it. This was a decade ago and he still brings it up.

Best tractor you’ve ever had?

Our John Deere 6820 Autopowr. We paid very little for it as it was sitting on a farm my friend had bought and it hadn’t been serviced once in 3,000 hours of use. 

There was virtually no oil in it and what was left was like black treacle.

As soon as we got our hands on it, we changed all the oils and filters and have kept on top of it ever since.

It’s now done 9,500 hours, most of which have been clocked up pulling our trailed John Deere 740 sprayer, and it’s given us no serious problems.

Like all these tractors, it has had a new head gasket, but this was the one thing the previous owner had done.

Even the transmission has been fine and I know these can give trouble. If it does play up I’ll definitely pay for a reconditioned unit to be fitted – at these hours I consider it a service item.

For me, there’s a far greater kick to be had keeping old crap running rather than spending loads of money on new machinery.

I also enjoy maintenance work. I’m not particularly good at it – changing oils and filters and a few basic repairs are my limit – but it’s satisfying nonetheless.

And the worst?

We used to have a Case IH 1056 that had constant problems with the four-wheel drive system.

I had the diff overhauled and thought it was fixed, but then found filings in the filter and decided to move it on.

It was great other than that, so much so that I recently bought another one – this time I avoided any similar problems by going for a two-wheel-drive version.

Oldest machine still at work?

We’ve got a 1976 Stanhay beet drill that’s used for sowing spinach. We bought it in 2011 and it’s still going strong.

Our Damas grain cleaner is also ancient, but does a great job of tidying up our home-saved seed, which we then store in old Kongskilde bins.

Latest purchase?

I’ve got a bit of an addiction to buying old junk and have just spent DKr 22,000 (£2,450) on a worn-out 4m John Deere 750A.

I’m thinking about doing it up and using it instead of the 9m drill, which is slightly too big for our farm.

The reason we’ve got that machine is that I teamed up with another farmer a while ago to do 1,000ha of contract drilling and needed the capacity.

Now we’ve stopped that, I find it a clumsy thing to operate around the yard.

But it’s always a tough decision to go back to a smaller model and sign up for spending twice the amount of time on a tractor seat.

How long do you keep your machines?

As long as possible. The 6820 is now on 9,500 hours, but rather than consider changing it, I’m keen to find out how much more work I can get out of it.

I’m actually thinking about investing in a new air seat, although they’re a bit pricier than I was expecting.

Next on your wishlist?

I’d really like to be able to spray out patches of weeds with a custom application map.

The plan would be to send someone out with a drone to put the map together and then use my AgLeader GPS system on the 6820 to switch boom sections on at the right time.

I’m not yet sure if it’s possible with the system I’ve got.

Biggest machinery mistake?

I was spraying canola [oilseed rape] at night and was keeping an eye out for an electricity pylon that I knew was coming up soon.

However, I clearly wasn’t looking closely enough as the first I saw of it was when the boom was wrapped around it.

I couldn’t get it free and I didn’t want to call anyone as it was 3am.

So, I had to walk back through the soaking wet crop and then 2km down the road home. I was drenched.

The next day I had to cut it off with the gas and drag it out of the field.

You’d think I’d learned my lesson, but I did it again not that long ago. This wasn’t so bad as I only bent one of the hydraulic rams.

Most expensive repair bill?

A guy that works for us drove the combine out of the shed with the bonnet up and caused DKr 100,000 (£11,136) of damage.

During the process, he ripped the roller shutter door off its mountings, destroyed the bonnet, crumpled the exhaust, broke the AdBlue system and dented the grain tank.

Most overpriced spare part?

It always amazes me how the simplest of parts can be so expensive, yet something far more complex can be surprisingly good value.

Not long ago I needed to get a short metal rod for the combine header levelling system and it was extortionate.

What couldn’t you live without in the workshop?

We’ve got an old Gothia Redskap wheel lifter that came with a set of 1050 terra tyres we bought to spread the weight when applying fertiliser early in the spring.

Since moving to direct drilling, the ground has firmed up enough that the wide tyres aren’t required so we sold them on.

However, the wheel lifter wasn’t going anywhere – it makes the job of changing wheels far easier and safer.

Best invention?

I can’t say I invented it, but someone on YouTube did. 

It’s a simple oilseed rape cleaner with a stepped channel for the seed to run through and a hole where you attach a vacuum cleaner for sucking out the chaff.

The only materials required were a sheet of plywood, a piece of Perspex and a funnel for pouring the seed in.

Our vacuum has three power settings for adjusting suction, but you can achieve a similar effect by fitting a sliding opening in the pipe.

It works well and we can process about 150kg/hour with it.

Most surprisingly useful piece of technology?

The ability GPS has given us to keep tramlines in the same place each season.

Every year I hire a huge Samson slurry tanker with 28m dribble bar to apply 8,000t of pig and chicken muck, which is a massive amount of weight to put on the soil.

By keeping it confined to the same tramlines, we concentrate soil damage in the smallest possible area.

The manure has been great for fertility and by mixing both together we create an amazing symbiosis of biological activity and smelliness.

And the most pointless?

I’m hopeless at making use of the technology on tractors and have never used the headland management. So, for me, that’s a fairly pointless feature.

Biggest machinery bargain?

We recently bought a nearly-new Solus bowser that had been used for watering flowers and converted it into a drain jetter.

It only cost DKr 28,000 (£3,118) and we spent the same again on a more powerful pump.

Models with this spec would be about DKr 300,000 (£33,409) from a dealer, so it was a bargain.  

It’s also saved us a fortune bringing in specialists to sort out our field drains.

We now dig down where we suspect a break or blockage, use this to clear the pipe, and then make good the repair.

The bowser also comes in handy for cleaning out our chicken sheds. This is actually what we bought it for originally.

What’s your everyday transport?

I’m not at all interested in cars, so I’ve got a beaten-up Citroen Berlingo that I use around the farm and for carrying the kids about.

It’s always full of junk and filthy, but I just don’t care. A friend’s wife once told me you need balls to drive a vehicle that bad.

Tractors are different as I take pride in looking after them and keeping them clean.

Biggest machinery bugbear?

I get so annoyed with list prices for machines as they’re not even in the same ballpark as the on-farm figure.

What’s the point in issuing them if you’re going to discount by 40%?

The chemical companies in Denmark are also a pain to get a realistic price from.

Unless you put in a huge order and get them to quote, they won’t give you a figure. This means you end up ordering blind and getting a surprise when the bill comes through.