Living on a working farm in wonderful North Yorkshire means I only have to look out my living room window to see farm machinery.

I don’t have to wander far to see big signs telling me to ‘BUY BRITISH BEEF!’, and I do, without question. All the meat I buy is from the UK, and as much of the fresh fruit and veg as possible, too. Sweetcorn from South America? You can keep it, Mr Morrisons!

So why am I talking about signage I hear you ask? Well those farmers, with their ‘BUY BRITISH’ signs, are driving Norwegian tractors pulling German cultivators. There are French (YES FRENCH!) balers and Italian drills littered across every farm in the UK. “Oh the irony” I hear you cry!

Some of the machines in question ARE absolutely fantastic, I’m not disputing that. I’m merely saying that, Sumo Trio’s aside, there’s very little British farm machinery in famers’ yards these days.

On coming to work for Sumo nearly 18 month ago, I was very impressed to discover almost everything we do is made in Britain. Even our logo is red, white and blue! The whole design and manufacturing process from beginning to end is done in the UK, and we’re proud of what we build ‘ere in god’s county – Yorkshire.

With Brexit just days away, it’s more important than ever to support home-grown companies. Let’s give British-built farm machinery a try and, as an industry, LET’S BUY BRITISH (where possible of course)! Without further ado, here’s 5 reasons to re-think your next farm machinery purchase and enquire about a British machine:

1. UK Quality is world renowned
   1. The first thing that springs to my mind when someone mentions British Manufacturing is quality. The prestige surrounding that ‘Made in Britain’ stamp symbolises premium design and quality products. Wearing parts aside, 99% of all machine components are designed and fully manufactured at our factory in Yorkshire, meaning we have complete control over the quality of our full product range. Proper job.
2.  Buying British could save you a few quid!
   1. With our exit from the European Union, farm machinery imports from the EU and countries further afield could be subject to more import duties, meaning there’s never been a better time to buy British farm machinery. In a bid to further support UK agriculture, UK farmers and Sumo dealers, Sumo UK aren’t going to raise their prices this year. In-fact we’re lowing them on 3 machines from Feb 1st 2020!
3. The UK has a skilled workforce
   1. The UK is home to some of the best minds in agricultural engineering, not to mention some of the most advanced fab-welders, assembly engineers and paint sprayers this side of the world. The quality of Sumo machines is testament to the skilled workforce at Sumo. They’re the reason why Sumo builds some of the strongest farm machinery in the world.
4. Local jobs for local people – Supporting the British economy
   1. Being a business in Yorkshire, we know what side our bread’s buttered. We buy metal locally, our wheels and tyres too. The local garage services our vehicles and the village shop make our lunches – we buy British whenever we can and support our local economy. Buying a British machine means you’re not just putting food on the nation’s plates, you’re putting money back in their banks, too.
5. Environmental Responsibility
   1. I believe that if we ALL do something small towards carbon off-setting, it’ll equate to a massive change. Moving machinery around the world racks up large-scale carbon emissions. Moving it around the UK however, not so much! Because Sumo manufacture 99% of all our machine components at our factory in Yorkshire, and our sheets of metal go through the laser cutters with no excess wastage, it’s a highly efficient. We also buy local as much as we can. This means that if you buy British farm machinery, you can be confident of an environmentally responsible supply chain. At Sumo we design and build machines that are kind to the land, but we also make them in a way that’s kind to our environment, too.