“The world of agriculture is facing a momentous stage of transition due to deep ongoing changes. One of the reasons is the enduring global economic crisis demanding a new work and management style to farming businesses, turning upside down rules that have been considered unchangeable so far.”
This is a statement by Lucia Salmaso, the Managing Director of BKT’s European head office. The company is a major player in the Off-Highway tyre market with a turnover of 617 million US dollars in the farming sector, corresponding to 65% out of 950 million total sales in 130 countries worldwide. “The borders of agriculture are being redesigned. New agronomic paths are established and the concept of ‘farm competitiveness’ is being introduced. As a result, new professional specialist figures like the farming contractor are born”.
Nowadays, every single farmer must be able to increase the production and yield of their business. Along with the increase in the global demand for food and the imperative need for working the land with low environmental impact, the contractor is the only qualified figure able to compete in an increasingly complex environment that requires strong specialization and innovation capability. There are about 534,000 farming businesses availing themselves of contracting services – corresponding to 33.4% of all businesses. There are more than 31,000 businesses registered as contractors at the chambers of commerce – among these there are more than 18,000 farming businesses performing one or more tillage stages at third parties using their own mechanical machinery.
“For us tire manufacturers, the contractor is an important interlocutor duly paying attention to the choice of the tire. This is an important cost factor and contributes to establish both the productivity of crops and the state of health of the land. In addition, it favors minor fuel consumption of the machinery, reduces machine downtime and extends the machinery life-cycle.
The natural evolution we are observing right now in the world of agriculture reflects the image of a sector that is slowly but radically changing both identity and direction,” Lucia Salmaso concludes.