Lithuanian distributor’s staff visit Suffolk-based agricultural machinery manufacturer Claydon

• Staff from DOJUS Agro, the largest supplier of Western farming equipment in the Baltics, have visited Suffolk-based agricultural machinery manufacturer Claydon Yield-o-Meter Limited at Wickhambrook near Newmarket to learn more about the company’s pioneering Opti-till® strip seeding technique and its latest products, including the new 9m Straw Harrow and nine-model range of Evolution mounted drills

During the first few weeks of 2022 the value of Claydon’s sales to export markets in Eastern Europe has already exceeded those for the whole of 2021, which despite the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and Brexit was itself a record year. Employing 60 staff, Claydon exports 60% of production to 33 countries, across Europe to New Zealand and Chile.

Based in Lithuania, DOJUS Agro has been successfully involved in the agricultural sector for 25 years and operates in Lithuania, Belarus, Russia’s Kaliningrad Region and Latvia, where Claydon machinery has been on farms for the last 10 years. The company represents a range of leading agricultural machinery manufacturers and became Claydon’s distributor for Lithuania in 2018.

“We are delighted to be working with DOJUS Agro, a large, well-respected organisation with very high standards,” states Andrei Botnari, Claydon’s Export Territory Manager, who develops and supports Claydon’s dealers and customers across 20 countries, mainly in Central and Eastern Europe. “During the last few months, our service engineers have travelled to Lithuania and Latvia to train DOJUS Agro’s technicians and this visit by eight product specialists, sales staff and agronomists is the first of three planned for the next two months.”

During their visit, the group toured Claydon’s factory to see the company’s products being manufactured, as well as sharing their knowledge and experience of Opti-till® machinery in their own markets. Claydon’s CEO Jeff Claydon explained why he developed the Opti-till® System of crop establishment in 2002, then showed them around his family’s arable farm at Wickhambrook before the group visited various local attractions, including Bury St Edmunds, and Cambridge. The guests returned home with a much greater understanding of Claydon, its products and how they can benefit farmers in the Baltics.

Andrei Botnari, who graduated from the State Agrarian University of Moldova with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Agronomy and Crop Science, says that the 2021 COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow accelerated the need for farmers to change to more economically, timely and environmentally sustainable methods which reduce costs and crop inputs, whilst improving soil health and benefitting the environment.

“Regenerative agriculture is becoming increasingly important for farmers all over the world, including those in the Baltic countries. They are pioneers in the use of this technology and are looking to reduce costs by using a system which can cope with the climate. Claydon’s innovative products help to promote regenerative agriculture in many ways, such as rebuilding soil organic matter, improving water management and restoring the biodiversity of soils degraded by conventional cultivations.”