After a difficult decision, Messrs TJ and CA Jakins help a dispersal sale at New Barton Farm in Wembury near Plymouth.

The tenancy of the National Trust farm ceased, so the family put the majority of their farm equipment and machinery up for auction with Stags on September 28.

Despite the almost non-existent network and phone signal, along with torrid weather hitting the south coast, all lots were offered for sale through both the traditional onsite sale as well as the online webcast real-time bidding.

The dispersal sale saw some exceptional prices.

The top price on the day saw the out of season 2010 New Holland CSX7060 combine harvester c/w 17’ Varifeed header and Shelbourne Reynolds header trailer with just 1,510 engine hours soar to an impressive £57,500, bought by a St Austell-based farmer.

The second highest price of the day was one of the two 2018 New Holland T7.190 Power Command 4WD tractors which reached £55,000 before going to a new home in Wales.

The other similar 2018 New Holland T7.190 Power Command 4WD tractor that lacked any front linkage was the next highest price of the day, achieving £49,000.

Other notable prices reached during the auction also included the popular 2019 Merlo TF35.7 Turbo telehandler with only 1,500 hours on the clock. With both on site and online bidders competing, the hammer eventually dropped at £48,000.

Looking well sold on the day, the 2012 Massey Ferguson 5460 Dyna 4 4WD tractor made the excellent price of £35,000 before travelling to a new home in Scotland.

One of the last lots to be offered on the day saw the 2015 Mecmar 15T Electric grain dryer selling for £22,750 to a farmer from Truro.

Machinery was in strong demand with a fierce trade throughout despite the torrential rain and wind with the following prices of note:

2019 Teagle 3M 300XL Vario-S multi disc cultivator - £12,750

2016 Krone V150 XC round baler - £17,000

2017 Marshall QM12 12T Monocoque twin axle grain trailer - £9,000

2009 Lemken 3M Zircon power harrow c/w 2009 Lemken Solitaire 8 disc drill - £11,200

Kuhn 6401 MK Digi-Drive 6 star turner - £4,900

2018 Polaris Ranger 1000D utility vehicle - £10,500

Murska 350 S PTO grain crimper - £4,700

The online webcast auction proved difficult to facilitate but the determination and persistence of the Stags team proved that ‘where there’s a will there’s a way’ with the persistently bad weather and ongoing issues with the local network signal mast making the task of providing real time online bidding very difficult.

However, the team achieved it and out of the 48 high value lots offered online more than 25 per cent of these received bids from bidders across the United Kingdom.