More than £3.1 million was spent on second-hand agricultural machinery at a major auction on behalf of RC Baker Ltd, hosted by Cheffins, which took place at Spring Hill Farm, Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Founder of the business, Charles Baker, started contracting in 1974 and kicked off his contracting with a Ford 4000.

With more than 70,000 page views on the Cheffins website and 600 bidders in total taking part online, records were broken with a top bid of £525,000 being placed for a Claas Xerion 5000 slurry tanker – the highest amount paid for any second-hand piece of agricultural machinery at auction.

Close behind on £425,000 was a 2017 Vredo 7028/3 self-propelled spreader, whilst a 2020 John Deere 7R330 sold for a staggering £183,000.

Managing director of RC Baker Ltd, Charles Baker commented: "We couldn’t be happier with the result of the sale. It all came together so well and the team at Cheffins were hugely efficient and professional from start to finish. I have taken the decision to retire and spend some more time with the family, so this was a fantastic way to finish off what has been an amazing journey, growing and developing the business for nearly half a century."