In search of greater versatility for livestock duties, one Nottinghamshire beef producer has swapped a loading shovel for one of Manitou’s latest pivot steer handlers. Geoff Ashcroft finds out more.
Added flexibility with pivot steer telehandler
W
ith 1,200-head of cattle to feed on a daily basis, plus bedding and mucking out, beef farmer James Burnett demands reliability, productivity and performance from all his machinery. And to get the job done efficiently, it is a workload that involves a pair of handlers, steered by himself and operator Andy Moses. Mr Burnett who runs the 200-hectare Burridge Farm, North Muskham, Nottinghamshire says: “We have been looking for more efficiency, more versatility and more performance from our machines. “While we have traditionally stuck with a combination of one wheeled loader and one telehandler, we have recently ditched our Case 621 wheeled loader in favour of a Manitou MLA-T 533 pivot steer machine. Launched at the 2018 LAMMA Show, Mr Burnett had a strong list of requirements for his latest loader. “I wanted more speed, better agility and a greater lift height, but I did not want to be sat in the cab on one side of the chassis, and this is where the MLA-T has come into its own.” Since its arrival on-farm in February 2019 from local Manitou dealer B&B Tractors, the MLA-T 533 pivot steer handler has already clocked over 1,500 hours. “We have had several Manitou all-wheel steer, rigid chassis handlers, and they have been great, but my own personal preference has always been to sit in the middle of a loader and
The cattle sheds consume 15 to 20 Hesston-sized large square bales each day.
appreciate an all-round view,” he says. He points out that Burridge Farm has enjoyed a succession of wheeled loaders from Hanomag, ex-army Allis Chalmers, several Cats, a Hyundai and latterly, three Case models on the bounce.
Lift capacity
“Wheeled loaders have always delivered on lift capacity, but they can be clumsy and numb in a covered yard,” he says. “The obvious trade-off is lift height, and given the constant swapping between attachments, buying a toe-tip bucket would have only helped with lorry loading. We need to do more, with both machines. “More height for bale stacking and handling was also a priority, and I figured that having more performance
MANITOU MLA-T 533-145V+ Z ● Model: Manitou MLA-T 533-145V+ ● Power: 143hp Deutz ● Transmission: M-Vario Plus CVT
72 Lamma 2020 p72,73 JR BB SM.indd 1
● Max lift: 3.3 tonnes ● Max lift height: 5.2 metres ● Operating weight: 8,430kg
in a smaller package would also speed up our daily yard duties. If we could get similar performance from two telehandlers, then we could improve what we do.” Finishing about 5,000-head per year on a 90 day turn-around, Mr Burnett’s operation makes the most of vegetable by-products sourced from a number of local growers, supplemented by 70ha of maize plus grass silage, harvested and clamped by a local contractor. “Our daily workload is such that we do not have time to run the clamps during silage,” says Mr Burnett. hile e have the fire po er, our handlers are used almost exclusively for livestock duties around the yard. The MLT has just had all its tyres replaced after 18 months and 2,600 hours of use.” he intensive beef finishing operation sees 100 tonnes of feed mixed and fed each day, with straw consumption – in the depths of winter – nudging 15 to 20 Hesston-sized
large square bales each day, to keep the covered yards clean and dry. This daily regime sees Mr Moses take care of bedding using a Spreada-Bale attachment on his MLT741, while Mr Burnett makes a start with ration preparations, ith on floor mixing of ingredients tossed around by the MLA-T533. Both machines are then used with buckets, to re-handle the mixed rations and distribute all feed stock to the different livestock groups housed in the yard. Mr Burnett says: “Liveweight gain is everything, so time is of the essence to get through our daily feeding and bedding regime, which often takes up to four hours to complete. Once we have done the basics, we can turn our attention to other tasks.”
Manure
The predominantly grass farm makes use of manures where possible, but finds itself e porting farmyard manure to local growers, such is the
www.lammashow.com 10/12/2019 12:34
