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Devon farmer “blown away” by compact tractor
Devon dairy farmer “blown away”by compact tractor
Having purchased an Iseki TG6495 IQ compact tractor three years ago, the Reads family says it o ers excellent manoeuvrability and is “incredibly reliable”.
Richard Reads owns and runs a family dairy farm based in Devon, with over 260 Holstein Friesian cows and over 400 acres of land for grazing and forage. They rear all their own replacements, with around 200 youngstock at one time and sell milk to Arla.
Three years ago, Richard purchased an Iseki TG6495 IQ compact tractor.
“Having always used the larger agricultural tractors, as everyone else does, we weren’t looking for this type of machine when visiting the local dealer MST’s open day a few years ago. But when we saw it, we thought we would try something di erent and so booked a demonstration.
“We were blown away by its ability – it is smaller than our other tractors in the yard, making it ideal for negotiating around the barns and the IQ transmission o ers clutchless gear changes for e ortless manoeuvrability whilst muck scraping all the cow sheds; so, we purchased straight away.”
Richard explains further: “The TG6507 IQ is used purely as a muck scraper tractor; the yard constantly needs scraping and youngstock housing needs cleaning to ensure the cows are kept in the best condition. The implement is mounted on an a-frame so, if needed, we can drop the scraper to use the tractor for other things.”
The best feature is the IQ gear box, he reckons. “We tried an HST tractor from another manufacturer but we found it was constantly revving up and down the gears, causing unnecessary wear and tear. The IQ transmission gives clutchless gear changes with a forward and reverse shuttle lever, so it is simple to drive, quick and manoeuverable around the cow sheds.
“Everyone on the farm, from my wife to my son and the lady who milks the cows all use it. We have it roadregistered so we can pop up the road to the other farm on it too – it has good road speed.”
Richard adds: “Both myself and my son are very tall, but having the moveable steering wheel allows us to get in and out of the tractor easily with one simple touch of a foot pedal, no dirty hands. I nd it easy to drive with the steering wheel forward and then the lady who milks our cows jumps in, who is a lot shorter than us, and she can move the steering wheel back towards her so it’s comfortable for her, too.”
Having had the tractor for three years, nothing has mechanically gone wrong. Richard comments: “[...] it has been regularly serviced and has been faultless; it is an incredibly reliable tractor. I would de nitely recommend this Iseki TG6507 IQ tractor to any dairy farmer. It is compact, highly manoeuvrable, easy to drive, incredibly well built and considering the particularly mucky job it has, the tractor has been faultless.
“I cannot nd another tractor that can do a better job.” FG
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Correct machinery set up is critical before season starts
When attaching a tedder to a tractor, Krone sales support manager Iain Faulds advises: “The tedder headstock typically has two sets of holes; a slotted one and a xed one. The top link must always be attached to one of the xed holes to avoid the tedder getting stuck if it drops forward into a depression in the ground.”
Setting up the tedder so its weight is not taken by the tractor’s three-point linkage is also important.
In the eld, set the tedder height from the top link so it moves the whole crop and be prepared to adjust the height before starting in a new eld.
Matching the tedder size to the mower is important too. “If it is not possible to use matching size of equipment, it will be necessary to do a second run with the tedder slightly o set from the rst run.”
He adds: “Similar principles apply with single rotor rakes, but attaching the top link to the xed hole is even more critical to allow the desired sweeping movement of the rake.
“Set the rake at the right height to avoid picking up soil, and for both rakes and tedders select the correct forward speed for the crop and conditions.”
Correct mower set up with the ground mitigates bounce and smearing and will help reduce wearing of the skids. FG
High quality forage essential for sustainable profit margin
The cost per hectare of producing high quality or sub-standard forage is the same. Cutting before going to seed, wilting the grass correctly and reducing soil contamination are the zero additional cost implications to forage production.
The expected cost implications of wrapped bales this year due to fuel, plastic and implement replacement costs, should focus the thoughts on high quality hay, according to Pro table Farming Company (PFC).
The PFC farm produces a second cutting of tetraploid Italian rye grass hay with usual results of 11+ ME and 14%+ proteins with the rst cutting going to clamp silage. This is achieved by using Baler’s Choice hay preservative and baling at a moisture range of 18–25%. If hay is baled at the untreated safe limit of 15% moisture and below, there is a drop in feed quality. Treating hay has a cost, but PFC argues that spending a little will gain a lot at the pro t end.
For dairy and beef rations, replacing straw with quality hay will produce more milk and liveweight gain, while maintaining the long bre required for e cient rumination. Straw as a feed does not supply enough energy to sustain the animal so it dilutes the energy and protein concentration in the diet. Dairy cattle will eat around 25kg of dry matter per day so maximising energy and protein intake is essential. FG
Victor Jennings, Dairy Farmer Co. Cork, Ireland
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Zero-waste slurry solution for Co. Cork dairy operation
West Cork dairy farmers Victor and Rita Jennings run a 160 pedigree Holstein Friesians herd. Their new 2300 Alpine tanker with Major trailing shoe applicator e ciently recycles farm waste products back onto their 190 acres of grassland.
Getting the most from their home farm acreage has been the prime goal for husband-and-wife farming team, Victor and Rita. It was originally a suckler-tobeef farm run by Victor and his mother, but he and his wife Rita made the decision to move into dairying in 2010, and they have continued to expand the herd ever since.
Land availability adjacent to the parlour was always the limiting factor, so in 2015 they purchased a zero grazer. The enterprise is run entirely by Victor, Rita and their children.
“For us, to get the best from our herd on a comparatively small acreage, we chose high-yielding Holstein Friesians and use a zerograzing system to get the best yield performance. Recycling our farm waste products has been the most cost-e ective production method for us. Our focus is on using all of our resources wisely,” said Victor (pictured left).
They use a ZG80 zero-grazer, feeding directly to the cows on an ad-hoc basis. Within four to ve days after the grass has been harvested, Victor uses his Major Alpine Tanker with a Major 7.5m trailing shoe to apply slurry at the rate of 2,500 gallons/acre. Within 25–30 days, the crop is ready for harvesting and feeding to the dairy cows. The surplus grass at peak growth times is taken out for bales which are fed during the winter months.
“The grass responds well to the slurry applied with the trailing shoe, with minimal grass contamination, and we are soon round to harvesting again,” Victor said. “Because it applies the slurry right where it’s needed, it helps to avoid losses from both evaporation and surface run-o , which is nancially bene cial as well as being environmentally considerate. Using a tanker system is the most convenient approach for our operation. We reviewed the market and without doubt the Major Alpine was the most stable and steady tanker available.”
The Major Alpine range is designed for undulating ground and has a ‘dropped’ axle, resulting in a much lower centre of gravity and a safer tanker.
“It is built using a separate chassis system which reduces stress on the tank, so it’s a lot more durable than the average tanker. With the large tyres we are using, we get less compaction – even in the wet,” explained Victor. “That’s an important bene t because we are regularly applying slurry to the pastures and we always want to avoid compaction.”
Victor and Rita’s eldest son Daniel added: “I also nd it very smooth on the rough country back-roads. What’s even nicer is that we get all these bene ts from the Major Alpine tanker and it is highly competitive on price.”
To discuss your next Major tanker and low emission applicator call Major Equipment or visit www.major-equipment.com. FG
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