One could argue that buying a new 130hp tractor to power all the work activities on a small organic livestock farm, might be a little overkill, but for Steve Green, it’s proving to be the perfect solution. Steve, with the help of his wife Lydia farms, 380 acres on two sites based out of Studley, Warwickshire and keeps a suckler herd of 30 cattle plus a flock of 300 ewes. The farm used to be an arable operation, but slackened off during the mid 90’s and has been a fully certified organic livestock farm for the past 12 years.
“I’d been considering changing out my two old Case tractors from the nineteen-nineties,” commented Steve, “because they were getting long in the tooth, were old style technology and I was wanting to make my life and work a lot easier, so it was time for an upgrade. I hadn’t really considered a John Deere before, but the TAG sales guy, David Marshall, happened to drop in a calendar at Christmas. I hadn’t seen a rep from any dealer for years, and this is how it started.”
Steve later called into the TAG branch at Evesham and met David to discuss his needs and, “I asked a lot of questions and David was very attentive, treated me as if I was really important and I have to admit I was impressed. I was expecting this big dealer to be a little stuffy and just treat me like another number, but how I was wrong, they were really interested in my needs and have never failed me yet.”
Steve tried a couple of different makes of tractor, but decided on a new John Deere 6130R with loader. He chose the higher specification 50K Auto-Powr transmission, AutoTrac, SF1 Receiver and a luxury package which included a refrigerator and lots of niceties that helped him to make his work day more comfortable. “I’m getting of an age where my muscles react negatively to too much manual work,” added Steve, “and I think I deserve a little more comfort. Also, this auto-steer and GPS technology does everything for me, saves an immediate ten per cent of costs, - particularly in the mowing season, purely because it is so much more efficient. Ten percent savings means I can release more time away from work and put it towards a holiday and personal relaxation!”
Typical work on Steve’s farm includes grassland management, harrowing, rolling, topping, mowing, haymaking and baling. “The Auto-Power transmission is so smooth,” enthused Steve, “better than the other brands I tried and it’s absolutely ideal on the round baler, keeping the speed and in-feed at the ideal pace for perfectly finished bales.”
He does a lot of roadwork between the two farm sites and so the 50K transmission helps make the trip faster and safer.
“The support I have received from Trevor and David at TAG, has made my introduction to this new technology so easy” added Steve, “I don’t know how I managed without it. It’s been a real eye-opener to what I can get for my investment and also the level of service that comes from the TAG people. I see this new tractor having the potential of lasting me a long, long time and holding its value - so it’s been a wise investment all-round.”
