Under pressure: how a Norfolk farm is reducing compaction

A Norfolk-based farming and contracting business has reduced soil compaction after adopting central tyre inflation for its tractor fleet.

Working in partnership with Hardingham Farms, HC Beales & Co farms 2,425ha of its own arable crops while providing a contract farming and general contracting service for other farms south-west of Norwich.

The eight-tractor fleet owned by HC Beales includes two Fendts – but this number is expected to increase after the business took delivery of the latest 728 Vario Gen 7-series supplied by Thurlow Nunn Standen at Attleborough.

Alternative solution

“We had a single brand fleet previously including a tracked tractor for primary cultivations, but our stony land meant rubber track wear was too expensive to justify so we looked at alternatives,” says managing partner Charles Saffell.

“We look after our soils and try to avoid compaction, which is why we liked the tracks, but we could see that investing in a wheeled tractor with VF tyres and central tyre inflation would work better.”

Central tyre inflation or enables tyre pressures to be adjusted to improve traction and reduce soil compaction according to field or road conditions – with the driver having complete control from inside the cab.

The farm’s previous tractor brand wasn’t available with an integrated CTI system. Mr Saffell was keen to avoid vulnerable, external pipework, so he looked at Fendt tractors with built-in CTI instead.

“Hardingham Farms uses two modern Fendts and rates them highly, so we arranged a demonstration which proved successful and ordered a Fendt 936 Vario with VarioGrip CTI, which arrived last autumn.”

The Fendt 936 Vario performed well, establishing crops with the farm’s Horsch Pronto 8m drill. A Fendt 728 Vario with VarioGrip then arrived on the farm this February – one of the first of its type sold in the UK.

“For a tractor with more than 300hp, the manoeuvrability is exceptional,” said Mr Saffell. “Drilling with the 4m power-harrow drill combination, it will turn back on itself rather than working in lands, saving time.”

When we are spraying the engine runs at only 800rpm but there is plenty of torque to maintain the required travel speed, and it’s so fuel efficient that just one tank of diesel lasts three full days.

The bigger 936 achieves slightly higher work rates, but the 728 Vario comes surprisingly close in terms of torque, says Mr Saffell, giving the business extra flexibility when working under pressure.

Cultivations

A Sumo Trio nine-leg, 4.5m deep cultivator is pulled by the 936 Vario, and a six-leg, 3m version is used with the 728 Vario. “We tried the larger implement behind the 728 Vario and it pulled it, but the 3m is a better match.”

With Michelin AgriBib 2 VF710/70R42 rear tyres and VF600/70R30 fronts set at optimum working pressures, the 728 Vario runs out of revs before it loses traction. “The pulling ability is impressive for a relatively light and compact tractor.”

The 728 Vario consumed 29.97 litres/hour during a 12.5 hour working day drilling 28.5ha with a Lemken Solitair 4m power harrow drill combination. This is equivalent to 13 litres/ha, including travelling time and headland turns.

With the Kockerling Profiline 6m cultivator, the Fendt consumed 36 litres of diesel per hour to achieve an average 8ha/hour rate of work.  Average consumption across all applications since the tractor arrived is 3.56 litres/hour.

Although the 728 Vario is economical, Mr Saffell will specify a larger fuel tank when its replaced. “The standard 450 litres is usually adequate, but for demanding PTO applications and heavy cultivations a bigger tank will allow longer days in the fields.”

Precision farming

RTK guidance is used for field mapping and autosteer, and the drill and fertiliser spreader utilise the tractor’s ISOBUS connection. “The spreader software needed updating, but the drill connected immediately, says Mr Saffell.

“FendtONE allows us to switch the guidance display to the dashboard screen,” he adds. “The controls are well designed and extremely operator friendly. Everyone who uses the 728 Vario likes it.”

During its first four months on the farm, the 728 worked 441 hours. Mr Saffell says he expects to keep the it for up to five years or 6,500 working hours.  “It’s well thought out and I’m very impressed.

“It’s quite compact for the power, but the ride quality is excellent – superior to any of our other tractors. The torque is phenomenal and the VarioDrive transmission makes the most of the power available and gets it down to the ground.”