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One of the two Valtra tractors equipped with trailed sprayers, owned by the Butlers' spray contracting business.
The first Valtra tractor joined the Butler family's farming business in 2000, bought in a hurry to work on a Canterbury conversion and proving itself to be capable and reliable. The business has since owned another eight.
While Michael Butler helps oversee the running of the business' dairy farms, he and his wife Shanekea also own and operate the Waikato-based Spraylink agricultural spray contracting business which they bought in 2018.
The operation runs three dedicated spray trucks and two Valtra tractors equipped with trailed sprayers. When spraying goes quiet in January and February, the team shifts to baling, buying and baling standing grass from Fonterra, mostly for consumption by the family's own cows, with any surplus offered for sale.
Currently four Valtra's are scattered over the family's dairy farms and contracting business, including a T174D, N143, N101 and an A92 model.
The latest, the T174D, is usually Michael's preferred tractor, who notes, "I bought it for myself and often spend many hours a day in it, so it helps to be comfortable. I like the air-conditioning, the sound system and the coolbox and there is room to move. I also ensured I ordered the top of the line seat as well. It's a quiet cab with a great layout and a good light atmosphere. It is not dark and miserable".
Featuring a 7.4-litre six-cylinder engine that meets Stage V EU emission regulations, AdBlue is part of the mix, but Michael says this isn't a problem. "It goes four to five days on a single tank and is just something you have to do to move with the times."
The direct CVT transmission is ideal for spraying duties, as the operator does not have to think about gears. "You just put your foot on the accelerator, and it goes faster. There are two ways to flick into reverse - using the shuttle on the gear stick or the button on the command joystick," Michael says. He also likes having the option to assign functions to buttons and then store those functions as implement settings. This means, when they unhitch the tank and put on a mower, they just click on 'Mower' and those saved functions are now active.
Michael and Shanekea's T174D pulls a 6,000-litre sprayer or drives a 5m-wide twin mower rig, working on hills or the flat delivering plenty of traction and power, while the 5.25m turning circle also makes the tractor very nimble.
Its standard features include load sensing hydraulics, electric-hydraulic control and a SmartTouch arm rest, incorporating a 9-inch touchscreen that Michael says it is very user-friendly and easy to work with. With its second seat, the T174D is ideal for training staff, although Michael notes, "Valtra tractors are very simple to use, so as staff get more experienced, we can introduce them to more functions".
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With the biannual Italian EIMA machinery Expo less than a month away, Case IH has taken out a Technical Evolution award for the Advanced Vehicle Suspension system available on its Optum 360–440 series tractors.
The Advanced Vehicle Suspension system, available on Optum 360, 390, and 440 models, responds to changing conditions, automatically adjusting how the suspension reacts to absorbs shocks and controlling vehicle movement.
In operation, sensors monitor the vibrations transmitted from the tractor chassis to the operator cabin, allowing the system to adjust suspension damping in real time. The control system incorporates key priorities, such as comfort at lower speeds and stability as speed increases, while also reacting to factors such as lower tyre pressures, where the tyres absorb more of the initial shock.
Case IH said as suspension requirements change throughout the working day, as tractors move between the paddock and road transport, the system manages suspension response in the background as tasks, speeds and conditions change, leaving the operator without the need to make manual adjustments.
Richard Hollins, Optum series tractors global product manager, said: “Pioneering technology must earn its place in the working day. Farmers and contractors will judge an investment by what it delivers, including manageable ownership costs, dependable up-time and the versatility to tackle different jobs. With AVS, we are putting intelligent control to work for comfort and stability, without giving the operator another setting to manage.”
Organised by FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, the contest has been part of EIMA since 1986, with the Technical Evolution distinction awarded to products that introduce original improvements to solutions already manufactured or patented.
www.caseih.com
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