About 55 years ago O’Neill bought his first Fergie. Since then, about 35 MFs have been part of his life.
Red tractors have featured in his days spent dairy farming, hay and silage contracting and farming Te Wera Station. This 681ha sheep and beef operation at Matawai, between Opotiki and Gisborne, has been owned by the O’Neill family for 18 years, worked by Bill, his wife Carmel and their son Mark.
Another son runs David O’Neill Contracting in Omarama, Central Otago and he has six Massey Fergusons.
At Te Wera Station Bill is in charge of tractor work. He recently he re-grassed 10ha – replacing green oats that was winter feed for cattle.
“Often we break in a piece that’s never seen a tractor before. That land has just been grazed since the bush was cut in the 1930s and it’s full of stumps and logs,” he explains. “I’ve been breaking in land all my life. We’ve done the easy stuff. Now we’re getting into the steeper and rougher ground.”
Te Wera Station rises from 650m elevation to about 950m. It’s fairly steep, but has some easier country too. On this O’Neill’s latest MF 7614 “can out-climb anything he has had before. I don’t know if it’s because of the additional power, or better gearing – but it’s marvellous on hills, up or down.”
The MF 7614 has a 140hp, 6L, 6-cylinder engine driving through a Dyna-4 transmission, which gives four ranges of gears and a total of 16 forward and 16 reverse.
In the old days O’Neill had up to five tractors at a time. Now the 7614 is the only tractor he owns and it does everything. He uses it for contracting as well, mainly power harrowing and drilling. “I try not to but neighbours keep asking.”
O’Neill notices the difference with the MF 7614 when he’s pulling the 2.4m power harrow. “It’s too small for this tractor, but it means it doesn’t get thrown around. With the old one on the side of a hill, the tractor rocked when you lifted the power harrows. This one sits there solid. It’s got a bit more length and weight.”
He can also tell the difference with the oil flow to the hydraulics. The tip trailer goes up far quicker than on the older tractor.
The MF 7614 is a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) machine, which means Ad-Blue urea is added to cut down the emissions of nitrogen oxides. “There’s nothing to it. It’s the same as filing the diesel tank and checking the oil.”
He’s used about 30L of Ad-Blue over 250 hours of running. “It’s made a difference to fuel efficiency. It uses about four litres less diesel per hour than the older one, with the rotor-spike harrow in hard going.”
O’Neill got his new tractor in March from Mike Rogers at Piako Tractors, Rotorua, his supplier for five years. “If I ever have problems they send over parts and explain what I need to do, or for a bigger job they come over.”
In the early days O’Neill bought a couple of second-hand tractors. Now he always buys new. “I take full advantage of the warranty and the interest doesn’t worry me, because if I can’t pay cash, then I don’t buy them.”
Tel. 272 708 027
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